Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Technical Presentations
A series of four books discussing how to prepare, write and effectively deliver technical presentations.
1
Book Strategy -
Preparation and Planning
By Nita K. Patel
Published and Hosted by IEEE-USA.
Copyright 2010 by Nita K. Patel. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America
Edited by Georgia C. Stelluto, IEEE-USA Publishing Manager, g.stelluto@ieee.org
Cover design and layout by Josie Thompson, Thompson Design
This IEEE-USA publication is made possible through funding provided by a special dues assessment of IEEE
members residing in the United States.
Copying this material in any form is not permitted without prior written approval from the IEEE.
Table Of Contents 3
E ngineers and scientists are frequently required to present technical information to a broad
spectrum of individuals, including co-workers, executives and potential clients in a variety
of formats, such as conference papers, training materials and funding proposals. Even if you do
not present conference papers or other formal presentations, you must present your ideas and
opinions daily.
Most technical experts present facts in-depth and in their frame of
reference. Technical experts frequently think that facts are self-evident; Facts are not
that is, facts, statistics and data speak for themselves. Not so! Facts self-evident.
require analysis, assessment, and evaluation. Facts require translation
and interpretation from your knowledge base to that of the audience
(Witt, Presentation Tips).
As a technical expert, you must know and understand the technical facts. But, to ensure that
others interpret this complex data the same way you do, you have to present the facts through
clear, concise and correct speech.
When presenting, you should filter just enough of the data, research and information necessary
for the audiences comprehension and understanding, both of which are prerequisites for
acceptance. If your audience does not understand, they will not accept your ideas.
W hen asked to present, most people procrastinate. The remaining people begin with
writing and talking. I recommend you start with thinking and information-gathering
(and not procrastinating). Without a strategy and appropriate preparation, a presentation will
be unfocused, not apply or fail completely.
The next sections outline a framework for you to prepare for your next presentation. The
framework is based on the information-gathering technique taught in my fourth grade history
class. Journalists frequently use this technique to convey all the important information of a
story. The technique is the Five Ws (and One H):
Who? Quis? Who is involved?
When? Quando? When does the story take place?
Where? Ubi? Where does the story take place?
What? Quid? What is the story?
Why? Cur? Why did the story happen?
How? Quomodo? How did the story happen?
For a final exam, my history teacher required us to research and write about a topic of our
choice using this technique. I honestly cannot remember much about the research (other than
my selected topic was Alexander the Great). However, the technique has remained with me
all these years.
This technique ensured that my report covered the full story (for which I got an A). You
will be properly prepared, too, if you answer these six simple questions at the onset of your
next presentation.
K nowing whom you will address may be more important than knowing what you will pres-
ent. It is imperative that your presentation be appropriate for your audience. You intuitively
know that you would not present the same speech at your parents 50th anniversary celebration
as you would at your friends bachelor party. So why would you present the same information
at a management funding request and at a technical design review?
Knowing your audience is critical to developing your speech,
particularly with complex technical topics. You must frame Presentations focus on
your information in such a way that the audience will the audience, not you.
understand. Presentations are not for your (or your egos)
benefit. Presentations are about the audience, their needs,
perspectives and desires. As a result, you must understand your audience.
Analyze the audience to help you understand them. Discover information that will create a
link between you and the audience. The more you know and understand about your audience
and their needs, the better you can align your material to their needs. The better aligned your
information is to their needs, the better they will respond, remember and react.
Professional speakers send multi-page questionnaires (example provided in Appendix A) to
conference organizers to gather enough information about the audience and the speaking
event to properly customize their speeches. Whether or not you use a questionnaire, you
must assess your audience.
How many?
How many people will be in the audience? Speaking to a small group of five to ten people in
a conference room is different from speaking to 200-300 people in a ballroom. With a small
group, you can be more informal in your tone, use smaller gestures and be relaxed in your
presentation style allowing you to connect more with the audience. With a larger group, you
must be more formal, use larger gestures, and speak with more authority.
I dentifying when means defining the time, duration and occasion for the presentation.
