Slide Rules E-Book

Traci Nathans-Kelly

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Wissenschaft und neue Technologien
• Serie: IEEE PCS Professional Engineering Communication Series
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 309

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2014

Beschreibung

A complete road map to creating successful technical presentations Planning a technical presentation can be tricky. Does the audience know your subject area? Will you need to translate concepts into terms they understand? What sort of visuals should you use? Will this set of bullets truly convey the information? What will your slides communicate to future users? Questions like these and countless others can overwhelm even the most savvy technical professionals. This full-color, highly visual work addresses the unique needs of technical communicators looking to break free of the bulleted slide paradigm. For those seeking to improve their presentations, the authors provide guidance on how to plan, organize, develop, and archive technical presentations. Drawing upon the latest research in cognitive science as well as years of experience teaching seasoned technical professionals, the authors cover a myriad of issues involved in the design of presentations, clearly explaining how to create slide decks that communicate critical technical information. Key features include: * Innovative methods for archiving and documenting work through slides in the technical workplace * Guidance on how to tailor presentations to diverse audiences, technical and nontechnical alike * A plethora of color slides and visual examples illustrating various strategies and best practices * Links to additional resources as well as slide examples to inspire on-the-job changes in presentation practices Slide Rules is a first-rate guide for practicing engineers, scientists, and technical specialists as well as anyone wishing to develop useful, engaging, and informative technical presentations in order to become an expert communicator. Find the authors at techartsconsulting.com or on Facebook at: SlideRulesTAC

Leseprobe

Contents

A Note from the Series Editor

Acknowledgments

Foreword

Introduction

Understand our path to these techniques

Witness the change

Feel confident about these techniques

References

1 Heed the Pleas for Better Presentations

Know the enemy

Be an agent of change

Call a meeting instead of summoning a slide deck

Destroy the decks of drudgery

Learn communication lessons from past tragedies

Confront conventional poor practices

Consider slides as a two-part deliverable

Implement your own continuous improvement

References

SLIDE RULE #1: Revisit Presentation Assumptions

2 Apply Cognitive Science and Tell a Story

Change presentation practices using grounded research

Stay open to change

Revisit how a slide works

Design slides for audience’s cognitive load

Lessen cognitive load with storytelling

Apply science and storytelling

References

3 Understand Audience Needs

Scope content toward identified purpose

Learn about your audience first

Determine the presentation’s purpose

Examine the goals for a talk

Elevate the moment

Assess the audience

Prepare for a familiar audience

Prepare for an unfamiliar audience

Coping when your talk gets hijacked

Ditch the “dumb it down” attitude

Think of audience needs, not yours

Think about logistics

References

4 Challenge Your Organization’s Culture of Text-Heavy Slides

Understand the patterns’ origin

Stop assuming they want to read

Work toward fewer bullets, less text

Avoid using slides as teleprompters

Build information deliberately

Move beyond “How many slides should I use?”

