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\def\title{Zak Smith - ECE350 - 9:55}
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\centerline{\big Self--Evaluation of Engineer Talk}
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\centerline{Zak Smith}
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On March 7, 1997 I gave a talk titled ``The Existential Pleasures
of Engineering: The LCD Module via Parallel Port Project.''  The
audience was a group of engineers, and the purpose of the talk
was to give a technical overview of the project.

As I was preparing for the talk, I originally was going to present
my ECE554 project from last semester.    I was having trouble
motivating myself to prepare a good talk on that subject, so I
starting thinking about projects which I had been really excited
about, which were different, non--school related, and entirely
self--motivated.  My LCD project fit those criteria!  Although 
it was a technically simple project, and only took a few days from
start to finish, I was really excited about it and I felt I could
transmit that energy to the audience.   A bored speaker will
create a bored audience --- a speaker with energy and enthusiasm
will excite and interest the audience.

I created the overheads the night before.  As a result of
my dislike of tinkering with broken--by--design software, 
I kept my slides simple.   This simple style kept them
clear and easy to follow.    I had one schematic drawing
which was easy to see and understand.    The only thing I would
change regarding the slides relates to the length of the talk:  I
should have cut out some of the detail in presenting pseudo--code
of the software interface.  This detailed information was
not vital to the point of the talk, and its inclusion made me
rush my conclusion.

My delivery was pretty good.  I believe I succeeded in 
transmitting my energy and interest to the audience.  The main
problem I had was that when I saw the signal for 1 minute left, I sped
up instead of leaving out some information.  Doing this made my
conclusion a little less powerful.   I have a hard time practicing
speeches or presentations --- during practice they come out flat and boring.  Also, 
when I memorize exactly what I am going to say, I do not deliver with the
energy and excitement which makes a good presentation.   I usually just make
up an outline and then get up and start talking.  This on--the--spot
technique makes the talk more lively and more comfortable.  But on the other hand, 
doing so also sometimes leaves me unprepared for going over time and having to
cut short.

All in all, the presentation was a success.  The feedback I got from the audience
was positive, and most of them were interested in my topic.




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