27 September 2007

Presentations do-s and don't-s

While attending SAVCBS, FroCoS, and FTP I made some notes with things I liked and things I disliked in the presentations. These are questions of personal style and the list below reflects what I want and I do not want to be as a presenter.

Do

  • speak loudly, slowly, and clearly
  • use questions to engage the audience and to make sure you are proceeding at the right pace
  • say explicitly what are the main ideas
  • present examples, details, and technical material periodically
  • explain the notation
  • use English properly
  • present open questions
  • present (slowly!) some basics
  • skip the formal parts if time is pressing
  • ask if the audience has questions periodically (≈ 5 minutes)
  • make pauses to allow the audience to think about the consequences of what you said and to read the extra information on the slide (≈ 30 seconds)
  • say everything twice, preferably once in an informal way and once in a more formal way, but with some pause in-between
  • present `lessons learned'
  • show the implementation in the presentation, because it gives a concrete idea of what it does if it is seen in action
  • leave time for questions

Don't

  • be overtime
  • present only a high-level view
  • say “I'm sure everyone knows”
  • waste time with the outline (in the beginning)
  • speak in a monotone voice (I'm skeptic I'll be able to fix this, somehow my throat hurts if I do otherwise)

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