ENGG1500
Presentation Skills
Dr Simon Iveson
School of Engineering
University of Newcastle
Includes material developed by:
Alice Howe, School of Engineering, 2008
Geoffrey Evans, School of Engineering, 2011
12:51 2
COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA
Copyright Regulations 1969
WARNING
This material has been copied and communicated to you by or on behalf of the
University of Newcastle pursuant to Part VB of the Copyright Act 1968 (the Act)
The material in this communication may be subject to copyright under the Act.
Any further copying or communication of this material by you may be the subject
of copyright protection under the Act.
Do not remove this notice
Engineers Need Presentation Skills
You may need to give presentations in a
range of settings:
• Team meetings
• Management
• Clients
• Public forums
• Conferences
• Universities – guest speaker
• Universities – lecturer
12:51 4
Lecture Content
• Tips on how to prepare and deliver an effective
presentation.
• Much may seem common sense, but often
overlooked.
• This may be the only lecture on this topic in your
entire degree program!
• Keep these notes – they will be useful
throughout your career.
12:51 5
“Those that can do;
Those that can’t teach.”
George Bernard Shaw

12:51 6
Presentation

Lecture
“Do as I say, not as I do.” 
12:51 7
Less
is More
12:51 9
Same Slide in a Lecture
12:51 10
Less is More
• Minimise the amount of text on slides.
• Only put enough key words to prompt
you what to say next.
• Then audience will be able to focus on
what you are saying, rather than being
distracted trying to read and understand
what is written on the slide.
12:51 11
Four “P”s of Effective Presentations
 Purpose
– Identify aims
– Select content
 Prepare
 Practice
 Present
12:51 12
Purpose: Identify your Aims
• What is your Purpose?
• Who are your Audience?
• How much Time do you have?
 These determine:
– the key topics &
– how long to spend on each.
12:51 14
Select Key Content
• Focus only on key results and findings.
• Select diagrams, figures and/or tables that
summarise the key points you want to make.
• Don’t try to say everything in your project report.
12:51 15
ENGG1500 Presentation Planning
• Assume audience includes client and also local
community who want to know about your
proposed design.
• Purpose is to:
– Inform the public about your work.
– Persuade client to implement your proposal.
12:51 16
ENGG1500 Presentation Content
• Suggested topics include:
– Introduce project brief and background.
– Explain your final design – size, materials,
how it works.
– Economic analysis.
– Environmental impact (Life Cycle Analysis).
– Ethical, social impact.
– Construction details.
– Project implementation plan.
– Final conclusions & recommendations.
• Small groups will not be able to cover all topics.
12:51 17
ENGG1500 Presentation Content
• Do NOT describe ideas you considered but
rejected.
 Wastes time.
 Confuses audience.
12:51 18
Four P’s of Effective Presentations
 Purpose
 Prepare
– Talk structure
– Slide layout
 Practice
 Present
12:51 20
Talk Structure & Dynamics
12:51 21
Talks are delivered to audiences
with limited attention spans
Audience attention curve
12:51 22
Start broad, get specific, end broad
The middle is the meat of the talk…
12:51 23
Getting specific
Nontechnical
General
technical
Specialist
Nontechnical
General
technical
Specialist
 
12:51 24
Structure of a Presentation
• Title Slide
• Introduction
• The Body
– Point 1
– Point 2
– …
• The Conclusion
• Thanks and Acknowledgments
• Questions
12:51 26
Introductory “Hook”
• Try to “hook” the audience’s attention at the start
of a presentation e.g.
– Rhetorical question.
– Controversial statement.
– Challenging statistic.
– Personal anecdote.
– Reference to contemporary event.
– Video clip.
– Cartoon or joke (be careful).
 Provides well rehearsed confident introduction.
 Refer to later in talk if possible e.g. conclusion.
12:51 27
Introduction
• Give outline of presentation in first few slides.
• Shows main points of presentation.
• Useful as a “home slide” at major talk transitions.
• Lets audience see progress.
Four P’s of Effective Presentations
 Purpose
 Prepare
 Practice
 Present
12:51 28
home slide
• Use home slide repeatedly to build a theme and
enable the audience to catch up.
• Also a good time to swap speakers.
Nontechnical
General
technical
Specialist
Uses for Home Slides
12:51 29
The Body
• Limit how much you cover.
• Allow at least 30 s per slide.
• BUT Key slides may be 1 – 5 min!
• Present material in a logical order.
e.g. describe the details of your final design
(size, location, how it works) before topics like
economic analysis and environmental impact.
12:51 30
Audience attention increases as you
signal the end of the talk 
BUT avoid false endings as this
annoys people! 
