- Identify five things you could do better with your seven-minute presentation.
- Practice more so the presentation is more fluid and rehearsed: As we watched our presentation over again, we noticed that there were lag periods, not only during each speakers’ portions, but also while transitioning from one to the next. As we were short on time to begin with, this did not portray our team in the best manner. Additionally, when answering questions following the presentation, we could have streamlined the process of showing the backup slides (i.e., designate specific slides for frequently asked questions preceding our formal presentation).
- Give more context about why there is demand for our screening device: (LMIC can’t afford gel electrophoresis to screen for sickle cell disease). This probably was the biggest error in our presentation. Understanding the demand for our product was necessary for understanding the importance of our device in the target area. We have realized in hindsight that it is necessary to cover the basics before delving into the technicalities and more advanced aspects of our venture.
- Discuss potential competition for our device: This was a question we received following the presentation. In hindsight, we realized that we could have incorporated this information into our formal slides since it is a key component in regards to our device’s implementation strategy. We did prepare to cover this component of our venture if/when asked as a question; however, given our confidence that this topic was going to be asked, we definitely should have included it in the presentation as a fundamental topic.
- Speak slower: The technical information about our venture may be new to our audience. By presenting in a slower manner, people would have had an easier time understanding what our venture is and how our device works, especially given the complexity of our project. Rewatching the video made us realize how fast our presenters were speaking and it was also evident in the peer responses that this is something we can improve on.
- Condense the technical information in a more digestible format: Because there was a lot to listen to at one time, the audience may have had trouble following along. The information also required a bit of previous scientific knowledge, so it would be helpful to explain in more Layman’s terms. In hindsight, the technical details of our device did not need to be covered in such a brief presentation, as it is quite unlikely that members of the audience had the background knowledge to appreciate our nuances. We should have recognized that if our audience wished to know more about how the science of our device works, it would have been sufficient to make backup slides containing that information.
- Did you respond to the referees’ questions in a concise and precise manner? Describe five responses you could have approached differently.
- We responded to the questions in a very direct manner but were not always concise with our explanations. We could have practiced answering FAQs before the presentation more. This would have helped us know exactly which speaker would take a given question type as well as streamline our responses such that they were more precise.
- When they asked about what distinguishes us from our competition, they wanted to know exactly why our device is better and more marketable, not just the technical differences.
- We also could have brought up statistics on what percent of current testing leads to false positives and compare how our device’s sandwich test line format should theoretically perform.
- We could have shown more of our backup slides faster when we were speaking about topics pertaining to them in order to better support our presentation and help the viewers understand us better.
- The referees wanted to know about ways our team is addressing sickle cell disease beyond diagnosis in terms of treatment and we could have gotten to the point faster when answering the question instead of switching from one speaker to another. This question did throw our team off, and now reflecting it is clear that we could have answered this question by explaining how our device is the missing link needed for individuals currently as treatment distribution is quite readily available, yet many do not seek it out due to lack of diagnosis.
- Identify five techniques / strategies (content, design, answering questions, etc) that other teams did particularly well…that you could adopt for your own team.
- Other teams were directly marketing their ventures while our team took a more explanatory approach as to what our venture’s goals are.
- The GRO mushroom team was very passionate about their venture and makes the viewer feel confident in their project.
- Other teams had really well laid out answers to FAQs and knew who was answering each question and were good at articulating it.
- In terms of slide design, many teams created organized flow charts/infographics that made understanding their design process much easier. We should begin doing the same, in order to deliver information to our audience in a more compact and efficient manner.
- Some teams had really well put together PowerPoints with slides that all followed a similar format of less words and more photos/diagrams.
April 5, 2021