Effective Technical Presentations workshop, aimed at the unique considerations of presenting technical material

Phone: 503-293-3557 Toll Free: 800-577-3528 Fax: 503-293-8499

Improving Technical Productivity

PRODUCT ENGINEERING - R&D - I T - SCIENTIFIC

EFFECTIVE TECHNICAL PRESENTATIONS WORKSHOP

Improve the Clarity of Technical Content, Engage the Audience, and Inspire Actions!

A One-Day Course for Technical Professionals

"It's valuable to now understand the key components of a presentation: engage, prepare, deliver."

- Kirk Powers, Qualcomm

April 24, 2012 - San Diego, CA

Date TBD - Fullerton, CA

Quick enroll: Call 800-577-3528 or register online

On-site Seminars and Customization

This workshop and customized versions are available privately at customer locations.

Overview

Presenting technical material, to both technical and non-technical audiences, offers its own set of challenges that are unlike other types of business presentations.

How do you hit the right knowledge/expertise level for your audience?

What’s the best way to organize facts and ideas so they’re memorable and actionable?

How do you optimize visual information for high content material (avoiding “death by PowerPoint”)?

What do you do if your audience seems lost, confrontational, impatient, or bored?

This workshop is aimed at the unique challenges of presenting technical material. It’s not a general “101” business presentations class. Instead, you’ll learn techniques you can use to effectively develop and deliver technical content. What are those techniques? And how do they make the difference between effective technical presentations and overly complex, hard-to-pay-attention-to technical presentations? It’s all about preparation:

Organizing ideas in a sequence that’s easy to remember,
Designing slides to optimize high content information—fewer slides done well!
Practicing so you can deliver clearly, manage any nervousness, and connect with your audience.

Note: Most engineers and tech professionals say “Yes! Hurray! Thank you!” when they hear we do not use video cameras in this workshop.

Benefits

This workshop enables participants to:

create and deliver memorable, actionable presentations
reach their audience, whatever their knowledge or experience level is
optimize visual materials and handouts

Who should attend:

Technical professionals who currently make presentations to groups small and large
Technical professionals who have little or no presentation experience but want to prepare and deliver credible, comprehensible material

Continuing Education Credits: 6.5 PDUs

About the Instructor

Susan de la Vergne was an Information Technology manager for 25 years, a career she prepared for by majoring in English and Theater in college. Susan brings her interesting and unusual combination of education and experience to engineers and tech professionals who want to become better communicators. Whether it’s learning how to prepare and deliver effective presentations or how to write efficient, even enjoyable (!) business deliverables. Using real-world examples, humor, stories and examples from her experience, Susan shares immediately usable techniques in her classes. “Effective Technical Presentations” is lively, practical, and relevant, and participants learn dozens of techniques and practices that can be put to use right away.

Download Susan's Graphical Excellence in the Real World white paper and learn more about Susan at SusandelaVergne.com.

What People Say About Effective Technical Presentations

"The instructor was very well prepared. Good class size, interaction, and case studies."

- Eyleen Hernandez, Intel Corp.

"A lot of interaction and exercises that enabled feedback. Good pointers that are easy to do."

- Pat Thompson, Fred Meyer

"I liked the use cases and the opportunity to do some excerpts of the technical presentation."

- Karen Jones, Product Evaluation Specialist, Sage Software

"Good focus on interaction with the audience, and tips on resolving common 'de-railing' issues."

- David Rogers, Product Engineer, Micro Systems Engineering, Inc.

"I walked away with the five key objectives in mind. I'm sure I will find those useful immediately."

- Ed Smith, Fred Meyer

Workshop Content

Audience
Keeping focused on the one question the audience wants to know
How technical should you get? Approaches to use for different levels of expertise
Anticipating reactions and adjusting to politics in your audience
Presenting in English when there are many native languages in the room
Connecting with a video conference audience

Preparing Yourself
Keeping focus on the core message(s) and information
Structuring your presentation -- best practices for sequencing and organizing materials
The importance—and challenge—of subject matter expertise for presenters
Tips for successful practice, even when you don't want to or don’t have time

Preparing Materials
Slide design -- optimizing visual information
Edward Tufte’s “Principles of Graphical Excellence” – how to apply them to technical presentations
Hand-outs and documentation -- when you should prepare pre-work

Delivery
Mustering some enthusiasm if you're not naturally enthusiastic
Practical advice for coping with "stage fright"
Effective -- and deadly! -- "openers" and "closers"
Using notes well
Handling Q&A (questions that are too detailed or too shallow; how to handle questions when you don’t know the answer)
Small groups vs. large groups
How long should you talk?
Adjusting your timing midstream -- when you're running over and you need to recover
Handling criticism

Click here to sample the class, a 30-minute excerpt on “Organizing Content.”

Click here to sample the class, a 30-minute excerpt on “Well-designed Slides.”

Guarantee

If for any reason you are not satisfied, write to us within 30 days after attending the course and return the course materials and we'll arrange for you to receive a full refund - hassle-free!

Locations, Dates and Fees

San Diego, CA	April 24, 2012	Early registration by March 30: $445* After March 30: $495*	register
Fullerton, CA	TBD	Early registration by TBD: $445* After TBD: $495*

*Include the Offer Code from the email in the Ordering Instructions box on the shopping cart form, if applicable. Offer will be credited during the processing of your registration.

Group Rate: 5% discount for 3-5 people, 10% discount for groups of 6-9 people, 20% discount for 10 or more. The easiest way to register your group is to call 800-577-3528 or 503-293-3557 and simply provide company name, number of participants, seminar location, and credit card info.

Course fee includes lunch, a comprehensive guidebook and email/phone follow-up with the instructor to assist with implementation.

Register early to guarantee enrollment. Registration is limited to 25 people, and could be fewer due to venue size. Classes can fill up quickly.

Registration

Online registration is for one or two people registering by credit card. Purchase orders should be faxed or mailed. Groups of three or more should call 800-577-3528 or 503-293-3557 for the easiest registration process.

The best way to guarantee your enrollment when making a reservation is to pay with a credit card, or you can mail your payment before the course date. We accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover cards. If paying by check, make payable to Auxilium, Inc.

Auxilium, Inc. federal tax ID number: 01-0666217

By Fax

Complete the Registration Form online, print, and fax to 503-293-8499.

By Mail

Complete the Registration Form online, print, and mail to:

Auxilium, Inc.

10260 SW Greenburg Rd.

Suite 400

Portland, OR 97223

By Phone

Call 800-577-3528 or 503-293-3557 to enroll individuals or groups using a credit card.

Cancellations and substitutions

Payment is required in advance but is refundable, less a $40 processing fee, if your cancellation is received 5 full business days before the course. If you fail to attend and do not notify us in advance, the fee is not refunded. Substitutes are welcome. Simply send the substitute on the day of the course and notify the instructor of the change on arrival.

Confirmation

Directions to the site will be provided after the registration is processed.

We begin at 9:00 AM sharp and wrap up at 5:00 PM

Check-in begins at 8:30 AM. Continental breakfast, lunch, beverages and afternoon snacks will be provided. Lunch is from approximately 12:30 to 1:30 PM. Dress is informal.

Tape recording

Our programs are fully copyrighted by Auxilium, Inc. No audio recording or videotaping, please.

Disclaimer

Course content and availability are subject to change without notice. We reserve the right to cancel a course for any reason or change the venue. If we must cancel a course, liability is limited to a refund of the paid registration fee.

Questions

Call 800-577-3528 or 503-293-3557 between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time or email.

Contact us for more information.