EFS 698C - STANFORD UNIVERSITY

Writing and Presenting Research

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EFS 698C: Week 8 Notes
 

I. Zheng's report on his interview

II. Review of model papers

III. Formal Presentation

A. Examples

•Useful website: http://ecorner.stanford.edu (also www.ted.com)

•Let's look at the following clips and see what you notice in terms of presentation style and interaction

–William Sahlman

–Vinod Khosla

–Guy Kawasaki

–Carol Bartz

–Catherine Mohr

–Daniel Pink

–Rob Dunbar

B. Presentation Basics

    Stephen Pinker http://www.ted.com/talks/steven_pinker_on_the_myth_of_violence.html

    Tom Kelley, IDEO, http://ecorner.stanford.edu/authorMaterialInfo.html?mid=2105

V. Writing formal letters (these can be extended emails, attachments or snail mail)

Format:

–heading, greeting, body, closing, signature

Style

–Greetings: Dear x, To Whom It May Concern (use only when you have no name/title)

–Honorifics: Use them (Mr. Smith vs. Bob (never Mr. Bob)) unless you know you’re on a first name basis (also consider audience)

–Closings: Safest = “Sincerely,”

Tips/examples

Reference/recommendation letter

–http://jobsearch.about.com/cs/referenceletters/a/empreference.htm

Job application cover letter

–www.eduers.com/resume/Business_Cover_Letter.htm

 

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Homework: 

1. Prepare a short presentation for the next class on a topic related to your research. It should be 5-8 minutes and include a PPT or other visual support. Be sure to practice it several times before class so that you can focus on performance. Remember to have a clear introduction so that your audience is attracted and also has some idea what they're going to hear. It should be targeted at an audience you actually expect to present to--you should tell us who that audience is before you present.

2. Go to http://ecorner.stanford.edu or www.ted.com and find an example of a speaker you admire. Bring the link to class and come prepared to present a clip of this speaker and explain why you admire him or her and what specific qualities or techniques you might be able to imitate/incorporate into your own talks.

3. (Optional) Write a letter or a formal email as a job application, recommendation, etc. We can review this in our individual meetings.

4. (Optional) Work on a current piece of writing and send up to 10 pages OR preview slides and other issues for the class presentation next week OR (3) above--OR any combination of these for a 30-minute meeting.