Presentation skillsZinayida Petrushyna

Chair of Computer Science 5 – Databases & Information Systems,RWTH Aachen University, Germany

Ana Loureiro

Department Educative Technologies, School of Education - Polytechnic Institute of Santarém Fellow Researcher @ CIDTFF - University of Aveiro

8th Joint European Summer School on TEL May 24, 2012, Estoril, Portugal

How to give a scientific talk The beginning :

„when i was in MIT“ allusions of famous people

The middle : impress audience with how much data do you have

The end : make generalizations

The question and answer period :

„That is extremely perceptive question which we have, of course, considered but which we discarded for obvious reasons.“

Meshnick,Steven R. and Eaton, John W.(1989) „How to give a scientific talk“, The Red Cell.

Seventh Ann Arbor Conference

Basics

Eye contact Open body language Gestures Usage of tools Pauses Audience „Ask your audience to count 2+2!“ – Billy Wilders

7% content - 38% voice - 55% body language

Mehrabian, Albert (1971). Silent Messages (1st ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. 

Your task

For speakers: Pick up your topic. You have one minute to talk about the fact stated in

your piece of paper. Start as soon as you read the statement. Don‘t forget basics of the presentation skills.

For audience: Give feedback. Use sandwich principle:

notice good points, after that talkabout some bad points of the presentation and end up with good points again.

Presentation language

No passive „Yes, we can!“

Verbs are better Neutral can be seen as negative

„We may check this approach“ Short vs. long sentences

Story is important!

A narrative with historical background Crisis A disappointment/frustration A Possibility A crossroad A challenge

Atkinson, Cliff(2005). Erzählen statt Aufzählen. Microsoft Press Deutschland

A narrative with historical background

We are looking back to an event or a process within which something

important was created or found. And we keep this line.

Example: Describe the process of classical beer brewing and go on with

your DIY approach of brewing.

A crisis

We should react on dangers that threaten us.

Example: We are threatened by garbage islands appearing all over the

world. Engineers are looking for new recycling techniques to avoid

ecological catastrophe.

A disapointment/frustration

We made a decision based on the data we had. Now we know that the

decision was not correct and we are looking for alternatives.

Example: Accidents on nuclear power plants made a lot of European

politicians to rethink decisions concerning nuclear power in their countries

and support the development of alternative energy technologies.

A Possibility

We know more than before and see new possibilities that we can try.

Example: The appearance of Semantic Web and Linked Data initiative let us

semantically compare content in information systems.

A crossroad

We managed to solve our problems by well-established processes or

techniques but now there are alternatives that we can consider and we

should decide what techniques we should choose.

Example: constructivism and social constructivism

A challenge

Somebody else managed to perform something challenging that affect our work. Can we do the same? Can we do better?

Example: First water-resistant smartphone manufacture established the new niche in the market of mobile phone products and engaged other mobile makers in to developing water-resistant smartphones.

Homework

Describe an example or a use case from your

thesis using one of the story types.

Fight the stage fright!

Where are you going to present?

Check the room:where the audience sits;where are the lights;where are you going to stand.

Who is your audience? What are you presenting?

Train your speech. How are you presenting?

Check your tools and be ready to present without tools if any technical problem appears.

Wrap-up tips