SENG 302 | SE Project Showcase
COSC325 SE Showcase Presentation Guidelines
So what makes for a good presentation? There are no hard and fast rules, but many guidelines have been written by presentation gurus. A web search will give you a lot more information.
The point of the COSC325 Showcase is to give you some time to 'sell' your project, particularly to the examiners (your client group). This is your time to show off your project, highlighting the important features (including the reasons why they are useful). Here are a few guidelines. This list is not exhaustive.
Time
- Keep to time. It is better to stop early than to go over time (and much worse to be stopped by the session chair). You will generally be faster during your practice. Some say a good rule of thumb is that your practice time will be 75% of your actual time.
Audience
- Remember, you are explaining your content to the audience. Know who your audience is and tailor your presentation accordingly. If they are a general computer science audience, do not dumb down the computer science parts. However, you should assume that they probably have no idea of the context of your problem or the low-level details (e.g. exactly how an Eclipse plug-in works). Either explain those parts (if needed), or stick to a more high-level version of the content.
- Reward your audience by giving them a presentation they enjoy. They have invested time to come and see your presentation. Ask the question "Would I willingly want to sit through my presentation?"
Demos
- Demos that work are very impressive. It shows that you have confidence in your system. It also quickly shows people your system (and how it works). BUT - remember to apply Murphy's Law ("everything that can go wrong will go wrong"). Demos that fail look very bad for the group (think of recent examples of big software company demos). All too often you hear "but it worked just yesterday!" coming from the stage.
- Have a backup plan. Do not spend a long time on stage trying to fix the problem. If you choose not to do a demo, think of a movie clip of your system or a series of screen shots.
Audio Visual Aids
- Make your presentation visual, rather than depending on your verbal explanation affecting the audience's imagination. This might be using pictures (screenshots of your system, class diagrams, etc.), movie clips, Flash files, demos etc. This not only saves time (as it is so much easier to just see what is happening), but also makes the presentation less boring.
- Silent movie clips can be boring and uninformative. Some audio explanations (live or recorded) should go with it.
- Computer-based audio visual aids usually need programs, drivers, plug-ins etc to be installed on the presentation computer. Do not try to download the latest Windows Media Player update (or any other software) during your presentation to be able to show the clip! i.e. practice on the presentation computer prior to your presentation.
- Keep movie clips short. They should add to your point, not dominate the presentation.
Introductions
- Keep your team introductions to a minimum. Do not spend half the presentation explaining who is in your team and what they will be presenting. It is better to have your names (perhaps including headshots) on your title slide - then get into the content itself. The audience came to hear your presentation, not who will be presenting what.
Practice
- Practice! Not just individually, but together as a group. Choreograph your presentation (who will do what, when).
- Practice! On the presentation computer, in the presentation room.
- Practice! Lots.
Content
- What do you want the audience to take away from this presentation? How will you highlight these? Do not have a long list of things for them to remember, just the important aspects.
- Structure the content; make it cohesive. Lead the audience through your explanation to the point where they say "ahh, I get it!" or "yes, their reasoning makes sense", or even "I want to use their project now!" An unstructured presentation is painfully obvious.
- After working for a whole year, you will have a lot more content than you can fit into 20 minutes. Choosing exactly what you want to say is a difficult but important task.
Slides
- Keep the slides template simple (uncluttered).
- Keep bullet points to a minimum. Have more pictures/diagrams than text.
- No long text! You don't want your audience reading your slides while you're talking.
- On each slide, ask, "What is the point of this slide? What am I trying to say?" The answer (as a truncated statement) could then be used either as the heading or as the main statement on that slide.
Mindset
- How you feel about your presentation will affect the audience. If you think it is a chore, the audience will feel that way too. Be proud of your achievements and hard work. Be happy and excited to show the audience what you have done. If you do not seem to be interested in your own presentation, no one else will be.
- Remember, it is not just how enthusiastic you are on the inside, but how you portray that enthusiasm to the audience. Most of all, have fun! When you do, there will be a greater chance that others will as well.
- Moffat Mathews
The opinions expressed in this document are those of the author and should be used only as guidelines. They do not necessarily represent those of the University of Canterbury or its council.
If you have any queries regarding this, please email Moffat Mathews
Last modified: Thu Sep 25 10:22:30 NZST 2008