Prop Up Your Presentations

After decades of using cast iron and then ductile iron pipe, the water utility was being asked by a member of the local developer community to allow use of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipe. The principal argument for the PVC pipe was less initial material cost. In response, the utility’s board created an advisory committee to investigate and reportback with recommendations.

The utility’s construction manager opposed allowing PVC pipe. Accordingly, he made a presentation to the advisory committee during which he stressed what he viewed as negativeaspects of PVC pipe and positive features of ductile iron pipe.

The construction manager referred to a $20\text{-}\text{foot}$ , eight-inch-diameter PVC pipe that he had placed in the meeting room. He noted that when PVC pipe failed, the failure tended to affect the entire length of pipe and require an excavation more than $20\text{feet}$ long. In contrast, cast iron pipe failures tended to be localized. They were repaired by excavating a small hole down to and around the pipe and clamping a saddle over the failure. He showed the audience a saddle and listeners could not help but note the small size of the saddle compared to the $20\text{-}\text{foot}$ length of PVC pipe. The large size differential between the two objects also reinforced the relative size of the repair excavation and, by extension, the relative repair costs.

Clearly, the speaker could have simply described the high cost of repairing PVC failures relative to the cost of repairing ductile iron pipe. However, the two props greatly enhanced his argument. (Note that the request to allow use of PVC pipe was ultimately denied as a result of many factors, only one of which was differential repair costs.)

Our presentations, that is, engineers speaking to clients, owners, stakeholders, boards, councils, students, and colleagues, typically include traditional visual aids. PowerPoint is heavily used, or perhaps more accurately, overused. That use rarely reflects what recent research reveals is the most effective slide format. However, that could be the subject of another essay.

We engineers rarely use props. This is ironic in that we plan, design, construct, and operate things—structures, facilities, and systems—that serve the needs of our clients and the public. We have access to highly varied potential prop material, the use of which could enhance our communication effectiveness, especially for visual and kinesthetic learners. These learners prefer to understand by seeing and touching or handling objects in contrast with auditory learners who tend to focus on spoken words. Given that we rarely know the learning preferences of audience members, we should anticipate that all three types—auditory, visual, and kinesthetic—are likely to be present and plan our presentations accordingly.

Some actual illustrations of using props to enhance communication:

Perhaps my thoughts about recognizing different types of learners, especially the visual and kinesthetic learners, reinforced with the prop examples provided above, will stimulate you to think about using props to improve your presentations. As noted by consultant Mel Hensey, “communication is not what is intended, but what is received by others.” Judicious use of props will help others receive what you intended them to receive.

Thank you to Decker B. Hains, Ph.D., P.E., U.S. Military Academy; and David Pilz, P.E., consultant to the city of Valparaiso, Indiana, for their thoughtful assistance.

This article is a modified version of an essay that originally appeared in Indiana Professional Engineer (September-October 2009).