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"useful for engineers in charge of technology transfer / government grant presentation"--
List of contents
A Note from the Series Editor xi
Acknowledgments xiii
Foreword xv
Introduction 1
Understand our path to these techniques 1
Witness the change 2
Feel confident about these techniques 3
References 3
1 Heed the Pleas for Better Presentations 5
Know the enemy 6
Be an agent of change 8
Call a meeting instead of summoning a slide deck 8
Destroy the decks of drudgery 8
Learn communication lessons from past tragedies 9
Confront conventional poor practices 10
Consider slides as a two-part deliverable 11
Implement your own continuous improvement 12
References 12
Slide Rule #1 Revisit Presentation Assumptions
2 Apply Cognitive Science and Tell a Story 17
Change presentation practices using grounded research 17
Stay open to change 18
Revisit how a slide works 19
Design slides for audience's cognitive load 20
Lessen cognitive load with storytelling 24
Apply science and storytelling 27
References 27
3 Understand Audience Needs 29
Scope content toward identified purpose 29
Learn about your audience first 30
Determine the presentation's purpose 32
Examine the goals for a talk 33
Elevate the moment 33
Assess the audience 34
Prepare for a familiar audience 34
Prepare for an unfamiliar audience 35
Coping when your talk gets hijacked 37
Ditch the "dumb it down" attitude 38
Think of audience needs, not yours 42
Think about logistics 45
References 48
4 Challenge Your Organization's Culture of Text-Heavy Slides 49
Understand the patterns' origin 50
Stop assuming they want to read 50
Work toward fewer bullets, less text 51
Avoid using slides as teleprompters 53
Build information deliberately 54
Move beyond "How many slides should I use?" 54
Encourage better presentation practices 56
Create, compile, organize, and stabilize team presentations 58
Work towards a change 60
References 60
Slide Rule #2 Write Sentence Headers
5 Clarify Topics with Full-Sentence Headers 65
Write full sentences for headers, avoiding fragments 65
Consider the case against fragmented headers 66
Deploy best practices for sentence headers 70
Expect immediate results 71
Write targeted headers 73
State a fact or explain a concept 74
Showcase an analysis 80
Transition to new information 84
Influence outcomes with headers 88
Frequently asked questions about sentence headers 88
References 91
Slide Rule #3 Use Targeted Visuals
6 Build Information Incrementally 95
Build something better than bullets 95
Devise methods that build information 97
Design with words to make bullet lovers happy 98
Solidify complex topics with refrains 99
Use refrain slides for meeting agendas 100
Create visuals for directed comprehension 103
Build out to drill down 107
7 Generate Quality Graphs 109
Portray complexity simply 110
Determine the right visual 111
Design reasonable pie charts 112
Design impactful bar charts and histograms 117
Design scatter XY charts and scatter plots 121
Craft line charts 127
Map out area graphs 128
Think through flow or process charts1
