BE 497 Senior Design
Presentation Tips
Two presentations will be given during the semester by each team, a preliminary talk discussing
the project and the team's goals, and a final talk where results will be
presented. Each presentation should be prepared in Powerpoint, with
additional visuals if so desired. The initial presentation should be no
longer than 20 minutes, while the final presentation should be less than 30
minutes (including demonstrations). Below is a brief list of some Do's and
Don'ts of presentations. Adhere to them and your presentation will go
smoothly. Ignore them, and your presentation will be a disaster!
Do's
- Dress professionally as if your presentation is in front of executives of a
major cooperation.
- Make sure your talk is organized and gets the point across. No
tangents!
- Keep text limited on each slide. Utilize graphs and figures instead.
- Avoid unnecessary and distracting Powerpoint effects (e.g. slides
dissolving...).
- Maintain eye contact with your audience. If you feel as though
you've lost their attention or understanding, review the material or reinforce
your points.
- Always try to keep the big picture fresh in your audience's mind.
There's nothing worse than having to sit through a long talk which has no
sense of direction.
- Always have a glass of water handy just in case you get the nervous dry mouth.
- Practice, practice, practice! You'll speak clearer, your talk will
make more sense, and you'll be more relaxed if you know your material.
Don'ts
- Don't come unprepared and try to "wing it".
- While presenting, keep the "ahms" to a minimum.
- Treat all questions professionally, even those you deem stupid.
- Don't read a prepared speech during your presentation. Use an
outline as a refresher so that you hit the key topics.
- NEVER, ever "BS" a question if you don't know the answer. Simply say
you're not sure but can make an educated guess. Once you're caught "BS'ing",
you jeopardize the credibility of everything you've said and will say during
your presentation.