Formal Presentations

Students must formally present their work at the end of each term before their peers and the clients.  Not everyone on a team needs to participate at each presentation; however, each team member needs to participate in at least one presentation.

Each formal presentation will be attended by all members of the team giving the presentation and all members of their section of the class.  Those students not participating in a particular presentation will grade the presentations, along with the project supervisor.  All students participating in a presentation receive the same grade.  Peer reviews by the students will be held in confidence and should be filled out carefully with the idea of helping others to know clearly what areas they need to work on and improve.

The client should be invited to each formal presentation, but has no obligation to attend.  They will not participate in the grading of a presentation.

The presentations will usually be held during a single class period, with two teams giving a presentation during the period.  The presentation should last 15-18 minutes, with 3-5 minutes for questions.  The presentation should be made using PowerPoint or some equivalent means of electronic slides.  Any relevant artifact can (and often should) be included in the presentation.  A demonstration of the prototype or implementation should also be included.  The presentation slides and all artifacts to be presented should be available at your project's web site at least 24 hours before the presentation.

Each formal presentation should include significant milestones accomplished since the last presentation (or, in the case of the first presentation, the beginning of the project).  So the first presentation should concentrate on:

�        the problem to be solved

�        the approach taken

�        progress so far

�        demo (if appropriate)

�        lessons learned

�You should include metrics, such as effort expended on different tasks.

Grading Criteria

  • Attire - See below for details
  • Project Purpose - Clear description of the problem and the proposed solution
  • Demonstration - Understandable demonstration of the prototype or implementation to date
  • Progress - Clear understanding the progress made since the last presentation.  (Or in the case, of the first presentation, the progress made since the beginning of the project.)  This should include metrics; a simple way to do this is to show a schedule of effort spent on the project by week
  • Organization - Presentation was organized in a manner that enhanced the audience's understanding
  • Lessons Learned - Described any problems encountered or any lessons learned for next time
  • Presentation materials - Clear, not too much on a slide/screen, readable from the back of the room; appropriate English syntax and grammar used
  • Presentation time - Did not take too little time such that material was explained inadequately or too much such that other team members did not have enough time (speakers should be given an equitable portion of the presentation for the material that they must present)
  • Oral presentation ability - Facing and making eye contact with members of the audience, words and phrases are enunciated clearly, spoke loud enough to be heard (but not too loud), few annoying mannerisms, such as pacing back and forth, saying "uh" after every sentence or word, getting in the way of the presentation materials, and so forth
  • Presentation polish and attitude - Clear that the presentation was rehearsed and ready to go, appropriate English syntax and grammar used, positive attitude and enthusiastic about the presentation, able to handle questions and comments positively

Attire

You should wear "business casual" when making your presentation. That is, you should dress the way you would in a technical company. Mark Ardis has found some specific guidelines on the web:

From Monster Career Center (http://content.monster.com/wlb/articles/attheoffice/newcode/):

  • In general, business casual means dressing professionally, looking relaxed yet neat and pulled together. Business casual is not a license to be sloppy or dress inappropriately. That means no shorts, low-cut shirts, flip-flops, ratty jeans or T-shirts.

From the Yale Club of New York City (http://www.yaleclubnyc.org/code/community/how_dress-code.htm):

  • Business casual dress consists of professional and tasteful clothing you would wear in your workplace. For men this includes:
    • blazers or sport jackets (optional)
    • collared shirts (dress shirts, button downs, golf shirts)
    • turtlenecks or sweaters (including cardigans)
    • tailored trousers (dress slacks, khakis, corduroys)
  • For women this includes:
    • shirts (collared) or blouses with sleeves
    • turtlenecks
    • sweaters and sweater sets
    • skirts or tailored pants
  • Inappropriate attire includes but is not limited to:
    • denim (jeans and jackets)
    • shorts
    • tee shirts (sleeveless shirts, tank tops, halter tops, crop tops)
    • sandals (beach sandals, Birkenstocks, flip flops)
    • athletic wear of any kind (sweatshirts, rugby shirts, sweatpants, leggings, stirrup pants, jogging suits, spandex, lycra, caps)
    • torn clothing (clothing with holes or frayed ends)
    • clothing with offensive or profane language
    • provocative or revealing clothing

Demeanor and Mechanics

Here are some more tips:

Your audience is influenced by many things, including your attitude. They will have a more favorable impression if you appear confident and make eye contact. They will have a less favorable impression if you appear uncertain or avoid making eye contact.

Little things can become serious distractions, so avoid anything that might distract the audience from your presentation. If your screen background is provocative, turn off the display with F5 while you are starting up your laptop.

Be sure to turn off your screen saver while giving the presentation. Otherwise, your audience will get the impression that you don't care enough about the presentation to change a simple setting.

Patrick Winston has a nice list of heuristics for lecturing that includes some useful advice for any talk involving slides:

  • Decide what you want to say on a transparency and say less. Avoid small print that no one can read. You are speaking, so there should be little or nothing to read anyway.
  • Never read a transparency. Reading a transparency will drive about 20% of your audience nuts. Paraphrase instead.
  • Stand near the projected image. Do not force the viewer to divide his attention.
  • Prepare drawings carefully. Neat drawings, particularly in color, create the impression that the lecturer cares. Use color. Care.