Time and duration will affect the length of your presentation and how many items you can
cover during the presentation. The occasion will significantly affect how you structure your
presentation.
Occasion
Identify the speech occasion. Know if you are presenting The occasion determines
at a holiday party, conference or training session. Each
the speech structure.
occasion requires different content and structure.
Remember that no presentation, even a highly technical
briefing, should be the medium for delivering fine details. The purpose of a presentation is
communication. To communicate effectively, you must state your facts in a simple, concise
and interesting manner.
Types of technical presentations:
1. B
riefing (typically 10-30 minutes) This is a no-nonsense speech conveying technical
ideas in such a way that the audience can grasp them quickly, understand their applica-
tion and use them to make decisions. This presentation is the most common type of
technical presentation. The audience composition varies between highly technical and
non-technical.
2. Proposals (variable length) Consider this presentation as a type of a persuasive
briefing. Proposals advocate a product, service or course of action. The purpose of
the proposal is to convince the audience that you are qualified and that your solution
is workable. The audience can range from highly technical to non-technical.
3. Conference papers (15-20 minutes) This is a specific type of briefing. The goal is to
share research, results and potential applications of a specific technology. The goal is
to share information for discussion among and education of colleagues. The audience
is typically highly technical but often technically diverse. That is, the group may work in
the same broad field (e.g., radar) but with different specific components (e.g., receiver
design, filtering algorithms, material composition). Therefore, be sure to relate how the
knowledge you are presenting will be of value to the group.
4. T
raining (variable length) In a training presentation, your purpose is to explain techni-
cal information to an audience unfamiliar with the information. Use simple language
without jargon and rely heavily on examples, metaphors and comparisons relevant to
your audience. Although the audience might be technical, they are likely unfamiliar with
the presentation topic.
5. Demonstration (variable length) In a demonstration, team members show the
benefits of product features. Do not simply go through a laundry list of product features.
Highlight audience-relevant examples for product use. It is difficult to simultaneously
perform a live demo, answer questions and talk coherently. Plan to have an assistant
who provides commentary for the presentation and fields questions while you
demonstrate. The audience is typically non-technical, but can be a mix.
Duration
Identify the duration of your presentation. Will you have 20 minutes, four hours or two days to
present your information? Determine if the time includes a question-and-answer session.
For longer presentations, you have more freedom to explore your topic in depth. Allow partici-
pants to explore concepts through exercises and provide extra examples. Remember that the
audience members can only absorb a limited amount of information at a time. They have only
one opportunity to hear the presentation. They cannot go back to review the information that
you share. Therefore, you should take frequent breaks to allow the audience to think about the
key points presented in each segment of a longer presentation.
A short presentation, on the other hand, needs to be very clear, concise and direct. You must
work harder to focus your information to a central message, with relevant examples for short-
duration presentations. It takes longer to prepare a short, focused presentation than a longer
presentation. Be sure to factor the extra time into your planning.
Never exceed your speaking time, whether you have only five
minutes or five days. When you go over time, you break the Do NOT exceed
contract you have with your audience. Negative emotions creep your allotted time.
out when you go over time, no matter how interested you think
the audience is in your topic. Nobody will complain if you finish
a few minutes early.
A s a presenter, you must know where you are presenting and understand how the location
will affect your delivery. Identify your audio/visual needs and ensure those needs are met.
Location
Location is both geographic; that is, location on the world map, and spatial; that is, location in
relation to the audience.
When considering the geographic components of location, ask yourself:
Are you presenting in another country?
Are their special travel constraints you should take into consideration (visa, passport)?
Will you be staying nearby or will you need to travel to the meeting location?
Are there any unique cultural differences of which you should be aware?
Will language be a barrier to clarity?
Do you know the appropriate etiquette for the international audience?
Should you worry about seasonal weather?
If you need to travel to your presentation location, do not wear your presentation clothes while
traveling. They will wrinkle. Carry one set of your handouts and your presentation in your carry-
on just in case your luggage gets lost. You could also mail your materials to the facility ahead of
time and ensure their arrival.
When considering the spatial components of location, ask yourself:
Where will the audience be?
