New European Bauhaus ACE Initiative for Young Architects
Useful presentation tips by Prof. Ferenc Makovenyi (ACE)
The structure of lecture should be more practical than theoretical and it should reflect your views, experiences, interpretations or questions regarding the application of the New European Bauhaus concepts in your environment . There should be a theoretical background behind the practical approach, but no more than 30-40 %. Show references (https:// or doi, or Authors/date) to point to the theoretical background of your presentation.
The theoretical part has to be illustrated in written form, with short definitions and sentences. Don’t make the slides complex! No more than three major statements on one slide!
THE STRUCTURE OF PRESENTATION:
Introduction
The introduction of your presentation should grab your audience’s attention. It also should give them a sense of what they can expect from the rest of the presentation. Start by introducing yourself in one slide and then provide a brief overview of the lecture contents.
Problem Statement
After the introduction, it’s important to clearly define the problem or questions you want to clarify.
Solution
Now that you’ve clearly defined the problem, it’s time to introduce your solution.
Demonstration
If possible, include a live demonstration like images, videos, or diagrams in your presentation. This will help your audience see how the theory is working in the praxis.
The practice means NOT only buildings and design, but much more. You can speak about regional planning, town planning problems, rural planning, landscaping, building design, structural or construction management problems, interior design, or any kind of artistic questions, because the New European Bauhaus is aspiring to connect built environment with cultural values, and socieaty. Every presentation of a particular problem, project or experience should be scrutinized through three filters:
Aesthetics, sustainability and togetherness.
We are interested to hear how your culture, your country or your locality could operate within that value triade. So, it is crucial to focus on local issues, problems and local solutions.
For a 15-minute presentation, please focus on maximum three (3 ) key issues (problems/projects.)
If possible there should be stories connected to the problems because it is much easier to remember stories than theories.
At the end of your presentation, provide at least three summary conclusions related to the lesson learned, way forward or further work needed.
Remember, your presentation needs to stimulate the audience to engage in Questions & Answers session.
A picture is worth more than 100 words.
If you use charts, data visualization is essential! Use colors as much as possible in your presentation! Less is more, but a slide should be shown for at least 20 seconds. A recommended maximum of slides for a 15-minute presentation is 15, but optimally less.
Try to be as personal as possible, and do not hide behind ppt slides, the audience needs your face and voice, your personality!
SOME TYPICAL RISKS TO AVOID:
Losing audience’s attention
The research on students’ “attention spans” is conflicting, partly because there is no agreed-upon definition of “attention span” or its indicators, and partly because so many variables affect attention that fully controlled experiments are impossible. But research is clear that unchanged visual, physical, and auditory stimuli harm attention, as does putting too many demands on working memory. Studies place lapse in attention anywhere from five to eighteen minutes from the beginning of a lecture, although somewhat paradoxically, the maximum level of concentration may be 10-15 minutes into the lecture.
Lectures may discourage questioning.
It is important that you present your ideas, but there are other opinions as well, so it is good if the audience may have questions or even you can finish your presentation by raising questions.
Lectures may present too much information, irrelevant information, and too quickly
Lectures may ignore the social dimension of learning
Always prepare notes for your presentation! if you can make 1-3 words notes from each slide you present, there is a chance, that your audience will do the same (you can help them by providing these critical words at each slide- but is sometimes mouthy.
Keep it simple. Slides should complement your verbal message, not detract from it with unnecessary visual clutter.
Choose your fonts (including size) well. Sans-serif fonts are often easier to read on slides than serif fonts. Too many different fonts in a slide or a presentation can be distracting, so try to limit to one or two. Font size matters, too (optimal 20pt for body text). If presenting live, be sure that your fonts are large enough to be read at the back of the room and check what are the technical facilities available.
A little humor makes your presentation more personal:)
Useful presentation templates could be found below: