Don’t Present Like An Engineer

Please don’t present like an engineer! In the world of engineering, most professionals begin their careers in technical roles after graduating. They spend time understanding the specific area they are working in before transitioning into project or team management to execute various tasks. While engineers are experts at crunching numbers and solving complex problems, they often face a significant challenge: communication.

Taking it a step further, engineers often must present their projects or solutions to other engineers or financial institutions but fail to get their message across. Many solid projects or innovative products get lost in translation between engineers trying to present and sell their products and the audience they want to sell to. This article will thus attempt to give engineers some simple rules for technical presentations that they should follow to help them communicate their message to the rest of the world.

1. Less Is More

Engineers are wired to think in detail—they love spreadsheets and complex calculations. However, when presenting, they often structure their slides the same way, which is a mistake. Most people get lost in the details. If your slide is too cluttered, the audience won’t be able to follow or listen to what you’re saying. The general rule of thumb is to have no more than seven words per line and four or fewer lines per slide. In many of the presentations Steve Jobs made during his time at Apple, he only had one word on a slide, making a major impact on the crowd.

2. Structure

Focus on organizing your presentation’s structure. Don’t repeat slides; get to the point. A well-structured presentation flows from one slide to the next, making it a lot easier to present.

3. Pictures

A picture says a thousand words; your audience may only remember the pictures you present and nothing more. You might think it’s very basic, but that’s exactly what you want to sell and get your clients to remember.

4. Graphs

Most complex calculations and the answers to many questions can be illustrated on graphs. In the technical world, this makes perfect sense, and by walking your audience through the graph, you demonstrate a deep understanding of your topic in a practical, real-world context.

5. No Notes

Many engineers start reading off notes when they get nervous and completely miss the connection with the crowd. Talk to the people like you would talk to your friends and try to get into this stride as early as possible during the presentation.

6. Basic English

Don’t try to use big words you don’t usually use; the best approach is to keep it as basic as possible. If you use difficult words while presenting, the presentation will feel unnatural and will not have the impact you want.

7. Humour

Using humour correctly lets you win over your crowd quickly and break the ice. This does not mean telling a joke or, even worse, telling an engineering joke. It means being yourself, and if you find something funny while you present or pick up something witty to say during the presentation, don’t be afraid to use it. It’s also okay sometimes to make a fool of yourself or even use yourself as an example of how not to do something. People relate to this and tend to respect that you are strong enough to take a joke or humiliate yourself during the process. It also breaks the ice, and that’s all you want.

8. Eye Contact

Make sure you talk to everybody in the room. Engineers often find a point at the back of the room and stare at that point while praying for the session to be over. This won’t work, and you won’t relate to anybody. You should thus practice to include everybody you present to and make eye contact with as many as possible people in the crowd.

9. Technology

The latest technologies help a lot and leave an impact on the crowd. Things like AR (augmented reality), VR (virtual reality) and normal videos can help keep the crowd interested, but remember, it’s still what you say that counts. Keep the technology portion of the presentation short and sweet, and get on with what you want to say. Nobody in the crowd is interested in your finite element analysis except the fact that it’s a nice picture to look at, and the answers say your solution works, that’s all.

10. The Crowd Does Not Know What You Were Planning To Say

It often happens during a presentation that you have rehearsed the presentation in your head or even in the mirror the night before, and then when you present, you go off-script. You suddenly panic and try frantically to get back to your script before somebody notices that you have lost your direction. In reality, nobody knows what you were planning to say in your head, and in most cases, they do not even realize it unless you start panicking. Stay calm and go with the flow; you will soon be back on track.

11. Don’t Fidget

When people start to get nervous, they often feel like they need to do something with their hands or feet. So, you have people fidgeting while they present and don’t even realize it. Ensure you find a comfortable resting position for your hands before you start presenting. Many people choose to fold their hands while talking to avoid them from fidgeting. Another way to overcome this is to use your hands and arms while presenting. Don’t swing them like a crazy chicken, but if you use them when needed to get your message across, it works well.

12. Move Around

Engineers often find a spot in the room, like a corner or a podium, and stay glued to it during their presentations. Ideally, though, you should move around the stage or in front of the audience to keep things engaging and create a more relaxed, informal atmosphere.

13. Keeping It Informal

Presenting is like talking to a girl you want to impress. You can make it very formal and be so worried that you mess up and almost pass out stressing about the situation. Alternatively, you could relax, keep the discussion light and informal and make your crowd laugh. This will work well to win over the girl and the crowd.

14. Dress Code

Many people, especially older generations, believe you must dress very formally to present. You might feel pressured to find a tie and jacket for your presentation, but this is unnecessary. The key is to be comfortable. If you typically dress formally and enjoy it, that’s perfectly fine. However, if you prefer a more casual style and feel comfortable in it, that’s the way you should dress. Even jeans and trainers can work! We might even need to publish another article advising engineers on how to dress.

15. Practice Makes Perfect

Nobody is born knowing how to present; even Richard Branson admitted that he was very scared of presenting when he started in business and had a few presentations he wasn’t proud of. It’s a skill you can train yourself to master, and it gets easier each time you do it. If public speaking and presenting in front of a crowd frighten you, try to present as much as possible. At first, it may not be easy, but after a few presentations, you’ll feel that it’s actually nothing and all in your head.