Where will you be in relation to your audience?
Will you be in outside or inside?
Is this a conference call or webinar?
Will everyone be able to see and hear you?
Presenting a webinar (in which you definitely want a script) will require different preparation
than presenting in a stadium seating 5,000 (in which dynamic delivery is important).
If the room is not full, encourage people to move towards
Ask people to sit the front of the room. Having people sit toward the front
together to encourage and close together will encourage the audience to respond
as a unit. If the number of seats is greater than the number
a sense of community. of people attending, remove a few chairs from the back of
the room.
U nderstanding your audience, where you will present and the occasion completes only half
the planning required. You must define what you want to say. It seems obvious that you
should know the focus of your presentation. However, most speakers fail to define their core
purpose in simple, concrete language before spending time writing the presentation.
Differentiate what from why. What is the content. Why is the
message. The content is the topic, idea or information. The
message is the meaning of the content. The message explains What = Content
how the information ties together, how the audience can use
Why = Message
the content or what the content means. Technical presentations
tend to be heavy on content; as a result, the message gets lost
in the data.
Design all presentations, regardless of their complexity, with a single purpose. State that pur-
pose at the beginning of the preparation process and keep this purpose in mind throughout the
presentation development.
Unfortunately, there is an infinite number of presentation topics. How do you choose the
one best suited for you and the audience? First, identify your areas of expertise and passion.
Second, understand your audience. Third, clarify the occasion. With these three items of
information, brainstorm topic ideas you know and care about, and that the audience is
interested in.
Your Interests
To identify your interests, consider these questions:
What technology or topics are you knowledgeable about?
What topics are you excited about?
Which topics will you enjoy researching?
- What related experiences do you have?
What is your point of view?
What problem exists? What are its causes? How has it been addressed in the past?
Take time to identify which topics you know. Select a topic with which you are familiar. Memo-
rizing material for a presentation is not the same as knowing the material you will present.
Selecting a topic in which you are knowledgeable will give you confidence in preparing and
presenting the material.
Select a topic about which you are passionate. Audience members can feel your excitement (or
indifference). If you are not passionate about your topic, it will show.
Audiences Interest
Ask yourself the following questions to determine your audiences interests:
What is important to your audience?
Which topics are relevant to your audience?
Which topics are applicable to their lives?
Does the topic fit the audience?
What one idea does your audience need to know most?
Based on your analysis of the audience, identify topics that are specific, practical and relevant
to them. Once you have identified the topic, simplify. Decide how much of the information
is relevant to the audience. Do not include material that is not relevant to the audience you
identified.
Technical professionals have a tendency to cram as
much information as possible into the time allotted Understand your topic so
to impress their audience. Instead of cramming thoroughly that you can
information and boring the audience, reframe your simplify it for your audience.
thinking. It is your responsibility to understand your
topic so thoroughly that you can make it simple
enough for the audience. Your job is to identify the relevant information and align it to the
audiences interests.
Use the information you gathered during the audience analysis to help identify a central topic.
Your audience will remember items that resonate with them. The audience hears and absorbs
information if they see a connection between what you present and what they feel.
If they can connect personally to the topic, they are likely to pay attention. If the information is
directly applicable to them, they are likely to use it.
Fortunately, most technical presentations, especially conference papers, meet the intersection
criteria. You present a conference paper on a topic about which you are confident, interested
and familiar. Additionally, the audience is interested in your topic or they would not attend your
session.
Be Prepared.
- Boy Scout Motto
W hy are you going to present? You might present to get the audience to volunteer their
time, renew your grant or implement your process. Why describes the response that
you want from your audience.
Work to focus the general topic into a specific message. Focusing the content (i.e., what) into a
concrete message (i.e., why) is a necessary step in the preparation process.
Questions to consider include:
Is your objective to motivate? Inform? Persuade? Recommend? Report? Teach?
Entertain?
Which message do you want to convey?
What is the purpose of this speech?
What do you want to accomplish?
Do you want to convey an idea, evoke an emotion or elicit a specific response?
Do you want the audience to challenge your assumptions or confirm your data?
