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Professional Skills in Computer ScienceLecture 19: Presentations and Presentation Skills (1)

Ullrich Hustadt

Department of Computer ScienceSchool of Electrical Engineering, Electronics, and Computer Science

University of Liverpool

Ullrich Hustadt COMP110 Professional Skills in Computer Science L19 – 1

Presentations Visual aids Slides Types Structure Introduction Main part Conclusion Preparation

Presentations: Recall

• People remember

20% of what they hear30% of what they see/read50% of what they see and hear70% of what they say and write90% of what they do

• Regarding information presented during a (one hour) lecture,students retain

70% of the first 10 minutes20% of the last 10 minutes

; Are there techniques that can help us improve the recall ofthe audience or at least focus their recall on the importantaspect of a presentation?



Types of presentations

Presentations typically serve one or more of the following purposes:

Purpose: – Information delivery– Information gathering– Instruction– Persuasion

In addition, we can classify presentations along the following ‘scales’:

Medium: Verbal, Verbal with Visual Aids, or Written

Presence: In person — Transmitted — Recorded

Interaction: Monologue — Dialogue

Time: Short — Long

Audience: Small — Large

Setting: Informal — Formal

Preparation: Ad hoc — Scripted



Structure of presentations

• Introduction; motivation, contextualisation, overview

• Main part; main findings, elaboration

• Conclusion; comment on importance of findings, future work, summary



Presentations: Introduction

1 Get the attention of the audienceMake sure that they pay attention

2 Establish a theme / topic

• State the topic of your presentation

• Get to audience to think about the topic of your presentation; Try to relate the topic to something the audience knows /

has experience with

3 Present a structure

• Explain briefly how the presentation will proceed

• Note: This is also a promise to the audience

4 Create a rapport

• Try to win over the audience

• Plan exactly how you wish to appear to them

• Use the introduction to establish that relationship



Presentations: Main part

The main part of a presentation can take various forms including

• Sequential Argument

• Series of linked statement (questions) leading to the conclusion

• Requires frequent reminders of the connection between the statements‘It now follows from what I have just said that . . . ’

• Hierarchical Decomposition

• Break down topics into smaller and smaller sub-topicsLet us now look in more detail at . . . ’

• Summarise each major topic at its conclusion

• Introduce each new topic with an explanation where it lies in the hierarchyHierarchical contextualisation



Presentations: Main part

The main part of a presentation can take various forms including

• Problem Orientated

1 Introduce a problem2 Describe various possible approaches / solutions,

state criteria for judging how good an approach / solution is,state how each approach / solution performs with respect to the criteria

3 Provide a summary with overview of the evaluation,state the preferred approach / solution

4 Discuss related work / consequences

• Pyramid

1 Start with a summary of the whole content of the presentation2 Repeat most of the summary but elaborate on certain aspects3 Repeat step 2 until you run out of time



Presentations: Conclusion

• You want to make a good final impression

• Process:

• Plan you last few sentences in advance

• Get the attention of the audience (again); change of pace; a new visual aid (slide)

• Deliver the conclusion

• The content of the conclusion will depend on the structure of the mainpart of the presentation

• Final culminating argument, thought or idea,leaving that thought on the audience’s mind

• Summary of the discussion in a problem oriented presentation

• Summary of the main points

Do not use the word ’summary’; the audience will switch off



Preparing Presentations

1 Determination of the objectives of the presentation

2 Analysis of the audience

3 Planning

4 Organisation of the material for effective results

5 Preparation of visual aids / handouts

6 Delivery practiceincluding how to answer questions



Seven Principles of Public Speaking

Purpose: Why are you speaking?What do you want audience members to know, think,believe, or do as a result of your presentation?

People: Who is your audience?How do the characteristics, skills, opinions, and behavioursof your audience affect your purpose?

Place: How can you plan and adapt to the logistics of this place?How can you use visual aids to help you achieve yourpurpose?

Isa N. Engleberg: The Principles of Public Presentation.Harper Collins, 1994.




Preparation: Where and how can you find good ideas and informationfor your speech?How much and what kind of supporting materials do youneed?

Planning: Is there a natural order to the ideas and information youwill use?What are the most effective ways to organise your speechin order to adapt it to the purpose, people, place, etc.?





Personality: How do you become associated with your messagein a positive way?What can you do to demonstrate your competence,charisma, and character to the audience?

Performance: What form of delivery is best suited to the purpose ofyour speech?What delivery techniques will make your presentationmore effective?How should you practice?



Presentations Visual aids Slides

Visual aids: Purpose

• Give structure to a presentation

• Provide a point of reference for the speaker and the audience

• Help an audience to remember

• Focus the attention of both audience and speaker

• Reinforce what is said



Visual aids: Categories

What categories of visual aids do you know?



Visual aids: Categories

• Prepared in advance, immutable at time of presentation• Video• Slide projector

• Created or reproduced during presentation, mutable at time ofpresentation

• Flip chart• Chalk/White board

• Dual use• Overhead projector (OHP)• LCD projector (beamer) plus PC / laptop• Interactive white board plus PC / laptop


Presentations Visual aids Slides Structure

Slides: Structure

• Decide on a structure / theme for your slide in advance,then stick to it

• Consider the following questions:

• Does the audience know me (and my affiliation)?If they do not, how important is it for them to remember?

• How important is it that the audience remembers the titleof my presentation?

• How much contextualisation does each slide require?– All slides (except the title slide) should be numbered– Each slide must have a title– The total number slides should be indicated on every slide– If the presentation covers several questions / topics,

then there should be breadcrumbs on every slide

• How many images, graphs, figures, tables do I need to include?Can they be placed consistently?

The answers to these questions influencehow you should structure your slidesUllrich Hustadt COMP110 Professional Skills in Computer Science L19 – 16


Structure: Example (1)











Professional Skills in Computer Science - Handoutsullrich/COMP110/notes/lect19.pdfSlide projector Created or reproduced during presentation, mutable at time of presentation Flip chart

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