Research Methodology

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Research Methodology

• Making presentations.

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Making presentations.

• The aim is good, clear communication.
• Most people are afraid of public speaking.
• There is no substitute for preparation.
• Collect and order relevant material.

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Put your audience first!

• Prepare the opening sentences carefully.
• Use a non-technical opening but
  only if its relevant.
• Avoid openings like Thank you Mr Chairman for
  those kind words. It is a great pleasure to be
  here again in this great
• Throw your audience straight into the story Is
  it possible to improve on the reliability of
  Airbus software?

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Speaking style.

• An informal, conversational style is best.
• Avoid long, complicated sentences.
• Vary tone of voice to give expression.
• Vary the speed of delivery to provide emphasis.
• But dont speak too quickly fast deliveries are
  difficult to understand.

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Time keeping.

• Dont speak for too long.
• People remember up to 40 of a 15 minute talk,
  but only 20 after 45 minutes.
• Assume a presentation rate of 100 words per
  minute.
• Keep to time!

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Using notes.

• NEVER read a script.
• Write out the text.
• List the key words to form your notes.
• Produce notes on cards rather than paper.
• Keep notes in order with a treasury tag.
• Practise in front of a mirror!

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Composure.

• Hold your notes in one hand let the other hang
  by your side.
• Look at the audience - but not at one person!
• Start slowly, having learned the first sentence.
• Be aware of mannerisms and repeated gestures.

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Practical issues.

• Explore the layout of the lecture room
  BEFOREHAND.
• Understand how to control the projectors,
  microphones, lights, video..
• Do not speak while turning away from the
  microphone to look at a slide.
• Overhead projectors should project upwards
• Do not obscure the slide projection.

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A pitfall to avoid.

• Never, NEVER apologies for being an inexperienced
  speaker.
• Never say
• You will have seen all this before
• You will know more about this than I do
• Audiences will be embarrassed - they are on your
  side.
• Nervousness leads to uncertainty about your
  material.

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Another pitfall to avoid.

• Never try to be a stand up comic.
• Be humorous, but humour is often at someones
  expense - make it your own.
• It is easy to offend people -
  and lose their sympathy.
• Humour depends on timing.
• A joke that falls flat is embarrassing.

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Preparing the content.

• The old salesmans adage contains a good deal of
  truth Tell em what youre going to tell em
  Tell em
  Tell em what youve
  just told em.
• Dont pack too much information into a talk.
• Start with a brain map - and then order the
  material into a sequence.

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Visual aids 1.

• OHPs can build on one another and are easy to
  produce.
• 35mm slides are more professional, easier to
  manipulate but more difficult to produce.
• Computer screen projection is becoming the
  preferred option.
• Laser pointers need practice and can be dangerous.

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Visual aids 2.

• To point to an OHP place a pencil on the
  projector.
• Slides should not be cluttered with information.
• Use colour to emphasise a point and not for its
  own sake.
• The minimum size font on an OHP should be 16
  point.

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What makes a good presentation? - Some guidelines

• Guideline 1 - Consider whom the presentation is
  designed for.
• Think about the audience. Do they know much about
  the subject?
• Are you using jargon or symbols that they are
  unfamiliar with?
• If you are talking to a small number of people,
  then they should be able to see the computer
  screen without any problems. If there are a large
  number of people, then you will need to use a
  projector of some sort.
• Guideline 2 - Keep the charts simple and
  uncluttered.
• Dont put in any more or any less than is
  required
• Guideline 3- Make sure that the charts are
  legible, even from the back of the room.
• If you are making a presentation using a
  projector, then the characters need to be a
  minimum of 0.5 cm high for members of the
  audience who are 100 metres away. For more mature
  people, the minimum height needs to be 1 cm.
• Guideline 4 - Highlight key information
• Make it easy for the audience to pick out the
  most important details.
• Guideline 5 - Focus attention on one concept at a
  time
• Make sure that you are not giving the audience
  too much to think about at any one time.
• Guideline 6 - Reinforce your conclusion
• Finish the presentation with a summary of the
  main points that you want to make sure that the
  audience has understood.

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Good presentation guidelines

• Guideline 1 - Consider whom the presentation is
  designed for
• The audience
• Terminology, Jargon or symbols
• Number of people
•  

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Good presentation guidelines

• Guideline 2 - Keep the charts simple and
  uncluttered.
• Dont put in any more or any less than is
  required

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Good presentation guidelines

• Guideline 3 - Make sure that the charts are
  legible, even from the back of the room
• If you are making a presentation using a
  projector, then the characters need to be a
  minimum of 0.5 cm high for members of the
  audience who are 100 metres away. For more mature
  people, the minimum height needs to be 1 cm.

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Good presentation guidelines

• Guideline 4 - Highlight key information
• Make it easy for the audience to pick out the
  most important details

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Good presentation guidelines

• Guideline 5 - Focus attention on one concept at a
  time
• Make sure that you are not giving the audience
  too much to think about at any one time

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Good presentation guidelines

• Guideline 6 - Reinforce your conclusion
• Finish the presentation with a summary of the
  main points that you want to make sure that the
  audience has understood

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Presentation Guidelines

• Who the presentation is designed for
• Keep charts simple
• Charts must be legible
• Highlight key information
• One concept at a time
• Reinforce your conclusion

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Project Costs
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Project Costs
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Cost by Category
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References

• Campbell, J., (1990), Speak for yourself, BBC
  Books, London, ISBN 0563215119
• Boothe, V., (1984), Communicating in science
  writing and speaking, Cambridge University Press,
  ISBN 052127771 X
• Tufte, E., (1983), The Visual Display of
  Quantitative Information, Graphics Press

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Good luck better still, prepare thoroughly!