Subject:Preparing Presentations for the 2010 Stack Sampling and Analysis Conference
To:Session chairs and presenters
From:DeAnna Oser, Chair
Larry Cottone, Co-chair
The goal of the conference is to foster informative and active discussions of the technical, regulatory, and safety issues associated with source emissions measurements. With this goal in mind, we have structured each session to allow time sufficient for a formal presentation by each presenter and about the same amount of time for discussions and exchange with the audience. We offer the following guidelines for preparing presentations and conducting the sessions.
Guideline 1 -Limit formal presentations (i.e., prepared slides and talk) to 20-25 minutes.
Guideline 2 -During presentations, you do not have to tell the audience everything you know (see Guideline 1). Explain the problem or project goal. Describe the process followed in resolving the problem or conducting the project. Then, focus discussion on the no more than three or four primary findings (e.g., measured results, method improvements, areas for more exploration) - one or two would be even better.
Guideline 3 -Provide information as necessary to support your findings in a manner informative to the audience. Chromatograms, strip charts, tables of raw or unsummarized data are NOT findings (see Guideline 2) nor are they very informative in a presentation. The audience can not analyze a chromatogram, complex table, or strip chart by looking at a slide on the screen for a minute. Instead of displaying a chromatogram, a strip chart, or a listing of all the data from all the test runs, tell AND show the audience what the chromatograms, strip charts, or the raw data say. Use summary tables (no more than three columns and three rows); use graphs and charts of the summarized results that show trends with only the major peaks and valleys; use a few words on slides (e.g., “the revised method reduced the interference to less than x ng/m3,” “the average emissions decreased from Y to Z over a three-month period,” “the analytical detection limit decreased from a to b”) that convey and support your primary findings. The audience expects that you know how to make sense of raw data, you do not need to show us what the raw data look like. Talk about the findings.
Guideline 4 -Each presentation time slot is allotted a total of 40 minutes for a morning session and 30 minutes for an evening session - half for formal presentation, half for discussion. Plan to use the discussion time. Raise at least two questions or unresolved issues during your presentation that you would like the audience to discuss further. Lead that discussion, take charge, clarify the issue as necessary, focus attention on the problem(s) and plans remaining for your study, test, or project. You could have some information on additional slides in anticipation of some discussion issues (imagine how smart you will look if you can provide some ready bit of background that will lead to a solution!).
Guideline 5 -If you find yourself trying to put a chromatogram into PowerPoint format, see Guideline 3.