Presentations, regardless of their complexity, must
What reaction do you want have a single purpose. A core purpose is the main
from the audience? action, thought or feeling you want your audience
to remember, think or feel because of your
presentation. The core purpose will provide focus
for the presentation. Information incorporated into the presentation should support, explain or
emphasize the core purpose.
Brainstorm
Jot down in one concise sentence what you want the audience to know, do or feel. This is
rarely a question of what you know. Rather, it is a question of what they need to know.
Brainstorm for a while (a few hours or a couple of days) to identify your core message. Do not
try to be clever, perfect or catchy when brainstorming. Write down whatever comes to your
mind. Pare down the ideas later.
Identify
Identify your core message by focusing on the audience, not on you or generalities. Do not
succumb to the temptation to insert your objective into your core message. You must stay
focused on your audiences objective.
O nce you know what you want the audience to do, you can focus on how you will present
the information. Consider whether you will present the information in an informal chat, a
seminar or a training workshop. Identify the presentation approach that will best convey your
message. Consider whether you should be direct or beat around the bush.
Once you are ready, organize your thoughts
in one of the three basics types of speeches: A clear line does not exist
(informative, persuasive or entertaining).
between educating, persuading
Realize that the line between these types of
presentations is neither clear nor straight. and entertaining.
Informative speeches can be highly entertaining.
Persuasive speeches, by their nature, must inform
to be effective.
Presentation Types
The three basic types of speeches are:
1. Speeches that Educate (Informative) - This speech serves to provide useful informa-
tion to your audience. Even if your goal is to inform, you must define what action you
want your audience to take with this information.
For example, a seminar about circuits; a speech explaining how to bake brownies; a
corporate briefing outlining the status of an acquisition
2. Speeches that Motivate (Persuasive) - This speech works to convince people to
change how they think, how they act or what they believe.
For example, a candidates election speech; recruiting a volunteer to IEEE; a coachs
speech to the team before a big game; a business proposal to potential investors
3. Speeches that Entertain (Entertaining) This speech strives to amuse the audience.
The after-dinner speech is a typical example of an entertaining speech. You provide
enjoyment for the audience.
For example, a water-cooler story about your weekend; a fable; a toast in celebration of
the 4th of July
Persuasive Presentations
The essence of persuasion is matching your message to exactly what your audience values,
wants or needs. The aim of the speech is to influence values, ideas or attitudes. In a persuasive
speech, you emphasize benefits, rather than features or specifications. Persuasive presenta-
tions typically incorporate statistics, expert testimony and stories appealing to the audience.
The structure of a persuasive speech typically consists of three components:
1. Identifying the need (problem)
2. Providing a plan or solution (plan)
3. Proving the solution (practicality)
Entertaining Presentations
In an entertaining speech, you seek to amuse the audience. The speech does not have to be
explicitly funny. It could be a drama, a poem or another form of diversion. The speech should
not require great depth of thinking or concentration. The speech can have a message but the
message should not be the central part of the presentation.
Entertaining speeches must include simple, vivid details in a narrative format. In a typical
entertaining speech, you are trying to bring people together for a shared occasion or experi-
ence. As a result, most entertaining speeches are special-occasion speeches such as toasts,
roasts, award presentations or after-dinner speeches.
In an entertaining speech more than any other, the
The audience reflects audience will reflect your mood. If you are not passionate,
the audience will not be passionate. If you are not smiling,
the speakers mood. the audience will not smile. If you are not enjoying
yourself, the audience will not enjoy themselves. Smile.
Laugh. Have fun. Be personable.
Different purposes require different presentation styles. Choose your speech style before
writing your material. Your style will determine the structure of your outline and influence your
delivery techniques.
P reparation ensures readiness for the writing process. Most technical professionals
delve immediately into writing. Only later, if at all, do they think about how to present the
information. To improve your presentations, invert the process. Research who, what, when,
where, why and how, first. Keep notes. Analyze the data. Formulate plans. After these steps
are complete, create an outline and begin the writing process.
Plan and prepare with the Five Ws (and One H) technique. Once you have defined the
audience, message and speech type, the details of the presentation and delivery will follow.
