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MASTER RESEARCH PRESENTATION GUIDELINEHow to make an effective presentation

Dr. Song - Construction Management, UH

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AGENDA

Program requirements Objectives of presentation Effective presentation

From an audience perspective What it is, what it is not …

Do the homework Basic principles Structure your presentation

A step-by-step guide

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PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS

Program requirements (6396 and 6399) Progress presentation during a semester An oral final research presentation

Format Time: ~ 20 min talk Q&A time: vary depends on your research Audience: CM faculty & students, 5 ~10 total Technology: PowerPoint & data projector Dressing code: Business causal or business

Importance Receive feedback from CM faculty Share your research with peers Improve your presentation skill…

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OBJECTIVES OF PRESENTATION Objective

A concise oral report of your research in a highly logic, complete, and easy-to-understand format

Sub-objectives Show your expertise in the research area/problem Show your methodology and quality implementation Show the findings and impact you have made Show your presentation skill in explaining complex

issuesCriteria

StronglyDisagree0-2

Disagree3-4

Neutral5-6

Agree7-8

StronglyAgree9-10

Presentation Skill  

The speakers spoke clearly and effectively

         

The presentation was well organized and logically presented

         

The speakers efficiently utilize the time available

         

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EFFECTIVE PRESENTATION

Effective PresentationFrom an Audience Perspective

Understandable You fail when we don’t understand, regardless how brilliant your idea is …

A logic flow of ideas We easily get lost if your talk goes on a unpredictable path with slides disconnected

Right to the point In such a short time to present loads of info, we expect you to be concise, don't beat around the bush

Self-contained Don’t assume we know everything, prepare us with background info, explain thoroughly and concisely

Complex concepts in simple languages

We like you explain even the most complex issue using common sense, layman terms, and graphics (a challenge to you)

Attractive design Don’t overcrowd your slides with info that can be boring, visuals & animation can be more expressive

Knowledge presenter

We love to listen to an expert who knows the content, passionate, and prepared

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WHAT IT IS & WHAT IT IS NOT …

What it is not … What it is …

I did my research and know the staff, so I can just talk

You spent months on the topic, NOT your audience; don’t underestimate the amount of information

I will present following my report/thesis structure, page by page

Simply put, you won’t be able to present 40-60 pages report in merely 20min; you need a total re-thinking of the logic flow

My research presentation will just like one of my prof.’s lecture talks

Research presentation is different from a class lecture; the former focus on research process & results; the later focus on a set of established concepts

The Challenge: present complex technical information in a very short period of time (i.e. 20-30min)

The Solution: view presentation as a NEW task, rethink the structure, prioritize the content, focus on YOUR work, visualize the information, tell a complete story, and be fully prepared

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DO THE HOMEWORK

Quality research work A clearly defined research problem & objective

Objectives MUST match to problems A well-thought research plan

Research plan MUST reflect objectives Rigorous research implementation Thorough analysis of results

Must show all objectives are achieved, problems solved

Effective presentation design Some basic principles A simple and logic organization

A step-by-step guide

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SOME BASIC PRINCIPLES

50+50 principle Record 50% information in a slide and keep the other

50% to yourself for you talk Keep the audience’s attention to both slides AND you

Don’t squeeze too much information in a slide Human attention is very limited!

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SOME BASIC PRINCIPLES – CONT’D Number of slides

Each slide roughly takes 1-2 min to present, so for a 20min talk, you only need approx. 15 - 20 slides

You can have some backup slides for Q&A Use visual aids!!

Graphics carry more info, easier to understand than texts

E.g. line/pie chart, flow chart, diagram, photo/video … Animation can help to improve understanding

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SOME BASIC PRINCIPLES – CONT’D

Pay attention to important details If the info is logically important, keep it in slide, and explain it Don’t jump/skip through slides, if not important, delete them

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SOME BASIC PRINCIPLES – CONT’D

Use short titles and phrases Avoid full and lengthy sentence

Be logic and predictable Present a clear agenda Tell them where you are and where you will go Explain not only “how” but “Why” .. because of this.. So

… Less is more

Do your homework to sharpen your idea/logic Present important logic/results only (hide trivial details) Don’t try to pack too much info just to “impress” people

Formatting/template Use a design template with light background color Use larger font size

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SOME BASIC PRINCIPLES – CONT’D

Use common-sense and layman terms whenever possible

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SOME BASIC PRINCIPLES – CONT’D

Precise control of content & timing Write exactly what you will say on each slide in a note, refine

it until logic, clear, and concise Practice and time it, revised as needed Present to your friends and ask for feedback

Note

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SOME BASIC PRINCIPLES – CONT’D

Don’t just READ your slide, PRESENT

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STRUCTURE YOUR PRESENTATION

A common structure Title page ~1 min Agenda ~1 min Background (optional) ~1 min Problem statement ~2 min Objective & scope ~1 min Methodology ~2-3 min [Research Implementation] ~6-8 min Results & analysis ~6-8 min Conclusion ~1 min Future research (optional) ~0.5 min Final slide – Q&A N/A

Sample allocatio

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Total: ~20 min

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TITLE PAGE

You can't make a first impression twice Title page elements

A concise and meaningful title Your name and affiliation Presentation date

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AGENDA

Use agenda to clarify the structure of your presentation Make the presentation appears more organized Audience feel comfortable when they know where you will

go Use short phrases Briefly explain the agenda, don’t just skip it

I’ll first … then … “House rules”

Due to the time limit, ask the audience to keep their questions to the end, tell them you have a Q&A session

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BACKGROUND (OPTIONAL)

Justify why your research area is important Consider using numbers/charts/facts quoted from

credible sources to support your argument Prepare your audience

Assumption: audience with basic CM knowledge, but not in-depth knowledge in your particular research area

Explain use simple language the significance of the research area and necessary background info.

Note: Background slide may be ignored, if the research area is well-known, you can skip it and go to “Problem Statement”

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PROBLEM STATEMENT

Describe the exact research problem Focus on the specific problem addressed by YOU only Avoid statements that may be confusing/offensive

unless you have adequate supporting data E.g. “the construction industry fails totally to ….” Construction managers do not understand …”

Briefly state literature review results (I’m not reinventing the wheel …)

Visual aids (diagram,

photos…) may help to highlight problem areas

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OBJECTIVE & SCOPE List your objectives and sub-objectives

Your objectives must match to your problem Try to visualize the objective using visual aids, if possible

A brief statement of scope, if necessary

Visual aids may help to highlight

both problem and

improvement (objective) side

by side for better understanding

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METHODOLOGY

A global view of research steps and logic Use visual aids as much as your can Explain each major research step briefly, don’t miss any

Flow chart is usually better than texts in explaining research steps

Photos, diagram, animation can help to explain complex research

ideas

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RESEARCH IMPLEMENTATION

Center piece of your work Allocate adequate time to present Explain “how” you do it, but also “why” you do it – rationale

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RESULTS & ANALYSIS

A description of results/deliverables Allocate adequate time to present Don’t sell yourself short! Visualize your results using visual aids or live demo! Deliverables must match to your objectives

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CONCLUSIONS

A concluding remarks … A quick reflection of your research problem A quick summary what you have done Highlight your achievements

Reassure the audience your academic & practical value of your research

State lesson learned, if any

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FUTURE RESEARCH & Q&A

Future Research (optional) A statement of your research vision …

Q & A Anticipate questions and prepare for it Prepare some backup slides to assist your

discussion

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FINAL REMARK