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We encourage engineers, scientists, and other technical experts to move beyond typical text-heavy, bullet-ridden slides. Replace those poor practices with proven techniques that will make your technical work memorable and useful. Using these slide techniques will improve your speaking skills because you will stop using the slides as a crutch and engage with your audience authentically.
The basics are easy:
- Use sentence headers instead of fragmented headings.
- Avoid bullets when you can.
- Use the Notes pane in your slideware to house extra text.
Here is a list of sources where you can find more information and hone your presentations skills.
Books
Slide Rules: Design, Build, and Archive Presentations in the Engineering and Technical Fields. Authors: Traci Nathans-Kelly and Christine Nicometo. (Wiley, 2014).
The Craft of Scientific Presentations: Critical Steps to Succeed and Critical Errors to Avoid. Author: Michael Alley. (Springer, 2013).
Websites and Recorded Webinars
- http://www.assertion-evidence.com/ (website)
- http://sites.ieee.org/pcs/presentations/ (website)
- “That Bullet is not Magic” (free recorded webinar from IEEE USA)
- “From Page to Stage: Preparing Your Research for Presentations” (free recorded webinar from IEEE USA)
- “The Power of Presentations” (free recorded webinar from IEEE USA)