project: presentation phase
Presentation Guidelines
For many of us, presentations are an important
job skill. Business and industry constantly require it, but so do
non-profit corporations, government, and many others. You would hate
to give up a possible career path just because you wanted to avoid
public speaking.
Some people are very confident and comfortable speaking in public.
Most are not. One study showed that 40% of people said
they were more afraid of speaking in public than dying! What happens
when you're afraid?
- Your muscles tighten up
- Your heart races
- Your palms sweat
- You might even faint!
The way to get better is to practice! Pretend to be
confident! Socrates said Seem what you would be.
Here's a list of what's
on this page to help you:
How You Will Be Graded
In this course, you will be graded on the quality of your presentation (click here for the
presentation feedback form).
This includes:
- 30% for content — what you say
- 40% for manner — how you say it
- 10% for coordination — how smoothly do you work as a team
- 10% for structure — do you have a good beginning-middle-end?
- 10% for technical stuff — does your website work?
Content (30%)
- Tell us the client's goals and target audience and why that mattered.
- Plan a path through the content.
- Give a reasonable tour of the content. The highlights, not everything.
- Tell the features, design decisions and why things
were done. Talk about the invisible.
- Were there alternative designs that you considered and rejected?
Manner (40%)
- Eye Contact
- Voice
- Mannerisms
- Pace
These all interact to give an impression of confidence, candor, and
competence.
Eye Contact
In order of increasing quality:
- Reading from a prepared text with your eyes glued to the paper
- Reading from a prepared text with occasional furtive glances
at the audience
- Talking to the back wall
- Glancing around the room, moving rapidly from face to face
- Looking at the people in one part of the room
- Looking at people, and moving your eyes around the room
- Direct the audience's attention with your eyes. When you want
them to look at the screen, look at the screen. When you want
them to look at you, look at them. Partners should support this.
Voice
When you get nervous, your muscles tighten, and this usually
affects your voice. It gets smaller, higher, squeakier.
- Take full breaths.
- Try to speak louder, so that even the people in the back can
hear you clearly.
- Stand up straight and look out at the audience. This helps
fill your lungs and stretches your abs.
- Support your voice using your abs. Project to the back.
- Use pauses instead of
um
or like
.
Mannerisms
When we get nervous, we all tend to adopt soothing tics. Try to
avoid them, or at least keep them invisible.
- Don't fiddle with the mouse or the laser pointer.
- Keep your weight stable, but don't lock your knees.
- Think about what to do with your hands. Ask a friend if it
seems natural.
- Avoid, if possible, verbal mannerisms, like particular phrases.
Pace
- Time your talk so that it's not too long or too short. Too
long is discourteous to other speakers and may annoy the audience.
Too short makes it seem like you don't have much to say.
- Try not to rush if you get behind. If possible, plan on
optional
material that can be skipped. Try not to make this
obvious.
- If you get ahead, you can take longer on topics, explaining more.
- Try to make your glances at the clock unobtrusive.
- For this class, aim for 8-9 minutes.
Coordination (10%)
- Take turns speaking. Usually, the non-speaking person will
operate the mouse. Share equally.
- Find good transitions in the material.
- Know what your partner will say, so that you can begin the
transition.
- Practice!
Structure (10%)
- Talks should have a beginning, middle and end.
- Introduce yourself at the beginning and prepare the audience.
They don't know what your talk is about.
- The middle is the bulk of the talk. Work for natural
transitions among topics. Ideally, tell a story.
- Wrap up at the end. Repeat the major points, thank your
audience, and take questions.
Technical Stuff (10%)
- Make sure you don't have any obvious mistakes on your material,
such as a big, fat spelling error on the opening page.
- Avoid land mines. If some link doesn't work, don't use it. If
some rollover has
issues,
don't show the audience. The site
doesn't have to be perfect for you to avoid showing any flaws.
- Test on the computer you will use. You can use either Mac or
PC. It is nice to clear the history so that all links appear
unused.
PLTC Public Speaking Tutors
To help you prepare for and practice your presentations, we have arranged for
PLTC public speaking tutors to help you in E101 the nights before the two
presentation days:
To encourage you to meet with a PLTC tutor, we will give you an extra 10 points
(out of 100) on your presentation score simply for meeting with a PLTC tutor
to go over your presentation.
Attendance
You are required to attend the last two lecture sections of the semester to
give feedback on the presentations. Attendance will be taken, and your
presentation grade will be penalized if you do not attend.
Other Advice
- Avoid apologizing. Do it if you must, but projecting
confidence is important.
- Don't be a perfectionist. In particular, don't make any
changes to the site right before you present, because what if
something goes wrong?
- Think carefully about where you'll stand when you are speaking (not huddled behind
the computer), and position yourself to work appropriately with the large projection screen.
- In general, one partner should speak while one navigates the computer, and vice versa.
Slides
In our class, you won't have slides, but let's mention some important slide tips anyway.
- Use simple backgrounds.
- Use fonts with good contrast and size.
- Avoid distracting special effects.
- Do not put too much text on any slide.
- Pictures should be meaningful.
- Consider HTML as well as PowerPoint.
- Know how to back up.
Taking your Show on the Road
- Check the version of the browser and any necessary plug-ins.
- Check the venue early. Surprises are never fun.
- Bring backup copies and media.
- Never put your talk in checked luggage!
