an age of information overload, how can professionals communicate
effectively and efficiently to technical audiences? How can we organize
our technical presentations to achieve our goals?
But what is effective, good communication? We define communication
as the sharing of meaning, so that both the audience and the presenter
have similar perceptions about the content. This means that the presenter
has to plan, design, implement, practice, and present the technical information,
including the followup—how did it go, what questions did people
have?
Good design includes structured layout, organized objectives, and
sharp graphics, as opposed to chaotic layout, rambling objectives, and
overloaded graphics. Figs. 1 and 2 both present the same information, but
Fig. 1 is presented in a way that hinders communication.
Overhead transparencies, 35-mm slides, computer screen shows, and
posters are four main examples of visual communication. We assume that
you know the technical content and have a way to present your ideas, the
literature review, methods, results, discussion, and key references. But how
do you visualize it? How do you start thinking visually?
Here are six ideas for thinking visually:
1. Print is not projection. Design or redesign your information for your
intended output. How are the design and layout different for presentations
Thinking Visually:
Graphic Tips for
Technical Presentations
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