COVID-19 Notice
Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, this website is being retired effective March 15, 2020. All future updates will be moved to Canvas for online instruction as advised by the university.
All students must give one or more presentations in class (for projects or data visualization posts). This guide focuses on the audience requirements for those presentations.
Associated Assignments Audience Feedback
Audience Expectations
Be engaged and supportive audience members for every presentation. Make eye contact with the speaker. Give positive non-verbal feedback, such as smiling and nodding.
Help the speaker(s) avoid awkward silences and ask friendly questions when prompted. Ideally questions should be specific to the presentation, but there are also a few that can be asked for just about any presentation:
- Why did you choose [presentation topic]?
- What was the best part of working on [presentation topic]?
- What was the biggest obstacle or challenge you had to overcome?
- If you had more time, what would you try next?
Under no circumstance should you arrive late to a student presentation. Do not split your attention; focus entirely on the presentation, not your laptop or phone. Do not whisper to your colleagues. Avoid yawning or scowling during someone’s presentation.
The goal is for this to be a positive speaking experience. This entirely depends on your engagement as an audience member! It will be you up there at some point, and when that happens you will be grateful for the efforts other students put into helping your presentation be a success.
Written Feedback
Feedback will be given through graded pass/fail discussion assignments on Canvas after every presentation.
Example feedback includes constructively encouraging the speaker(s) to speak louder or slower, asking followup questions about the topic, expressing interest in specific aspects of the talk, or complementing specific aspects of the presentation. Simple statements such as “Good job” or “Interesting topic” do not qualify.
Students that are scheduled to present will have their feedback requirement waived for the entire class time, allowing speakers to focus on setup and preparation as needed.