Audience attention curve
12:51 31
Conclusions (& Recommendations)
• Use an effective and strong closing
– Audience more likely to remember your finish
• Use conclusion slide to:
– Summarize main points
– Suggest future research
– Make recommendations
12:51 32
At End of Talk
• Acknowledgements
• Thank audience
• Invite questions (where appropriate)
Class Exercise
• Identify at least three (3) things you have seen
work well and work badly during presentations.
• Good ideas:
• Bad ideas:
12:51 33
12:51 34
Four P’s of Effective Presentations
 Purpose
 Prepare
– Talk structure 
– Slide layout
 Practice
 Present
35
Slide Structure
• Big, bold title
• Low-key background
• Include corporate logo?
• Number slides to make it easy to find
them when audience refers to them
• Uncluttered
• Some colour can add life to the slide
and make it aesthetically pleasing
Presentation Skills
12:51 35
Slide Backgrounds
• Avoid busy background patterns. Just makes
text harder to read.
12:51 36
© John Wiley and Sons Australia
Avoid busy slide background
37
Which do you prefer?
12:51 38
Light
on
Dark
Dark
on
Light
Font and Background Colour
Many experts feel that white on a
dark blue or black background works
best for talks in a large room.
12:51 39
12:51 40
Font and Background Colour
• Dark letters against a light background may be
best for smaller rooms.
 Also makes printed lecture notes simpler.
Bad Colour Combinations
• Some colour combinations just don’t work!
• Sometimes combinations that look OK on
your monitor look terrible on a big screen.
12:51 41
Opposite Colours on Colour Wheel
give Best Contrast
BUT Avoid Red-Green: common colour blindness.
12:51 42
http://www.tigercolor.com/color-lab/colortheory/images/color-wheel-300.gif
Red on Green
Yellow on Purple
Orange on Blue
Purple on Yellow
Blue on Orange
Green on Red 
Text Layout
• Use consistent layout and style.
• Keep to 3-5 points per slide.
• Use bullet points, not sentences.
• Text blocks maximum two lines each.
12:51 43
12:51 44
Avoid Long Paragraphs of Text
This page contains too many words for a
presentation slide. It is not written in point form,
making it difficult both for your audience to read
and for you to present each point. Although
there are exactly the same number of points on
this slide as the previous slide, it looks much
more complicated. In short, your audience will
spend too much time trying to read this
paragraph instead of listening to you.
12:51 45
Text Spacing – bad
• If you have a set of points
• space them out on the slide
• rather than in one corner
12:51 46
Text Spacing – good
• If you have a set of points
• space them out on the slide
• rather than in one corner
12:51 47
Be generous with empty space
12:51 48
Font Size
If you use a small font, your audience won’t be able to read what you have written.
Font size should be at least 18 points, preferably larger.
20 point
24 point
28 point
32 point
36 point
* Citing sources can be in small font
12:51 49
Font Choice
• Use a standard sans-serif font like:
– Calibri
– Arial
– Tahoma
• Avoid complex flowery fonts. They are harder to read.
12:51 50
Font Formats
To emphasize important words:
• Use bold and/or colour. 
• Italics is OK. 
• Avoid underlining.
• AVOID WRITING IN CAPITALS. 
12:51 51
Progressive Revelation
• Avoid overloading your audience with too much
information at once.
• Reveal information in small manageable chunks
that can be easily absorbed.
• Principle can be applied to both text and
diagrams.
12:51 52
Animating Text
• Showing one point at a time will:
– Focus attention
– Prevent reading ahead
 Keeps your presentation focused
BUT
– Animations take time and can distract.
– Harder to step through slides quickly.
Animation Tips
• Keep text animations simple.
• Avoid overusing animation – it can be distracting.
• Be consistent with animation.
• Never use “Random” effect.
• Same principles apply for slide transitions.
12:51 53
Complex Diagrams
Mag Sep Effluent
Make-up water
15 w
14 s
18 s
191 w
130 s
302 w
16 x 0
Plant
Feed
Sump
30 % solids
56 s
27 w
16 x 4
99 s
445 w
366 s
674 w
ROM
16 x 0
P-
03
120 s
346 w
170 s
490 w
6 s
60 w
P-
01
21 s
21 w
P-
02
120 w
10 m
head??
20 m
head??
25 m
head??
RC
2020
1440
74 s
275 w
4 x 0 170 s
490 w
50 s
144 w
50 s
223 w
49 s
222 w
32 s
32 w
Fluidising
Water
Sump
to floor sump, which pumps
back to main plant feed sump
130 w
10 w
50 s
144 w
Cyclones
4 s
46 w
14 s
145 w
366 s
674 w
To CPP
16 x 0
Cone
Mag Sep Effluent
Make-up water
15 w
14 s
18 s
191 w
130 s
302 w
16 x 0
Plant
Feed
Sump
30 % solids
56 s
27 w
16 x 4
99 s
445 w
366 s
674 w
ROM
16 x 0
P-
03
120 s
346 w
170 s
490 w
6 s
60 w
P-
01
21 s
21 w
P-
02
120 w
10 m
head??
20 m
head??
25 m
head??
RC
2020
1440
74 s
275 w
4 x 0 170 s
490 w
50 s
144 w
50 s
223 w
49 s
222 w
32 s
32 w
Fluidising
Water
Sump
to floor sump, which pumps
back to main plant feed sump
130 w
10 w
50 s
144 w
Cyclones
4 s
46 w
14 s
145 w
366 s
674 w
To CPP
16 x 0
Cone
Use Colour to Simplify Diagrams
P-
01
366 s
674 w
To CPP
16 x 0
130 s
302 w
16 x 0
56 s
27 w
16 x 4
74 s
275 w
366 s 4 x 0
674 w
ROM
16 x 0
Plant
Feed
Sump
30 % solids
Cone
Display Complex Diagrams in Stages
Project 1 PFD: 4 × 0 mm Supply Circuit
120 s
346 w
170 s
490 w
P-
01
21 s
21 w
P-
02
RC
2020
170 s
490 w
74 s
275 w
4 x 0
50 s
144 w
99 s
445 w
Cone
Project 1 PFD: Main RC Circuit
120 s
346 w
170 s
490 w
P-
01
21 s
21 w
P-
02
RC
2020
170 s
490 w
74 s
275 w
4 x 0
50 s
144 w
120 w
P-
03
Fluidising
Water
Sump
18 s
191 w
49 s
222 w
32 s
32 w
50 s
223 w
99 s
445 w
Cone
6 s
60 w
Project 1 PFD: Fluidising Water Circuit
120 s
346 w
170 s
490 w
P-
01
21 s
21 w
P-
02
RC
2020
170 s
490 w
74 s
275 w
4 x 0
50 s
144 w
120 w
P-
03
Fluidising
Water
Sump
18 s
191 w
49 s
222 w
32 s
32 w
50 s
223 w
99 s
445 w
Cone
4 s
46 w
14 s
145 w
10 w
Cyclones
to floor sump, which pumps
back to main plant feed sump
130 w
15 w
14 s
Mag Sep Effluent
Make-up water
6 s
60 w
Project 1 PFD: De-watering Circuit
12:51 63
Declutter Tables
• Reducing the number of borders makes the
table easier to read:

Move repeated words up
into column heading.
12:51 64
Graphs & Figures
• Graphs better than numbers and words:
– Trends easier to visualise
– Results easier to remember
12:51 66
Graphs – bad
20.4
27.4
90
20.4
30.6
38.6
34.6
31.6
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
January February March April
Blue Balls
Red Balls
12:51 68
Graphs – better
Balls Sold in First Quarter of 2002
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
January February March April
Blue Balls
Red Balls
Monthly Sales
12:51 70
Graphs – better still
Balls Sold in First Quarter of 2002
0
20
40
60
80
100
January February March April
Blue Balls
Red Balls
Monthly Sales
Improving Scanned Figures
for Reports
71
Figure 2.1: Equilibrium adsorption of
vapours on activated carbon (Treybal, 1985).
kg adsorbed/kg carbon
Equilibrium partial pressure (mm Hg)
Figure 2.1
 
Benzene
100 ºC
Improving Scanned Figures
for Presentations
72
Adsorption of Benzene on Activated
Carbon at 100 °C (Treybal, 1985).
kg adsorbed/kg carbon
Equilibrium partial pressure
(mm Hg)
Benzene
100 ºC
0 0.4
300
Improving Scanned Figures
for Presentations
73
Adsorption of Benzene on Activated
Carbon at 100 °C (Treybal, 1985).

kg adsorbed/kg carbon
Equilibrium partial pressure
(mm Hg)
200
0 0.4
100
Citations & References
• Presentations less formal than reports.
• Cite sources using small font.
• Only read citation if you wish to emphasize that
the work is not your own.
• Audience can ask later or read report if they
want to know more details.
• If hardcopy of your presentation slides is being
made available, then include full list of
references at the end.
12:51 74
12:51 75
Features to Avoid
• Avoid using sound effects
in Power Point.
• Embedded programs
and action buttons are for
advanced users only.
• Use photos and clip art
where appropriate to add
interest or tell the story.
• Refrain from trite clip art.
12:51 77
Spelling and Grammar
• You don’t want your mistakes magnified up on
the wall for everyone to see!
• Proof read your slides for:
– speling mistakes
– the use of of repeated words
– grammatical errors you might have make
• Have someone else check your slides.
12:51 78
Do you need PowerPoint?
12:51 80
Can You Use More than Power Point?
• How else can you help your audience to get it?
– Video clips
– Printed handouts and leaflets
– Models, samples, etc.
– Physical demonstrations
– Drama
– Others …?
• Select most appropriate media to achieve aim.
• Only use two or three types to avoid distraction
and time wastage.
• YouTube: “Life after death by PowerPoint”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpvgfmEU2Ck
&feature=youtu.be
12:51 82
12:51 83
Four P’s of Effective Presentations
 Purpose
 Prepare
 Practice
 Present
Preparation of Slides

Practice
12:51 84
12:51 85
Practice is Important
• Clarify what you will say.
• Check communication is clear.
• Check time limit.
• Increase confidence.
• Reduces need for notes and hence enables
more eye contact with audience.
12:51 86
Things to Practice
• Opening line.
• Breathing deeply.
• Opening your mouth two fingers wide.
• Project voice to back of room.
• Speak calmly and slowly.
• Pronunciation of unfamiliar terms.
• Use of pauses, and variations in power, pace
and pitch to emphasise important points.
• Moving around stage (but don’t pace).
• Interaction with computer, screen and pointer.
12:51 88
Get Feedback
• Ask friends to give feedback on structure,
content and style.
• Record yourself and review:
– Note any distracting habits, nervous twitches,
ums, ahs, etc.
– Did you look at all parts of the audience?
– Was your writing on the board clear?
Demonstration Presentation
• Watch the following video clip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATfY8dvbuFg
• Make two lists of things that need fixing:
Technical issues Performance issues
12:51 89
• Bad choice of background
colour
• Bad choice of fonts
• Too many unnecessary and silly
animations
• Irrelevant and unprofessional
pictures
• Inconsistent font style
• Overcrowded slides
• No reference list at the end
• Speaking too fast
• Unsure of technology
• Playing on phone & drinking
beforehand.
• Not letting people answer
questions.
• …
12:51 90
Four P’s of Effective Presentations
 Purpose
 Prepare
 Practice
 Present
12:51 91
Coming on Stage
• Don’t rush to start talking.
• Audience can wait while you:
– get into position
– clip on the microphone
– set up props
– check the data-projector is focussed
– have a sip of water, etc.
• Once set, then look up at audience and begin.
Do You Fear Public Speaking?
“According to most studies, people’s
Number One Fear is Public Speaking.
Number Two Fear is death. Death is
Number Two!!!
Now, this means, to the average
person, if you have to go to a funeral,
you’re better off in the casket than
doing the eulogy!!”
Jerry Seinfeld monologue,
episode 61 of Seinfeld.
12:51 92
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Seinfield
12:51 93
Dealing with Nervousness
• Use positive visualisation techniques
• Know your surroundings
• Know the audience
• Know the material
• Assume a confident attitude
• Relax and breathe deeply; loosen jaw
• Make a strong start
• Focus on your message
• Use your nervousness to give you an edge
• Gain experience e.g. “Toastmasters”
12:51 95
If Computer Freezes or Bulb Blows …
• Remain calm and consider options:
– Call a technician?
– Ask MC for time extension?
• If re-booting computer:
– Ask a colleague to do it.
– Blank projector.
• While you wait:
– Choose one important thing to communicate.
– If helpful briefly sketch diagram on white-board.
– Discuss this result and then conclude talk.
• Be prepared for technology failure.
12:51 97
Speaking Clearly
• Language:
– adopt the KISS principle
• Voice:
– talk to your points (let them lead you)
– speak clearly and at a moderate pace
– speak naturally, rather than reading or
memorising
– project your voice
12:51 98
Body Language
• Non-verbal cues are important.
• Dress appropriately.
• Stand tall and act confident.
• Smile and make eye contact.
• Exaggerate gestures and expressions when
speaking to a large audience.
• Move around stage – approach the audience to
be more intimate.
• Keep hands free – not crossed or in pockets.
• Control distracting habits.
12:51 99
The Four Ps of Getting Attention
Pause
Power
Pace
Pitch
Other Ways to Get Attention
Repetition
Blank the screen
Avoid overuse.

12:51 104
Interacting with Slides
• Talk to the audience, not the screen.
• Don’t just read slides – use them to prompt you.
• Don’t block the audience’s view.
• Use a laser, mouse or stick to point to the
screen, rather than stand in front of it.
• Don’t change slides too quickly. Aim for ~ 1-2
slides per minute.
• Explain what graphs and figures show. If they
are worth showing, then they are worth
explaining. If not, ditch them.
12:51 106
Items Sold in First Quarter of 2002
0
20
40
60
80
100
January February March April
Blue Balls
Red Balls
Monthly Sales
12:51 107
Avoid Split-Attention Effect
In this work, we have
assumed A = B+C, but
not when there is too
much of D
12:51 109
Avoid Split-Attention Effect
• When new screen content appears:
– Stop talking while audience reads it
OR
– Read it out loud with them as they look at it
• If you don’t have time for this, then delete
content from your presentation!
• Blank the screen when you wish the audience to
focus exclusively on what you are saying.
12:51 110
Mental Blanks?
• If you suddenly have a mental blank and don’t
know what to say next, then:
– Don’t panic!
– Read the statement on the power point.
– Move onto the next point.
Class Exercise
• Identify at least three (3) things you have seen
work well and work badly during presentations.
• Good ideas:
• Bad ideas:
12:51 111
12:51 112
Audience Interaction
• Note how your audience is reacting.
• If they look confused:
– Re-phrase or clarify things.
– Ask if they need a re-explanation.
• If they look bored:
– Have a break?
– Change of pace, power or pitch?
– Skip to a new section?
Questions from the Audience
• Be prepared for the possibility of questions
during your presentation.
• Welcome questions with a positive attitude:
– opportunity to re-explain yourself
– may provide useful ideas.
• You decide whether to answer immediately,
later in presentation, or discuss afterwards.
– Confusion: perhaps answer then.
– Confrontation: deal with later.
12:51 113
12:51 114
To Answer Questions
• Anticipate the types of questions you will be
asked and plan your responses.
• Listen carefully.
• Repeat back the question in your own words:
– Checks you’ve understood
– Ensures rest of audience hears
– Buys you time to think
• If you don’t understand the question, ask once
for clarification. If still unclear, then offer to talk
with the person afterwards.
12:51 115
Questions (cont.)
• Answer concisely without rushing.
• If you know answer will take too long, say so and
offer to discuss it with the questioner afterwards,
rather than boring the rest of the audience.
• Minimise time spent searching for slides:
 Enter a slide number and hit enter to quickly
jump to other slides in a presentation.
• After answer, check that you have answered the
intent of their question.
12:51 116
Responding to Criticism
• Thank the questioner.
• Do not be aggressive.
• Do not be defensive.
• If a simple misunderstanding, then try once to
resolve issue.
• If still confusion, don’t argue. Invite them to
discuss afterwards.
• If you are wrong, then freely admit it.
• If you are unsure, don’t evade or make
something up. Promise to get back to them once
you have checked.
12:51 117
Keep to Time
• Looks bad if the MC has to cut you off.
• Annoys audience and following speakers.
• Disrupts program schedule.
• Deprives colleagues of opportunity to present.
• Can insert timer in bottom corner to keep track
of time (NB: PowerPoint only refreshes time
when slide first put up).
12:51 120
If Time is Runing Out?
• Don’t talk faster!
• Calmly skip to the most important slide to finish.
• Emphasize key points and final conclusions.
• Important skill for last speaker(s) in team as they
will be up against the clock.
12:51 121
Speaking in Teams
• Consistent dress code.
• Use strongest speakers to open and close.
• Rehearse speaker transitions:
– Summarise your section
– Lead in to the next person’s section
– Introduce next speaker
• Don’t put down other members of your team.
• Other team members focus on team’s speaker.
12:51 122
Team Time Keeper
• Practice your presentation as a team.
• Someone in group should keep track of time.
• Prompt team mates when they have reached
their time limit.
• A good job for the last speaker, so that they
make sure they get enough time.
Learn from Experience
• After your presentation make some notes for
next time before you forget:
– What worked well?
– What didn’t work – why not?
– What could you have done to better plan and
prepare?
12:51 123
12:51 124
Common Causes of Poor Presentations
• Slides:
– Too busy/crowded.
– Distracting/irrelevant/poor quality visuals
• Failure to keep audience attention:
– Reading straight off your slides
– Lack of audience rapport (poor eye contact)
– Material pitched too high or too low
• Poor time management
– Skipping slides before content is absorbed
– Rushing at end
• Lack of familiarity with equipment
12:51 125
Four P’s of Effective Presentations
 Purpose
 Prepare
 Practice
 Present