Encourage better presentation practices

Create, compile, organize, and stabilize team presentations

Work towards a change

References

SLIDE RULE #2: Write Sentence Headers

5 Clarify Topics with Full-Sentence Headers

Write full sentences for headers, avoiding fragments

Consider the case against fragmented headers

Deploy best practices for sentence headers

Expect immediate results

Write targeted headers

State a fact or explain a concept

Showcase an analysis

Transition to new information

Influence outcomes with headers

Frequently asked questions about sentence headers

References

SLIDE RULE #3: Use Targeted Visuals

6 Build Information Incrementally

Build something better than bullets

Devise methods that build information

Design with words to make bullet lovers happy

Solidify complex topics with refrains

Use refrain slides for meeting agendas

Create visuals for directed comprehension

Build out to drill down

7 Generate Quality Graphs

Portray complexity simply

Determine the right visual

Design reasonable pie charts

Design impactful bar charts and histograms

Design scatter XY charts and scatter plots

Craft line charts

Map out area graphs

Think through flow or process charts

Address assorted other visual outputs

Graph ethically

Create accessible graphics

Frequently asked questions about graphs

References

Further reading

8 Picture the Possibilities

Center yourself

Manage image interpretation

Model accurately

Be ethical with visuals

Frequently asked questions about using pictures

References

9 Temper the Templates

See the possibilities in a template, branded or otherwise

Discover and assess a branded template

Work with company templates

Devise solutions for problematic templates

Fix the template

Provide template guidance

Refine quad slides

Establish brand when there is no template

SLIDE RULE #4: Archive Details for Future Use

10 Make Slide Decks with Archival and Legacy Value

Understand that slides have two lives

Start new best practices

Document ideas efficiently

Use the Notes or Presenter Notes feature

Get others to see your notes

Use hidden slides

Keep hidden slides ready

Make retrieval easy for everyone else

Embrace full documentation as part of workflow

References

11 Include More Than One Language

Know when English is not enough

Start with audience analysis

Anticipate formatting for translations

Deploy plain language

Write in one language and talk in another

Design split slides

Capture translation in notes

Translate toward clarity

Find resources

References

SLIDE RULE #5: Keep Looking Forward

12 Enact Organizational Change

Listen to the studies

Anticipate the stages of acceptance

Tally the results

Look for the opportunities

References

13 Thinking Through the Next Big Thing

See ahead

Play with Prezi

Use caution

Amaze with Autodesk

Apply apps

Remain diligent in your best practices

Index

IEEE PCS PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERING COMMUNICATION SERIES

IEEE Press445 Hoes LanePiscataway, NJ 08854IEEE Press Editorial BoardTariq Samad, Editor in Chief

George W. Arnold

Mary Lanzerotti

Linda Shafer

Dmitry Goldgof

Pui-In Mak

MengChu Zhou

Ekram Hossain

Ray Perez

George Zobrist

Kenneth Moore, Director of IEEE Book and Information Services (BIS)Technical ReviewersMuriel ZimmermanSr. Lecturer Emerita, University of California, Santa Barbara

Copyright © 2014 by The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey. All rights reserved

Published simultaneously in Canada

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

Nathans-Kelly, Traci, 1967–Slide rules : design, build, and archive presentations in the engineering and technical fields / Traci Nathans-Kelly, Christine G. Nicometo.        pages cm    Includes bibliographical references and index.

    ISBN 978-1-118-00296-4 (pbk.)1. Communication of technical information. 2. Business presentations. 3. Presentation graphics software. 4. Technical writing. I. Nicometo, Christine G., 1976– II. Title.    T10.5.N377 2013    620.0068′4–dc23

2013024801

Printed in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

To our families

A Note from the Series Editor

First of all, in the interest of full disclosure, I must point out that I am not only the series editor, but I am also one of the authors of this work. That said, let us get to the business at hand.

The IEEE Professional Communication Society (PCS), with Wiley-IEEE Press, continues its book series titledProfessional Engineering Communication(PEC) withSlide Rules, which is an examination, re-evaluation, and a collection of insights about best practices for engineering, technical, and scientific presentations. Acknowledging that presentations are at the core of how much technical work is communicated, both at the academic and professional levels, this book takes aim at embedded presentation practices that are less than ideal, offering some techniques that can be shared, adapted, and adopted to specific technical communication needs. Some of the techniques may look unorthodox, but remember this—they work.

Following in the tradition of revisiting beliefs and myths about presentation practices, especially those that use slideware such as PowerPoint® and Keynote®, this book builds on the work of other presentation gurus such as Cliff Atkinston, Nancy Duarte, Garr Reynolds, and Edward Tufte—but the focus here is on the specialized tasks required of technical presentations, not business or marketing (but the practices here work well in all realms). As well, the information herein about memory and cognition is informed by recent findings in cognitive science, and the examples are true-to-life ones, gleaned from the conversations we have daily with the practicing engineers we work with. You will find the needs of technical professionals, such as the element of documentation for postmeeting needs or legal issues, are also addressed.

I want to back up a bit and talk about this new PCS-sponsored project. As a series, PEC has a mandate to explore areas of communication practices and application as applied to the engineering, technical, and scientific professions. Including the realms of business, governmental agencies, academia, and other areas, this series will develop perspectives about the state of communication issues and potential solutions when at all possible.

The books in the PEC series keep a steady eye on the applicable while acknowledging the contributions that analysis, research, and theory can provide to these efforts. Active synthesis between on-site realities and research will come together in the pages of this book as well as other books to come. There is a strong commitment from PCS, IEEE, and Wiley to produce a set of information and resources that can be carried directly into engineering firms, technology organizations, and academia alike.

At the core of engineering, science, and technical work is problem solving and discovery. These tasks require, at all levels, talented and agile communication practices. We need to effectively gather, vet, analyze, synthesize, control, and produce communication pieces in order for any meaningful work to get done. It is unfortunate that many technical professionals have been led to believe that they are not effective communicators, for this only fosters a culture that relegates professional communication practices as somehow secondary to other work. Indeed, I have found that many engineers and scientists are fantastic communicators because they are passionate about their work and their ideas. This series, planted firmly in the technical fields, aims to demystify communication strategies so that engineering, scientific, and technical advancements can happen more smoothly and with more predictable and positive results.

