English 314    Technical Communication 
Including the proper amount of information in a presentation requires an understanding of the level of detail your presentation will include. Too little information will not provide your audience with enough of an outline of your presentation; too much information will overwhelm them, forcing them to read more than listen, and possibly bore them.

Constructing an Outline
Consider the level of detail of your report and what you want to say in your presentation, then determine how much of that information should be displayed visually and how much you should present orally. We'll use the information from our Introductory Memo as an example:

Major Discussion TopicsMain Points of SupportSurface-Level DetailsDiscussion / Oral Presentation Level
Interest in Your Major (Computer Engineering)Working with computers
  • Understand computer "thinking"
  • Enjoy lengthy, detailed computer work
  • Expand on how your future career will allow you to work with these interests and what these interests mean to youThroughout your oral discussion of the information, show relationships between the different ideas, such as how developing persuasive writing or multimedia equipment knowledge / experience may enhance your skills in developing computer networks or why your understanding of computer "thinking" and dreams of inventing new technology fit well with a possible future career where you develop computer networks or even work with Artificial Intelligence.
    Love for technology
  • Discovery is exciting
  • Dream of inventing new technology
  • Future CareerGood salary
  • Starting salaries
  • Opportunity for advancement
  • Expand on why these career aspects appeal to you and how each of these items could be fulfilled by your future career
    Work with Artificial Intelligence
  • Machines that "think" like people
  • Create custom-designed robotics
  • Developing computer networks
  • Create efficiency in the workplace
  • Sharing resources and information quickly / easily
  • Impact of English 314Writing business / project proposals
  • Developing persuasive writing
  • Practical experience in class
  • Expand on why these skills are important in your future career, why they may need developing, and how you can develop these skills
    Developing presentations
  • Engaging presentations
  • Multimedia equipment knowledge / experience
  • Writing esearch instructions
  • Practical experience with other forms of instructions
  • Remember you will want to display some of the surface-level details, but refrain from including information that would be better expanded upon through discussion. Essentially, the first three columns would contain information that would be good to display in your presentation, while the "Discussion / Oral Presentation Level" should not be included in the slides themselves, but in the accompanying presentation discussion.

      
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