Engineers solve problems. Finding a solution is only a small part of the work. The more challenging aspect is conveying your solution to others and convincing others (colleagues/peers) that your solution is the ‘best’ for your particular problem. I have given a handful of presentations at engineering conferences, and have been in the audience for many others, so I thought I would give my two cents on the matter.

Presentation Pitfalls

There are a few presentation pitfalls that should be avoided (at all costs):

• Proof by Intimidation - In the process of developing your solution, you will likely learn about (advanced) topics that your team/peers have not. So, it is temping to impress others with quickly referencing new acronyms, terminology or notation without taking the time to explain it (or taking time for the audience to absorb it). This will likely intimidate your peers to accepting your idea due to something called ‘proof by intimidation,’ meaning they aren’t quite sure, but it looks technical and professional, so it’s probably right. This is bad. You should be conveying knowledge to your team and seeking an educated discussion afterwards from your peers, rather than just impressing them. The goal of your presentation should be to gain input from your peers in order to further improve yourself, so make sure to lead your audience down a path where they know how to contribute.

• Information Overload - You have done a ton of research and want to share as much information as you can in your presentation. So you load your slides with as many bullets as possible, and multiple charts and graphs (high information density). Don’t do this. Too much information on a slide will do two things: cause people to read your slides (because they are searching for something), or cause people to play with their phone (because you have just blasted them with more information than they want to absorb). Humans can only focus their attention on one thing at a time, make sure it is you, not your slides.

• Monotone Voice - As a presenter, you are the upper-bound for the amount of excitement in the room. If you are quiet and are just talking casually, then you come across as somewhat uninterested and no one else will be either. Be over-the-top excited so that you are not the limiting factor to your audience’s interest/excitement.

• Avoiding ‘Why’ - Just saying “My solution does this, and that, and …” (‘the how’) is important, but not interesting. People care about how you arrived at your solution more than your actual solution. Why did you make this choice? What was hard about that part? ‘Why’ is a very important question (arguably the most important) because others can learn from your experience, so make sure you address it. Explaining what didn’t work is just as important (and often more enlightening) than what did work.

• Skipping Around - Nobody likes a story with plot-holes, and presenting a solution is no different. Make your presentation read like a story. It must flow as you progress forward in order to keep your audience’s attention. Don’t reference detailed information a few slides back, don’t talk about things that haven’t been properly introduced. Once an audience member is lost, they stop paying close attention, start thinking about their cat, and it is much more difficult to win them back later.

Presentation Tips

Here are a few take-aways to always keep in mind when making presentations:

• Know your audience and speak their language (no, I don’t just mean English). Using foreign words/terminology without explanation will often cause people to clap but not ask questions. Questions are good.

• Keep your slides simple. Use sentence fragments (not full sentences) and legible figures. Make sure to have things to say that are not word-for-word written on the slides, so that the focus is on you.

• Turn your solution into a story. People like stories, they work at capturing attention. Make your solution into a protagonist and have an antagonist, a climax and a resolution.

• Practice your presentation in front of some colleagues and get their feedback. A story might make sense from your perspective, but you are not telling the story just to yourself. Be sure to include other’s feedback.

• Have fun! You are the upper-bound for the amount of excitement in the room. Be cognizant of the energy you are projecting, it matters.

Presenting a technical subject to peers is challenging. There will always be too much information to talk about, so break your solution down into core pieces and then weave them together into a story. Aim to make your story as simple as possible so that your audience can follow along. Simple is hard, but in the end, you will not only have a enjoyable presentation, but hopefully you will gain some new insights into your solution as well.