Traci Nathans-Kelly, Ph.D., Series Editor.

Acknowledgments

We owe thanks and recognition to many people and organizations who have contributed their thoughts, ideas, challenges, and expertise toward the information in this book. To begin, we thank Wiley-IEEE Press for its support. More specifically, the Professional Communication Society of IEEE deserves praise for its pursuit of a book series that reflects and encourages thoughtful exchange of ideas about engineering and technical communication. As the series took form, Helen Grady and Muriel Zimmerman spearheaded the vision for the series overall. Now in place, both the series and the authors of this book owe thanks to Mary Hatcher at Wiley-IEEE Press for her constant support, great advice, and staunch advocacy. Others at the Press who have been of great help and astute guidance are Kenneth Moore, John Anderson, Lani Angso, Taisuke Soda, and Timothy Pletscher.

Over the years, we have been recipients of fantastic opportunities to work with dedicated faculty, staff, students, and colleagues in the engineering and technical fields. Many of our insights were gained from working with the Masters of Engineering in Professional Practice (MEPP) and Masters of Engineering in Engine Systems (MEES) degrees at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Wayne Pferdehirt and Sandra Anderson, directors of those programs, have supported our work for years and still encourage us to spread the word at every level. We owe a great debt of gratitude, too, to the many students/colleagues in those programs who are practicing engineers, technical experts, and engineering managers. Through honest conversation, deep discussions, and analysis of purpose and process, they have educated us as much as we have provided instruction to them. Their willingness to share, quite candidly, their communication experiences within their organizations informs our positions greatly.

In our teaching lives, we spend a great deal of time with upper level undergraduates as they prepare to enter their professional careers. While we get them ready to excel in those careers, we also challenge them to change many of the practices they may encounter. We are excessively proud of the boldness, courage, and insights they have demonstrated both in our classrooms and as they venture beyond into their working lives.

In pursuing this work, we have found many kindred spirits who are just as—or more—passionate about powerful public speaking as we are. Michael Alley, in particular, has been gracious and supportive with his research and insights. Daily, others in hallways (real or virtual) contribute to our work: Sandra Courter, Rick Evans, Michele Kaiser, Paul Miller, and Larry Rose. Others who provided advice, insights, slide ideas, editing, and additional support include John Alsop, Jos Dings, Samantha Ebertowski, Geoff Goll, Marty Gustafson, Greg Lagenfeld, Lawrence Lessig, Annette Markham, Doug Medley, Luc Mertens, Phil O’Leary, Steve W. Paddock, Katie Pawley, Matthew Reddick, Doug Reindl, Marielle Risse, Britta Rowan, Tyler Schmitz, Don Schramm, Matthew Sinclair, Thomas Smith, Dustin Spencer, Anthony Sprangers, Ross Stein and his team of researchers, Shinji Toda, Willis Tompkins, Ron Ulseth Sr., Ellyn Underwood, Carl Vieth, Loren Welch, and Julie Wong. We also appreciate all of the subject matter experts cited in this book for their insightful work, upon which we build.

Organizations have been generous with their resources, too, including the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Engineering Professional Development Department, Cornell University’s Engineering Communications Program, Argonne National Laboratory, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, Autodesk®, Prezi®, and 2Screens®. Pictures not otherwise attributed were purchased from iStockphoto.com. Slides were created, unless otherwise noted, in PowerPoint and/or Keynote.

And, of course, we cannot forget our spouses—Ryan Nicometo and Steve Nathans-Kelly. They have listened, contributed, read, edited, and made possible the days we called “book camp.” We could not have done this without their patience, perceptive comments, and expertise. Our kids deserve a bit of praise, too, for letting their mothers work during odd hours, vacation days, and other times when we should have been playing with them. Henry, Emilia, and Luca, we love you.

Foreword

A small but significant revolution is occurring in the way that technical professionals are designing slides to support their presentations. Presenters in this revolution are rejecting PowerPoint’s default structure of a topic-phrase headline supported by a bulleted list. Instead, for their talks given in industry, at conferences, and in classrooms, these presenters are opting for scenes based on message headlines supported by visual evidence. by Traci Nathans-Kelly and Christine Nicometo places you on the leading edge of this revolution.