Tutorial 2: Creating an Effective Presentation

In the words of Robert Frost, "Half the world is composed of those who have something to say but can't; the other half is of those who have nothing to say and keep on saying it."  A presentation isn't just giving a speech and reading off of PowerPoint slides.  Effective presentations are appealing to the senses.  You want to create a media rich presentation.  Some effective tools are video, audio, and graphics.

1. PLAN AHEAD:  

It is best to plan ahead when creating a presentation.  While there are those that can jump right in, your presentation will be easier to create if you plan ahead.  You're going to want to brainstorm and come up with as many ideas as possible.  Explore the many resource available.  YouTube is an excellent resource for a variety of information.  Doing your research ahead of time will help you create a presentation that flows.  

2. STORY TIME: 

After you have completed your research, it's time to put pen to paper.  The best way to organize your ideas is to create a storyboard.  The storyboard contains the ideas for each slide you will be presenting.  You can create a storyboard with a variety of techniques.  You can use a "Paint" program on your computer, a word processor, or even pen and paper.  You should take note of the things you will say and when they should be said.  You should also show where graphics and audio will be placed.  The storyboard is designed to help you organize your ideas.  Write anything that will help you organize the flow of your presentation.

4. LETS GET DIGITAL:  
It's time to start using technology.  Two popular software programs that are used to create presentations are PowerPoint and KeyNote.  Don't be afraid to explore the tools.  There are many tutorials on using these programs available.  The "help" function will answer most questions you may come across.

 

Source:  www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMGmevekJwQ

4B. IMPORTANT TIPS:  

     I. Introduction:  You only have 30-60 seconds to capture your audiences attention.  I personally find it best to use famous quotes for an introduction.  Did the first sentence of this tutorial grab your attention?  The introduction must make your audience think.  Sometimes, asking your audience a question is an effective technique.  You want to get the wheels turning.

     II. Words:  When creating slides, appearance is everything.  Clutter distracts your audiences attention.  When creating slides, less is more.  Only put the key points in your slide.  The slides aren't there for you to read off of.  Limit your slides to about 6 lines.  They are there to enforce what you are saying.  Use a font that can be easily read.  The font I am using is called "Helvetica."  Simple font will make the words pop out more.    

     III. Graphics:  Instead of words, you can use pictures to get your point across.  Visual representations help embed an image into your audiences mind.  Try not to put a collage of pictures on the slide; that can be distracting.  One picture that takes up the slide is usually all your audience will need to get your point.  Use photos with a high resolution.  This will help you avoid ending up with pixelated images after you edit the photo.  Always cite your sources and ALWAYS GET PERMISSION TO USE COPY RIGHTED GRAPHICS.

 Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTYtLCLCb6w

The importance of verbal and graphic cues is explained starting at 3:00.

5. PRESENTATION TIME:  

When presenting, you can either do it live or digitally.

     

    I. Digital Presentation:  There are many software and online programs available to help you create an effective digital presentation.  Some of these programs include Camtasia Studio, Prezi, and VUVOX.  Don't be afraid to experiment.  There are tutorials available that will help you accomplish your goals in mind.  You should try to acquire the best quality microphone within your price range.  Sound quality can affect the meaning of your presentation.  You want your audience to hear you clearly.  Take your time and speak slow.  Don't just read off the slides.  Say what you're going to say and then show it.  After your presentation is completed, it's time to share it.  Websites like YouTube allow you to upload your videos for the world to see.

    II. Live Presentation:  Actions speak louder than words.  Relax when you are presenting.  Your audience can sense your nervousness.  They may find your claim to be less valid because of your nervousness.  Don't be stiff.  Humans use their body movements for a great deal of communication.  Don't stand still.  Move around if the venue permits.  Use hand gestures to help get your point across.  When presenting, speak clearly and slowly.  We often speak faster in nervous situations.  Slowing it down will help your audience absorb the information.

Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJgeF3ALl0g

I hope this tutorial helps you along your journey of creating an effective presentation.  The best presentations are those that get the audience involved.  The more they are thinking, the more they will remember.  If the presentation is effective, your audience will remember your thoughts long after they've gone.

Excel Project

The Excel Project was a great experience.  The project made understanding Excel easy with the real-world situation.  The project entailed analyzing data for the owner of a large fitness center.  The study included 500 participants that had their heart rates measured while they exercised for 15 minutes and had a 5 minute cool down.  There are 21 heart rate measurements for each participant taken over a 20 minute period.

The project required the use of many Excel skills.  A variety of formulas had to be created to find the necessary data needed.  Some of the data needed was: the maximum heart rate, target heart rate, highest heart rate, increase in heart rate, and whether the target heart rate was achieved.  The raw data had to be properly formatted and sorted.  During the project, I learned how to correctly produce formulas.  I soon found at that absolute and relative cell addressing were extremely important to get correct.  I found that the Excel help function was very useful when I came across troubled tasks.

Pivot tables were also created to help make data analysis more visual.  Pivot tables were made for the amount of participants that reached their target heart rate and the average percentage of increase of heart rates.  The pivot tables were very intuitive and interactive.  It made setting up the pivot table easy.  A screen capture of the average increase of heart rates is bellow.  This Excel Project has expanded my knowledge of the program.  I now feel confident creating reports for my manager.