The Art of the Helpful GIS Presentation David Howes, Ph.D . David - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

The Art of the Helpful GIS Presentation

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David Howes, Ph.D.

David Howes, LLC, Seattle, WA

Jason Pardy

Jason Pardy Consulting, Rancho Mirage, CA

Matt Stevenson, MUP

CORE GIS LLC, Seattle, WA

Parker Wittman

Aspect Consulting, Seattle, WA

October 21, 2015

The he Per Perfect ect Plan an - Do Don n Ba Barden en

After ten minutes, people will remember

• nly 6% of the facts you give them, but

100% of how they felt

En Enhan hancing cing Com

• mmu

municati nication

• n Sk

Skills lls

• 2008 - Lone GIS Professional Initiative
• 2014 Washington GIS Conference - Communicating Our World
• 2014 - GISPD.com - GIS

Professional Development

Ba Balan ance ce

Strive for 50/50 balance between

• Technical/domain skills
• Soft skills

Com

• mmunic

unicating ating Ou Our Wor

• rld

ld - De Delive verables ables

• Walk a mile in their shoes
• Create an inspiring teachable moment
• Be a mentor to the education community

Eliminat iminate e turf wa wars See Background to the 2014 Washington GIS Conference – Communicating Our World and other related articles

GISPD.com blog - http://www.gispd.com/blog

An n On Ongo going ng Se Seque uenc nce

• Supporting the Lone GIS Professional: The Concept and

Rationale

Howes, D.A., Benson, J. and Bailey, A.

• The Lone GIS Professional: Running Your Own GIS Business

Howes, D.A., Stevenson, M., Savele, M. and Vennemann, K.

• They’ll Stone You When You’re Trying to Build Your GIS: The

Multi-Dimensional Role of the GIS Coordinator

Howes, D.A., Eklund, J., Owen, C., Radcliff, J., Stull, M. and Wallis, D.

Slides for these and others available from

http://dhowes.com/presentations

An n On Ongo going ng Se Seque uenc nce

• The GIS Analyst as an Institutional Resource

Behee, C., Howes, D.A., Walker, C., Roeckers, G., Joselyn, M. and Dewland, T.

• The (not so) Secret (but very necessary) Skills of GIS

Professionals

Howes, D.A., Knapp, M., Johnson, A., Anderson, B. and Norton, S.

• Adapting to the Evolving GIS World

Paul, A., Howes, D.A., Wallis, D., Markert, J., Deaver, B. and Brown, B.

Slides for these and others available from

http://gispd.com/events

An n On Ongo going ng Se Seque uenc nce

• The Art of the Helpful GIS Presentation

Howes, D.A., Pardy, J., Stevenson, M. and Wittman, P.

• The Value of Coding for GIS

Howes, D.A., Berry, J., Paul, A., Goldenberg, E. and Gardner, S.

• Adapting to the Evolving GIS World

Paul, A., Wallis, D., Bonds Jr, R. and Howes, D.A.

Slides for these and others available from

http://gispd.com/events

Foc

• cus

us Top

• pics

cs

• General considerations - David
• Delivery matters - Parker
• Visual considerations - Matt
• Technical presentations - Jason

Ou Our Ba r Backgr ground

• unds

David Howes, Ph.D.

Geospatial Information Scientist & Owner David Howes, LLC

http://www.dhowes.com/

Da Davi vid Ho Howe wes, Ph. h.D. D.

• Education
• B.Sc. (Hons) in Geography – University of Salford, England
• M.Sc. in Geographic Information Systems – University of Edinburgh,

Scotland

• Ph.D. in Geomorphology – State University of New York at Buffalo, New York
• 25 years in GIS
• Established David Howes, LLC in 2012
• Specialty: GIS tools, processes and supporting infrastructure

Jason Pardy

Software Developer Jason Pardy Consulting & Voyager Search

http://www.voyagersearch.com/

Ja Jason

• n Par

Pardy

• Education
• B.Sc. in Geography – Saint Mary’s University, Halifax, Nova Scotia
• Geographic Information Systems – Nortech College, St. John’s,

Newfoundland

• 16 years in GIS
• Worked in software development at Esri for 14 years
• Focus: Geoprocessing, spatial analysis, Python programming

Matt Stevenson, MUP

Principal CORE GIS LLC

http://coregis.net

Ma Matt t St Steve vens nson

• n
• Education
• B.Sc. Urban Planning – Northern Arizona University
• MUP in Urban Planning – University of Washington
• 20 years in GIS
• Established CORE

