Presenting.... !

I was the lone audience during the presentation of project outputs of the graduate students taking up urban heritage and conservation. Other than supporting my friends who were presenting that time, my other intention was to observe and give suggestions regarding the improvement of the program.

My observations can be categorized into three areas: presentation, methodology, and analysis. I realized that I have so much to tell about each area so I decided to deal with them in different write ups. This blog deals only with the first area: presentations.

I have always emphasized the importance of doing research but now I realized that students should also be trained to present their research. Just as we try hard to sell objects, we should also learn to sell our ideas. What use is a brilliant idea if it only ends up in a folder or a filing cabinet?

Using presentation software like Microsoft PowerPoint is a great help but this should be treated like cue cards to guide the presenter. I always feel sleepy every time the presenter writes all his script on the slides then reads them verbatim! What the heck - have they never heard of "bullet points"? The presenter is simply sending the message that he is not prepared.

Another observation is the need to go direct to the point. Many students get nervous when presenting their report so I expect them to make it as short as possible. Unfortunately for them (and for us audience) the tendency is to drag the presentation by roaming around the bush. The best is just to state the problem, the process for solving the problem, then the solution (see figure 1). What normally happens is that the problem is not clearly defined, then comes a winding discussion of topics remotely related to the problem, then suddenly the solution is presented out of nowhere (see figure 2).

Figure 1

Figure 2

There is also the need to know when to talk, and when not to talk. Sometimes the panelist prefers that the presenters do not reply to his comments. When presenting, common sense is a great ally. Unfortunately, common sense does not work if the presenter is tired or sleepy. This is why I always advise students never to cram the night before presentations. They can answer better with common sense than with memorized items (which they have the tendency to forget).

I guess these are the basic points to bear in mind when presenting, at least from what I observed in the presentation...