HIGHER TECHNOLOGICAL INSTITUTE

(HTI)

Technical Report Writing

(MNG 103)
Dr.: Tarek Abbas
Eng. : Tamer
Eng. : Mohamed Adel
Prerequisites: LNG 002

Lecture 6
Spend Enough Time
on Presentation
 Takes time to prepare a presentation.
 Conferences presentation take me 3-4 hours, for 10 minutes.
 Takes longer when you are new
Consider Your Audience

 Make presentation relevant to audience

 i.e. don’t present all math
 Think about following questions
 Who am I addressing?
 What do I have to say?
 What do I want my audience to know?
 What would my audience want to know?
Tell a Story

 Make a logical structure that is similar to a good story.

 Beginning: context of presentation
 Body: develop main points.
 Conclusion: summarize main points, take home message.
Practice, Practice, Practice

 Practice on your own (get timing right)

 Practice giving it to each other.
 Write out the full text you want to say.
 Forces you to think of every aspect
 Helps you commit parts of you presentation to memory
 Make notes of key points and use those during presentation. BUT don’t read a
script, or always look at the screen.
Communicate with Audience

 Look at the audience

 Try to look at everyone, not just one corner of the room.
 If you are nervous pick some spots at the back of the room above people’s heads.
 Be enthusiastic
 Vary the tone of your voice.
 Use humor if it suits you, but don’t force it or over do it. Content is what matters.
How To Speak

 Speak slowly and clearly.

 Take a breath before you move to next slide.
 Take a deep breath (unobtrusively) before you start.
 Try not to say so, ummm or other time fillers too much.
 We all do it, it takes practice.
 Try standing squarely on both feet and keep hands someone still.
What not to do

 Stand on one leg.

 Hit yourself or a table
 Tab your pen
 Turn your back on the audience
 Wave your hands like your talking Italian
 Put your thumbs in your pockets
 Cross your arms and take a football pose
 Try to smile at the audience if you are not too nervous.
Questions

 Be prepared to answer questions from audience.

 Try to get discussion going by having some leading questions.
 If there are different theories , ask audience if they find one more compelling.
Making PowerPoint
Slides

Avoiding the Pitfalls of Bad Slides

Tips to be Covered
 Outlines
 Slide Structure
 Fonts
 Colour
 Background
 Graphs
 Spelling and Grammar
 Conclusions
 Questions
Outline

 Make your 1st or 2nd slide an outline of your

presentation
 Ex: previous slide
 Follow the order of your outline for the rest of
the presentation
 Only place main points on the outline slide
 Ex: Use the titles of each slide as main points
Slide Structure – Good

 Use 1-2 slides per minute of your presentation

 Write in point form, not complete sentences
 Include 4-5 points per slide
 Avoid wordiness: use key words and phrases only
Slide Structure - Bad

 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.
Slide Structure – Good

 Show one point at a time:

 Willhelp audience concentrate on what you are
saying
 Will prevent audience from reading ahead
 Will help you keep your presentation focused
Slide Structure - Bad

 Do not use distracting animation

 Do not go overboard with the animation

 Be consistent with the animation that you use

Fonts - Good

 Use at least an 18-point font

 Use different size fonts for main points and
secondary points
 thisfont is 24-point, the main point font is 28-point,
and the title font is 36-point
 Use a standard font like Times New Roman or Arial
Fonts - Bad

 If you use a small font, your audience won’t be able to read what you have written

 CAPITALIZE ONLY WHEN NECESSARY. IT IS DIFFICULT TO READ

 Don’t use a complicated font

Colour - Good

 Use a colour of font that contrasts sharply with the

background
 Ex: blue font on white background
 Use colour to reinforce the logic of your structure
 Ex: light blue title and dark blue text
 Use colour to emphasize a point
 But only use this occasionally
Colour - Bad

 Using a font colour that does not contrast with

the background colour is hard to read
 Using colour for decoration is distracting and
annoying.
 Using a different colour for each point is
unnecessary
 Usinga different colour for secondary points is also
unnecessary
 Trying to be creative can also be bad
Background - Good

 Use backgrounds such as this one that are attractive but

simple

 Use backgrounds which are light

 Use the same background consistently throughout your

presentation
Background – Bad

 Avoid backgrounds that are distracting or difficult to read from

 Always be consistent with the background that you use
Graphs - Good

 Use graphs rather than just charts and words

 Data in graphs is easier to comprehend & retain than is raw data
 Trends are easier to visualize in graph form

 Always title your graphs

Graphs - Bad

January February March April

Blue Balls 20.4 27.4 90 20.4
Red Balls 30.6 38.6 34.6 31.6
 Graphs - Good

Items Sold in First Quarter of 2002

100
90
80
70
60
Blue Balls
50
Red Balls
40
30
20
10
0
January February March April
Graphs - Bad
100

90
90

80

70

60

Blue Balls
50
Red Balls

38.6
40
34.6
30.6 31.6
30 27.4

20.4 20.4
20

10

0
January February March April
Graphs - Bad

 Minor gridlines are unnecessary

 Font is too small
 Colours are illogical
 Title is missing
 Shading is distracting
Spelling and Grammar

 Proof your slides for:

 speling mistakes
 the use of of repeated words
 grammatical errors you might have make

 If English is not your first language, please have someone

else check your presentation!
Conclusion

 Use an effective and strong closing

 Your audience is likely to remember your last words

 Use a conclusion slide to:

 Summarize the main points of your presentation
 Suggest future avenues of research
Questions??

 Endyour presentation with a simple

question slide to:
 Invite your audience to ask questions
 Provide a visual aid during question period
 Avoid ending a presentation abruptly
 Project proposal
The proposal must contain:
 a title page with title, group number, group member names, and
date.
 An abstract (Objectives – Methods – Expected results)
 a concise overview of what your proposed device is and how it will
work. Include well-labeled figure(s) to illustrate your device concept
(what it will look like, how it works, what it does). Be sure to label
key components in your figures (with concise text and arrows).
 a functional diagram showing all major components and their
connections.
 a list of the proposed components , detailed approximate cost, and
purchased store
 Give a weekly time plan considering the holidays. Show clearly the
planned and actual activities.
The Project Time Plan (Only
Example)