We've almost completed our journey through the book Crime Analysis For Problem Solvers. In this post, we're going to look at Step 59 - Become an effective presenter. Just like nearly everything else in life, giving an effective presentation is something that is learned. You can just get up and "wing it" and expect to be effective.
Giving an effective presentation is really important. We can do great analysis and come up with a novel and potentially effective problem solving solution, but if all this is lost in a poorly executed presentation what good is it?
The authors have some tips on effective presentation techniques. They include things like:
- Thoroughly prepare.
- Understand the venue where you will give your presentation. Learn what tools are available and how to use them. Modern presentation equipment can be complex and failure-prone.
- At minimum, make sure your audience does not have to work to overcome your style to understand your presentation.
- PowerPoint and other similar presentation software allow the audience to receive the information simultaneously in two modes: visually and aurally. However, there are dangers and limitations to using presentation software. Know what they are and how to avoid it.
- Assume things will go wrong! Have a backup plan for when they do.
The next step we cover will be our last in this series. We'll cover Step 60 - Contribute to the store of knowledge.
