INTRO
presenting information, consuming information, and analyzing information all have a common foundation:  Nature (aka Reality).  Nature has the following characteristics:
*she obeys the law of cause & effect
*she is multivariate
*her rules can be determined by comparing one observation with another

as a result, when presenting, consuming, or analyzing information, look for ways to facilitate *reasoning about comparisons*.  in presentations particularly, pay attention to:

*multivariate (aka display lots of variables, aka 'escaping from flatland')

*resolution (data density)

tips:
-sign your work (ownership)
-maximize your viewer's 'content reasoning time'


PRINCIPLES
#1:  show comparisons ('compared to what?' include scales)

#2:  show causality (show the Nature's *mechanism* for why it happened the way it did)

#3:  show multiple variables

#4:  integrate evidence (words, numbers, images:  Nature doesn't care about the human-determined or software house determined distinctions between these, and if you are interested in Nature, then you shouldn't care either ... don't segregate evidence by means of production)

#5: document the source for all your information (if you claim that your widget travels at twice the speed of sound, then tell us where you found that number)

#6: content is what matters ... the quality, integrity, and relevance of your content ... the rest of your presentation is just decoration:  minimize it

#7 do important things adjacent in space, in order to take advantage of the enormous power of the human brain/eye system

#8 use small multiples

#9 show *all* your data, even the stuff which doesn't fit your hypothesis ... don't cherry-pick




PHILOSOPHY
as students of Nature, realize that questioning evidence is OK ... it doesn't imply disloyalty or blasphemy ... questioning is a more effective path to uncovering Nature's laws than is silence or blind acceptance

consider alternative approaches, explanations, interpretations ... your diagram shows one thing ... what alternatives to your diagram can you develop?  and what would they show?

the metaphor for presentations is teaching:  your students want to learn, you have something to offer, you cannot give it to them, but you can guide them toward their goal

know your content; respect your audience



CONSUMING PRESENTATION TIPS
-what's the story?

-what is the domain specification?  (what, *specifically*, does this presentation address?  tip:  humans, as a rule, tend to overreach domain specificity)

-assess credibility (too good to be true?  de-quantified?)

-beware of the pitfalls of the powerpoint cognitive style



PRODUCING PRESENTATION TIPS
-arrange graph scales so that slopes head toward 45 degrees ... it is at this angle that trends are most visible to the human/eye system

-in your 150-200 word executive summary, state the problem, describe its relevance (who cares and why), and describe your solution

-Particular, General, Particular:  when displaying data, dive immediately into a specific example ... then back out and offer an overview for why this all matters ... and then reinforce the use of your diagram by diving into another specific example

-in general, repetition and redundancy are good things.  (say it multiple times, say it multiple ways ... this applies to diagrams, too)

-when designing material, sanity check using the following questions: "Does this addition assist the viewer to reason about the material?  Does it contribute to clarity of thought?"

-use screen for interactivity, use paper for resolution and permanance

-technical reports:  11x17" paper, printed double-sided, folded in half

-hone your mechanical skills by reviewing video and audio tapes (separately) of you practicing your presentation

-arrive early, hand out your material, learn names, finish early