I have 20 minutes total for my intern presentation. How do I maximize the time I have for my project outcomes and ensuring it goes well?
I worked on mainly one project and there was a lot of issues with getting alignment on the actual scope and project itself which resulted in delays in the project. It is still a work in progress and hasnt been put into demo org or production yet. (was in a pm role not swe so unfortunately had a lot of dependencies) How do I make the most out of the presentation time ? Im finding that I have like 50 slides but I know I wont be able to go through all of it.
Discussion
(2 comments)- 4
6 months agoFounding ML Engineer @ Lancey (YC S22)Definitely 50 is too much. Also find out if youre going to need to slot out time for a Q and A as well. I benchmark 1 minute per slide usually.
For the presentation
- Remember to talk about the problem you are solving. The audience (assuming its seniors/managers/tech leads) wont know your problem so make sure to be specific about the problem you're solving
- Talk about solution in a high level. These folks likely see a bunch of these and they get fatigued through it. No one can really follow your actual solution, so make sure to keep it high level
- The level of technical depth should be as if you're presenting to a recruiter
- Thank the people properly who helped you out in your internship
- Emphasize growth and what you learned. Interns are almost always a net negative for companies. They also know you've likely never had a real SWE job before so growth and learning speed is very important. Make sure to highlight soft/hard skills you learned during your internship
- Even though it seems like your internship was less than ideal, please try to not project it or talk negatively during this time. Try to keep things positive
- When you present try to stay in a positive mood and be a bit energetic. It realy reflects positively
- 26 months agoTech Lead/Manager at Meta, Pinterest, Kosei
Start by answering the question, "What is the main point you want people to remember about your work?" People won't remember more than 2-3 things, so you've already lost if you're trying to communicate 10+ points.
Once you've identified the 1-2 takeaways, now you should create a story around it. From your very brief description of the internship, I'd propose 2 takeaways:
- Talk about the work you did and what problem it solved.
- Talk about the challenges you faced. Since you ran into issues (and everyone knows about those issues), you need to address them directly and talk about what you learned in the process.
- Don't make seem like you're blaming someone. Instead, talk about what lessons you learned and how your reflections/learnings could benefit the team going forward.
Also relevant: How to improve public speaking & your presentations?
