6 Steps to a Killer Capstone Presentation

6 Steps to a Killer Presentation

Tuesday, March 10, 15

1. Present Yourself First


The first and most important thing that you will present is yourself. Make sure you make a good first impression by presenting yourself as a professional. Even if your presentation has a “blue collar” feel, it’s important to make sure the audience takes you seriously.

Clothing will be important- but you don’t have to go spend a small fortune. An ironed pair of slacks and a button down shirt with a tie for young men and slacks with a blouse or sweater for young ladies is fine. What’s important is that you are neat, tucked in, and clean. Wrinkled, rumpled and sloppy sends the message that your presentation isn’t important to you- and it won’t be to your audience either.

Here’s the guidelines: Gentlemen- Ties and shirts with a collar are essential. You should wear pants with a belt- no jeans. Wear shoes rather than sneakers. You should be able to borrow all of this if you don’t have it.Ladies: Modest dress is important. No low cut shirts or short skirts. Pants are ok as long as they are dress slacks. Shoes, not sneakers. Makeup should be conservative. NO FLIP FLOPS OR SHOWER SHOES...EVER!

What to include?Introduce yourself

Topic information

Fieldwork

Successes and Struggles


What should you include in your presentation?

First, give a brief introduction of yourself to your audience. Tell them why you chose your topic and what your connection is to it. This might be because it’s something your family does, something that connects to your plans for the future, or something that you are passionate about as a hobby.

You’ll need to give enough information about the topic so your audience will know what you are talking about but do NOT present your entire research paper. The information from your paper may be important but put it into the context of your fieldwork. By that I mean let your audience know how the information connects to the work you did. You can also use it to let the audience know why it’s important for them to know this information.Introduce yourself. Explain what your topic is and why you chose it. Try to connect your topic to your audience- why should they be interested in it as well?

Give a brief explanation of your topic but do NOT present your paper. Pick out the important information from your paper and roll it into your presentation to provide clarity, connect it to your passions or future plans, or explain a process to the audience.

Your fieldwork will be a very important part of your presentation. It’s where most of your learning occurred- or should have! You will want to focus on the process of your fieldwork. Share both your success and your struggles. It’s ok to say “If I could do it over again I would have done ...”

2. Know Your Content

Importance

Relevancy


Your job as a presenter is to be the connection between your content and your audience. This means you have to have a depth of knowledge about your topic. You should know enough about your topic that you can use notes simply to guide your talk- you should not rely on them for content.

3. Connect with Your Audience

Have a conversation

Make eye contact


A presentation should be a conversation. Pay attention to your body language when you are talking with your friends. How can you incorporate some of it into your presentation?

Eye contact is essential. Scanning the room and making eye contact with each person has several purposes:•allows you to see if people are listening/understanding•helps keep audience connected to you•lets you know if you need to use different speaking strategies to engage audience


Watch these two people. The videos are intentionally muted. Without knowing what they are talking about, who would you rather listen to? Why? What actions does each person do that either make you want to listen or make you want to check out?

Be Human

Use YOUR voice

Use Speaking Strategies


You already use speaking strategies when you talk with family and friends. You do all of the following:•change the volume of your voice depending on the message you are sending.•speak more slowly when you are making an important point or you want your audience to calm down•speak more quickly when you want to add excitement

4. Make Yourself EssentialAssume that your audience can read. Don’t insult them by reading everything that’s on the slide. If they can read it, you become unnecessary. Use the presenter notes that are available for every good presentation tool.

Use your slide as a teaser.


This is the biggest mistake ever made in presentations- and it happens all the time.

DO NOT PUT FULL SENTENCES ON YOUR SLIDES (unless it’s a question you will be answering)

NEVER, EVER, EVER, PUT A PARAGRAPH ON THE SLIDE.

You need to be the most interesting part of your presentation. If you just read the slide to your audience you will lose them- plus, you have to turn away from them to do it.

Use text on the slide to introduce a topic, create suspense, or interest the audience in what you’ll be talking about. Make them curious with your slide, not sleepy.

5. Make good use of visuals


Images are very important and should be used as often as possible- as long as they serve a purpose. Some of these purposes are:

Purposes of Images:•illustrating an idea •helping to maintain interest ( but don’t rely on this!) •clarifying a key point• providing an illustrative example •clarifying or simplifying a model •summarizing data •entertaining the audience •providing impact •comparing/contrasting ideas •showing progress along time spans

Make sure your images are crystal clear and simple. The audience needs to have some sort of frame of reference to work from. In the example above (about wiring a light), the image is blurry and has too many labels and working parts. An electrician would understand it- your average audience member would not, even with explanation.


A better visual would be this one. Most audience members will recognize the parts of this system. The image is simple and it is much clearer.

Provide impact


Think about the impace a photo can make. If I was doing my project on poverty and hunger, I could use this photo. It’s very like photos everyone has seen of hungry children - but it fits the rule of relevant, simple, and clear.


A better photo, however, shows the scope of the problem. This is NOT something that people see often. This allows you to illustrate the problem on a much bigger scale.

Compare/Contrast


Photos can be used to compare and contrast. Using them side by side helps show change. These photos show the difference in the Japanese coastline before and after the tsunami in 2011.

Show detail


Photos are a great way to show detail that can’t be seen otherwise. If my topic was about the brain, it would be impossible to show how neurons work. This closeup does the trick.

Video Techniques


Video is also a good way to show parts of your project. Your video should serve one of these purposes:•tell a story from a first person point of view• evoke a feeling or set a tone •show something you can’t show in person • inspire your viewers •create interest in what information will follow from you

Here are a few guidelines about using video:•If you are showing a process, use the video without the sound. Become the narrator and talk about the process as you show the video.•Make sure your video is well edited. Don’t make your audience watch bloopers or wobbly camera views.•If you are using a video with sound, keep it under 3 minutes. Any longer and you will lose your audience.

A Word About Interviews


If you do interviews, you will want to make sure you have a good clear camera angle from the beginning. Do not wander around with the camera - you will create motion sickness in your audience.

Place your interview person facing windows rather than with their backs to windows. Very often you will find that the exposure on your camera will focus on the window and not the person- and your videos will be dark.

If you are skyping, be sure YOU are dressed for the interview. This is not the time for tank tops or sloppy shirts.

If your interview includes images that the person will be talking about, make sure they are clear and crisp.

Do a sound check BEFORE you start the interview. It can be difficult to fix poor sound quality afterwards.

6. Practice!!!


This is the most important part of your presentation. If you do not practice it will be obvious. Practice in the car, in your room, in the shower- wherever and whenever you can.

Practicing will give you the confidence to speak loudly if you are naturally quiet, and to keep the flow of your content moving. You’ll rely less on your notes and more on your own knowledge. Don’t leave this step out!

6 Steps to a Killer Capstone Presentation

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