In Book II: Structure - Anatomy of a Successful Presentation, we will explore the details
of how to structure your material in a clear organized manner.
General Logistics
1. Date, start time and duration of presentation
2. Meeting location (address, phone number, room)
3. Contact person for presentation (name, phone number, e-mail)
4. Attire (business, business casual, formal)
5. Room setup (round tables, classroom, theater)
6. A/V (lectern, microphone, flip chart, whiteboard, projector, lights)
7. What options are available if the A/V fails?
8. Will the presentation be taped for broadcast?
9. Is this a teleconference, web presentation, or in-person presentation?
10. Who (audience, organizer, executive) will evaluate the presentation?
11. Will food and/or beverages be served?
Group Demographics
1. Approximate ages, percentage of males/females, educational backgrounds
and occupations
2. How many people will be attending?
3. Will there be special guests in the audience?
Group Interests/Needs
1. What are the three main challenges/concerns faced by members of your group?
2. Why is this presentation being coordinated for the group?
3. What is the groups overall opinion about attending this meeting?
4. What is the groups overall opinion regarding this subject?
5. How much does the audience know about this topic?
6. What specifically are you trying to accomplish with this meeting?
7. Are there any specific topics you feel I should include?
8. Are there any specific topics you feel I should exclude?
9. What actions do you want your group to take?
Historical Information
1. Is this a recurring meeting?
2. What speakers have presented in the past?
3. What topics have been presented before?
4. What three most significant events have occurred in the group in the past year?
Adams, Tyrone and DeCaro, Peter. Public Speaking: the ACA Open Knowledge Online Guide.
n.d. Web. 3 January 2010.
Booher, Dianna. E-Writing: 21st Century Tools for Effective Communication. New York: Pocket
Books, 2001. Print.
Dlugan, Andrew. The Speech Preparation Series. Six Minutes. 28 February 2008. Web. 31
December 2009.
Maxwell, John. The 17 Essential Qualities of a Team Player. Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, Inc.,
2002. Print.
Mitchell, Olivia. How to Craft a Memorable Key Message in 10 Minutes. Speaking about
Presenting. n.d. Web. 31 December 2009.
Sloan, Trey. Know Your Audience to Deliver an Effective Presentation. Video Professor. n.d.
Web. 28 December 2009.
Technical Presentations, Advanced Communication and Leadership Program, Toastmasters
International, 1992
Witt, Chris. Presentation Tips, Strategy. Life after PowerPoint. n.d. Web. 31 December 2009.
T hank you for taking time to learn about preparing and planning for a technical presentation.
Your presentation proficiency will not improve overnight. However, by incorporating and
practicing the suggestions provided in this book, you will improve. For those wishing to improve
their presentation skills significantly, I strongly recommend Toastmasters International, a sup-
portive and positive organization in which you will learn communication and leadership skills.
Thank you, Alex. Your constant support and willingness to give up many evenings, and the rare,
free weekends made it possible for me to write this book.
Thank you, Mom and Dad. You taught me the solid principles of excellence, persistence and
focused work, without which I would not be where I am.
I am grateful to Bob Macemon for listening, editing and freely sharing ideas.
I am grateful to Deb Nowak for reviewing, commenting and providing thoughtful feedback.
I am grateful to Lucy Paine Kezar for providing experienced, writing advice.
I am grateful to Audrey Selig for providing helpful, stylistic comments.
I am grateful to the many Toastmasters members who have helped me improve my presenta-
tion skills, and have continually inspired me to incorporate feedback to achieve excellence.
I am grateful to Georgia Stelluto, IEEE-USA Publishing Manager, for encouraging and editing
this book.
N ita Patel, P.E., PMP, DTM, is a practicing systems/software engineer and an active IEEE and
Toastmasters International volunteer. Nita is a Distinguished Toastmaster, the highest level
of certification in Toastmasters, and typically presents thirty to forty speeches each year. She
received her BSEE, BS Mathematics and MSCpE degrees from Southern Methodist University,
Dallas, TX. Nita can be reached at nita.patel@ieee.org.