There was a presentation competition where all the students were split into teams of 4 (mine being the last team had 3 members), each team had to give a presentation on a chosen topic. My team's team presentation on Operation/Supply Chain Mgmt. was a big disappointment. Although we had some very good visuals & had aimed at reducing text in the ppt to as low as possible, the judgment panel had a Logistics Prof who grilled us thoroughly.
Although, we didn't quite manage to get to the finals (any surprises here ??), I did managed to compile few tips that need to considered when giving future presentations. This was a collection of feedbacks that our & other teams received from the panel. (after adding Soumak's contribution)
1)1st word of each bullet should be of same case (upper case/lower case).
2) Show slide number, date & ppt title on each title.
3) Diagrams must be easy to read, non-cluttering & not confusing. If too big, cut it & split it to the next slide.
4) To impress the subject expert, try to cover the future trends of the topic.
5) Use humor, but let not the humor be criticizing the topic.
6) Ensure there's a logical structure to your presentation. For instance, it must have a contents & conclusion section.
7) Do not have too much text.
During the presentation:
1) Dress code should be uniform for all the team members.
2) Support a team member if he’s stuck at a particular point.
3) For guys, having hands in the pocket is a big no-no, since it may seem that the presenters are bit laid back for the occasion.
4) Beware of the time constraint.
5) During the presentation, don’t “read out” what’s on the slide. Don’t turn back to the display to refer to it. Look at your laptop in your front to get clues if you are stuck.
6) Its better to not move around. Too movement may distract the audience.
Update on Sep 9th, 2009:
Here's an interested read on this topic: LINK
2 comments:
I would leave some of my observations -
1. In the North American way the lesser movement during presentation the better. Back home, movement was fine but based on feedback its probably better to walk around only when there is a purpose.
2. Starting up with a agenda helps give the audience a perspective of things to come. Its also good to if possible summarize at the end.
3. Commonplace "Slang" usage of words are not welcome, formal language is always safe.
4. Introductions to be "My Team and I .." and not "I and my team ..."
5. The lesser the amount of text the better. Also, its better not to read the slide (the audience, if interested, are reading the same)
6. Good presentations always have a flow to it - so its better to arrange the presentation to have a logical flow and structure which people can understand and follow along.
7. Its good to engage the audience, but this needs to be weighed in terms of time and specifics of the audience (you would not want to ask a CEO too many questions!)
Thanks. Hope this helps. Feel free to correct/change/edit/delete any points !!
Soumak.
Hi !! I'd say a good start at educating and keeping others informed.
Will look foward to reading more about your experiences at Rotman.
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