IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - September 2010 - 15

important to the scientific community. You should always create
a backup-streamlined presentation to be used in this situation.
Skipping slides that are being projected makes the attendees feel
like they are getting an incomplete version of your presentation.
Similarly, exiting full-screen mode to browse for a particular
slide will make you seem unprepared and unprofessional.

The Perfect 20-30-Minute Talk
If you are assigned as one of the first to present, you can expect to
have the entirety of the time available. However, this can sometimes make you lazy with your presentation skills. Stay sharp, don't
linger, cover the points that you have decided are the most important. Remember, you are talking to a group of people that is very
interested in what you have to say about something you truly love.
Stay excited and motivated about your work and let them know
how beneficial it will be for the scientific community. Avoid being
pompous. Humility and a good collaborative attitude are crucial to
your success as an engineer. Finally, remember to explain the
technical aspects of your research in such a way that everyone can
understand. Imagine that you are talking to a group of friends that
expect you to be very professional. This is not something farfetched; you will develop professional relationships with some of
the people listening to your presentation. Always begin with a general introduction to your topic that allows people to understand
the core of your work, even though it is not exactly their specialty.
Save some interesting pictures, thoughts,
and results for the end, to provoke the audience to get in touch with you afterward.

Ineffective slides: Slides are a visual aid, not the presentation
itself. Don't segment your paper into slides. Instead, use the
slides to demonstrate how things work. Use animations,
short movies, images, equations, graphs, and keywords. Also,
make them bright and colorful not dark and squint inducing.
This is especially true for posters. A colored collage of your
research paper is not practical and will drive people away.
Unmotivated tone, fading voice: You are talking about what
you love to work on and explaining what great achievements have come from it. Be excited about it. You are
literally sharing it with the scientific community. Make
it sound that way.
Moving around: For some reason, some people move
around a lot when they get nervous. I am not talking
about trembling. It's more of rocking back and forth or
tapping a foot repeatedly. This will affect the way your
speech sounds and make you look very unprofessional.
Typically, it is not something done purposely. Therefore, just thinking about it should help you avoid it.
Pauses: Why would someone pause when they are explaining something? This only happens when you memorize exactly what to say. Try to avoid doing this and just
decide on which points you want to cover. Think about
this: you would never pause when you narrate a movie to a
friend and this is not that different from that. If you are

No-Go Zones
If you clearly understand what is most
important for you to say and how to say it,
your presentation will flow naturally, regardless of how and when you give your talk.
However, there are some things you should
keep in mind at all times; here is a quick list
of things to avoid.
u Reading and memorizing: Reading
your slides is never a good idea. In
fact, you should try to avoid readable
slides as much as you can. Memorizing is equally hurtful. It will limit the
fluidity of your presentation, open
you up to sudden freezes, and make
your speak in a monotonous way.
Remember, you are talking about
robots, not trying to become one.
However, there are two parts of your
talk that will greatly help to have
memorized before. One is the way
you will begin the presentation, and
the other is how you will end it. This
will eliminate your initial stage fear
and smoothly lead you to becoming
familiar with the situation.
SEPTEMBER 2010

IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - September 2010