Civil Engineering in the Oceans VI
October 20 - 23, 2004
 Baltimore Convention Center, Baltimore, MD

Presentation Guidelines


Congratulations on your acceptance to make a presentation at Civil Engineering in the Oceans VI. This is an excellent opportunity to for you to share knowledge and information with your colleagues.

  • It is important that you prepare an interesting and informative presentation for the conference, rather than just reading your paper. The following guidelines will assist you in doing this. Please review these "Guidelines" so that you are informed as to how to prepare for your presentation.
  • Please note that you should attend the Speakers' Breakfast the morning of your presentation to meet your moderator. This is your chance to provide your CD-ROM disc version to your moderator so that your presentation will be loaded to a laptop.


    • PREPARING YOUR PRESENTATION:

    When you organize your talk, it may be helpful to 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?
    1. Consider, if you were sitting in the audience, how you would like the information presented.
    2. ASCE is committed to promoting an inclusive professional organization. It is important that your presentation is geared to reach a diverse audience.
    3. 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 objectives and elaborate on them.

    Once you have answered these questions, you may then begin to 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, or quote. Startle them with a statistic.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Return to the opening theme or story.
  • Share another relevant story, anecdote, or quote.

    • GUIDELINES FOR PREPARING YOUR VISUAL AIDS:

    Once you have prepared your talk, you may then decide to incorporate visual aids into your presentation. Remember, "A picture is worth a thousand words." 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.

  • There are many different types of visual aids available to you including 35mm slides, overheads, videos, computer driven, or exhibits.*
  • No matter what types of visual aids you choose, remember the acronym KISS (Keep it Short & Simple) and the old saying "Less is More."
  • Choose your visual aids carefully and make each one count.
  • Determine if the information really needs visual representation - will it really help to explain your point? Too much information may overwhelm an audience.
  • It is also important to prepare your visual aids so that everyone in the audience will be able to see the information. There is nothing worse than telling an audience, "Those in the back of the room won't be able to see some of the information on this slide, so I'll explain..."

    Computer-driven...

  • The technology now exists that will allow presentations to be driven from a notebook computer; the same rules of thumb for slides and overheads (e.g., type face, color, size, etc.) apply for computer-driven presentations.
  • Computer-based presentations increase the capabilities of the presenter; however, a speaker does not want to be upstaged by his/her visual aides.
  • If you are making a computer-generated presentation, you MUST bring your presentation with you so that it can be loaded onto the computer in the session room. If you need any further assistance please discuss this with your session moderator.
  • Please understand that 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 and ready to go when you arrive at the session room. You may take advantage of the Speaker Preparation Room for this purpose.

    Video...

  • Video can be used effectively to show examples.
  • Show only top quality tapes, never those that have been copied over and over.
  • Review your tape ahead of time, make sure the video and sound quality are good from the 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.

    Reminders...

    If you cannot appear for your presentation, you must contact your moderator or track chair so that a replacement speaker can be found.

  • Technical assistance is available upon request, but is not present throughout the session.
  • Please be sure you know how to set-up your presentation, make good use of the speaker preparation room to work out any last minute difficulties.
  • Each speaker's presentation is approximately 20 minutes for the presentation and 5 minutes for questions following each presentation for a 3-paper session, however, this is based upon the total number of presentations in your session. Please check with your moderator so that you know exactly how much time you will have for your presentation.


    • The Final Step:

  • Practice, Practice, Practice!
  • The presentation should be well rehearsed, as papers should not be read, but rather a presentation prepared.
  • As you practice, be extra conscious of such things as elocution and time constraints.
  • Take advantage of the Speaker Preparation Room available during the conference.
  • If you have practiced your presentation and are comfortable with your material and visual aids, then you will be more relaxed and an effective speaker.


    • BEST OF LUCK ON YOUR PRESENTATION!