Speaker Presentation Guidelines

Pipelines 2008

July 22 – 27, 2008

Omni Hotel at CNN Center

Atlanta, Georgia

Congratulations on your acceptance to make a presentation at the Pipelines 2008!  This is an excellent opportunity for you to share knowledge and information with your colleagues.

It is important that you prepare an interesting and informative presentation for the conference.

 

Please review the following guidelines to assist you doing this.

PREPARING YOUR PRESENTATION:

Begin by considering the following:

 

1.     What is the topic of my presentation?

Of course, you know this, but be sure your audience is fully aware of your goals.

2.     Who is my audience?

 

  • Consider, if you were sitting in the audience, how you would like the information presented.
  • ASCE is committed to promoting an inclusive professional organization. It is important that you presentation is geared to reach a diverse audience.
  • Make sure that the content of your presentation, including audio or visual, does not contain any term/language that could be considered offensive.

 

3.     What is the objective of my presentation?

Choose main points and elaborate on them.

Then, outline your presentation.  A speech may be divided into three parts:

1.     Introduction/Opening

 

  • State your goal or ideas in general terms.
  • Share a relevant story, anecdote, quote, or use a metaphor or comparison to your topic.
  • Use humor very carefully; it can be powerful and engaging, but jokes, as a particular form of humor, are risky and difficult to use successfully. Do not use humor that could be deemed offensive to a particular group.
  • Any one or a combination of these introductory methods may be used in your opening to draw your audience into the presentation.

 

2.     Body

 

  • Discuss your main idea(s) in detail.
  • Use supporting examples.
  • Use visual aids to reinforce. (Note: computers are not provided. Please bring your own computer or arrange this with your session chair or moderator).
  • Reiterate your points.
  • Develop a theme.

 

3.     Closing

 

  • Summarize your main points.
  • Restate your goal, in a memorable way.
  • Explain the value of your discussion.
  • Reiterate the plan of action or any future plans.

 

VISUAL AIDS:

You may decide to incorporate visual aids into your presentation. A Harvard University study reveals that individuals comprehend about 7% of information they obtain verbally.  They comprehend 87% when information is delivered both verbally and visually.

 

  • Computer-based presentations (such as PowerPoint) are the most popular form of visual aid at this time. Each session room will have an LCD projector available.
  • Remember, if you are making a computer-generated presentation, you MUST bring your laptop with you. ASCE will not be able to supply any laptops for your use. If you do not have a laptop computer, please discuss alternatives with your session moderator.
  • Your presentation time begins when you are introduced. To maximize your presentation time, please make sure any computer-based presentations are pre-loaded on your computer or the computer that will be used for presentation, and ready to go when you arrive at the session room. You may take advantage of the Speaker Preparation Room for this purpose.
  • Choose your visual aids carefully and make each one count. Determine if the information really needs visual representation. Too much information may overwhelm an audience.
  • Be sure that everyone in the audience will be able to see the information.
  • Use fonts that can be seen at least 50 feet away
  • Don’t put too much information on any one slide.
  • Use typeface that is easy to read. Dark type on light background is recommended.
  • Graphs and charts with a lot of detail may be difficult to see, so you may want to either simplify them for presentation, or print them out and use as handout.
  • Video players can be made available UPON ADVANCE REQUEST, using the Audio-Visual Request for.
  • Please specify format. (DVD, VCR; North American or European formats)
  • Show only top quality tapes or DVD’s
  • Review your video ahead of time make sure the video and sound qualities are good from beginning to end.

Exhibits...

 

  • There may be times when you will be able to actually use what you are talking about as a visual aid – make sure that everyone can see it. 
  • This is best done with a small group. 

 

*Audio-visual equipment available to speakers, free of charge, differs with each conference; please refer to the A/V Form for the options available to you.

 

The Final Step:

 

  • Rehearse your presentation so you do not have to read it.
  • Try to speak clearly and distinctly
  • Presentation time will be limited- be sure your presentation fits into the time available (divide the number of minutes in your session by the number of presenters. This is the amount of time for your presentation).
  • If you have practiced your presentation and are comfortable with your material and visual aids, then you will be a more relaxed, effective speaker.

 

BEST OF LUCK ON YOUR PRESENTATION!