Oral Reportsfor Measurements Lab

• Logistics: when and where

• Content: what to talk about

• Technique: Organization, presentation

Logistics• Where

– ITLL breakout room

• How long– Total time: 10 min, plus time for questions (If you talk too

long I will stop you and not let you finish. This is what happens at professional conferences!)

– Each team member should plan on speaking 3-5 minutes

• Other– Put your presentation in your Z drive– Turn in answers to questions– Turn in print-out of slides, 2 slides per page

What you will turn in

• You will turn in answers to questions

• You WILL turn in one paper original of your presentation IN ORDER, STAPLED IN ADVANCE– Print 2 slides per page

Elements of a Presentation

• Introduction• Experimental Description• Results and Discussion• Conclusions• References

– Make sure you cite on slides, and provide 3 references. Only 1 can be from website, and do not use wikipedia.

More on Physics

• Make sure that you understand the underlying reasons for doing the experiment

• What is the BIG PICTURE

• What are the physical principles involved?

• How are the physical principles being used/explored in the experiment?

Don’t just show equations. Explain what they mean.

Holding the Audience’s attention

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Figure 1. The attention Curve

beginning

end

Presentation Technique

How do you Hold the Audience’s Attention?

• Be confident and Commanding• Opening

– Start with a big picture that many people can relate to in some way.

– Try to present one theme, a key message, tell a story.• Body

– Don’t say something that will cause loss of attention (“this is not important, but…”)

– Pay attention to how you link phrases (don’t use “next I want to talk about…”)

– Watch extraneous phrases, stay on message!• Conclusion

– Signal end is coming (people will wake up!)– Decide on the message you most want your audience to

remember and deliver with impact

Tell your audience THREE times

• Tell them what you are going to tell them

• Then tell them

• Then tell them what you told them

Overheads/Slides

• Simple, uncluttered, with shorter phrases (not whole sentences)

• BLACK ON WHITE ONLY• Approximately one per minute• Very large type

– Print out a slide and drop it on the floor, can you read everything?

Graphics

• 3/4 of your slides should be GRAPHIC– Schematic, flowchart, sketches, pictures, descriptive

– Make sure to include figure captions

010

20304050

607080

90100

probe 1 probe 2 probe 3 probe 4

EastWestNorth

Optical Particle Counter

Sample location

Test Chamber, Vol = 1 L

Figure 1. Temperature at three locations in the building, measured with four probes.

Figure 2. Schematic of test chamber, top view.

IMPORTANT DETAILS

• Make sure numbers on chart axes are large• Get ride of gray background on EXCEL CHARTs• Check your significant figures• Avoid charts that are redundant and/or

nondescriptive• Use labels and arrows to direct the audience, don’t

use legends• Make drawings functional. Pretty doesn’t count.

Example of Functional

Enlargement Contraction

Bend

Etc.

Not useful

UsefulFlow Direction

More Examples of Functional

magneticpickup

to counter

Rotameter Turbine meter

Scale

Ball indicatingFlow rate

Other Slide Suggestions• While working on your slides imagine that you are an

audience member– How can I make my point as fast, easy and clear as possible?– Give essentials only, avoid boring detail

• Use pictures, bullets, shorter phrases• Avoid tables, complicated equations

– If you use equations, label everything

• Slides should reinforce what you are saying– Make sure you are connecting with your slides– Make sure that there is a visual with every point you think is

important

• Show uncertainty with measurements (error bars)• State axes when presenting graphs

Uncertainty Analysis is Critical!Not an Afterthought

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Time Step

Total EnergyUse error bars!

Speaking Suggestions

• Be confident when you speak, or fake it, otherwise your audience will not believe what you are saying– Speak loudly and consistently (don’t trail off)– Watch your inflection, you are making statements, not asking

questions– Be careful of the words: um, uh, sort of, basically, and, like,

kinda of, so… – Instead just pause and let your audience soak it in.– Make eye contact and engage people– Face the audience– There is no reason to be nervous, just relax!

• Practicing will help with all of these things!

Finally...• PRACTICE as a group (at least once!)

– Your audience is your peers and your professors– Practice in front of them

• Direct the audience’s attention– Positioning, where do you stand? Next to the screen– Gestures, no pointing tools, use your hands, be

directive, forceful

• Say “Thank You” at the end

FINISH ON TIME!

Summary and Conclusions

• Start with a restatement of objectives• Again describe briefly the methods• State the important results: be quantitative with

uncertainty• State the important conclusions• Comment on what should be done in future

experiments, what would you recommend doing next?

References

• When you use an idea from a book, or paper, or website, you need to “cite” that idea.

• Please put the reference on the slide, can be at bottom, smaller font

• You must have 3 references, only 1 from a website. The others can be from your textbooks, books at the library, journal paper (can download from web or get at library).

• No citations from Wikipedia

Example

• Adverse health effects due to exposure to airborne particulate matter could be more significant than effects due to exposure to many other airborne pollutants (Vedal, 1997)

• Most health effects studies show associations with outdoor particle concentrations, not indoors

Vedal, S. (1997) Critical review: Ambient particle and health: lines that divide, J. Air Waste Manage. Assoc. 47:551-581.