RE GIS in 2006

• Focus: Cartography, spatial analysis, conservation &

restoration, urban planning

Parker Wittman

Director of Professional Services Aspect Consulting

http://www.aspectconsulting.com/

Par Parker er Wittma tman

• Education:
• B.A. (Double Major) Physics and Communications & Culture –

Indiana University

• 11 years in GIS and Data Science
• Manages a staff of 60+ scientists and engineers at a water

resources/earth sciences/engineering consulting firm

• Focus: water resources and environmental GIS, database and

application development, technical communications

Foc

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• General considerations - David
• Delivery matters - Parker
• Visual considerations - Matt
• Technical presentations - Jason

Why y Prese esent nt at at Confer erence ences?

• Score points?
• Ensure that your expenses are covered?
• Communicate with your

fellow professionals as effectively and helpfully as possible?

The he St Statu atus Qu Quo

• We don't spend much time helping each other be better

communicators

• We get feedback on content/details, but not on delivery
• We don’t tend to help each other as much as we could with

respect to the soft skills aspects of professional development

A So Sober ering ing Tho houg ught ht

“Having sat on innumerable interview panels, I groan as applicants with sound paper qualifications are painfully unable to present themselves in a group, speak well, write clearly, or show simple manners and charm.” “Why computer science graduates can’t talk themselves into jobs” Simon Jenkins

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/aug/07/computer-science- graduates-victims-dirigiste-education

Ho How W w We C e Can an Hel Help

• Improve communication and thereby help enhance the value
• f professional presentations
• Help each other with recommendations
• Encourage balance between consideration of technical

matters and soft skills

En Enhan hancing cing Com

• mmu

municati nication

• n
• Consider the delivery mechanism as well as the content
• Incorporate an evaluation cycle and process that has real

value

• Give each other constructive feedback

Wha hat t So Sort t of

• f GI

GIS S Pres esent entations ations?

• Conference
• Client
• Staff
• Practitioner
• Non-practitioner

Di Differe erent nt Typ ypes es of

• f Prese

esent ntation ation

• Solo presentations
• Multi-presenter sessions
• Lightning talks

Se Session

• n Prepar

eparation ation

Call 1. Gather potential ideas and establish overall goals Before next call: refine ideas, explore feasibility Call 2. Settle on topics, identify roles and develop session format Before next call: begin developing ideas into slides, demos Call 3. Review progress and develop schedule Before next call: Finalize materials Call 4. Review and finalize materials and schedule

Sc Sche hedul ule

Section Presenter Minutes Start End Intro David 4 10:30 10:34 Background David 1 10:34 Background Parker 1 Background Jason 1 Background Matt 1 10:38 General David 14 10:38 10:52 Delivery Parker 14 10:52 11:06 Visuals Matt 14 11:06 11:20 Technical Jason 14 11:20 11:34 Audience David 20 11:34 11:54 Closing Parker 1 11:54 Jason 1 Matt 1 David 1 11:58 Final David 2 11:58 12:00 90

Val alue ue of

• f Co

Collabor laboration ation

• We learn from each other
• We grow cyclically
• We compete in a very positive way

Li Ligh ghtning tning Talk alks

• Time goes by much more quickly than you would expect
• Need a very efficient approach
• A sequence of steps works well

Extending Data-Driven Pages with .NET and ArcObjects

Da David id Howe wes, s, Ph.D .D. David Howes, LLC dhowes.com

GeoDev Dev Meetup up - Freezi eezing ng in Anchor horage, age, AK February 19th, 2015

Tas ask: k: De Deve velop

• p Ma

Map Se Series es wi with h Cus ustom

• m Figu

gure re

Tie e Prof

• file

ile Ba Bars & La Labels els to

• Li

Line near ar Ref efer erencing encing

St Star art t wi with h Da Data-Driv Driven en Page Pages

St Star art t wi with h Da Data-Driv Driven en Page Pages

ArcPy - add/remove map elements

Creat eate e a . a .NE NET Add-In In

St Stor

• re

e El Elem ement ent Proper

• perties

ties in a T n a Tab able

Us Use C e Clea ean n Er Error

• r Ha

Hand ndling ing & Me Messag aging ing

Run Ex Run Expor

• rt

t Proce

• cess

ss Ou Outside de ArcM cMap ap

Map export from within ArcMap: 2 minutes per map

Map export from outside ArcMap (same code): 2 seconds per map

Tha hanks nks for

• r Com
• ming

ng

Sa Sales es Pitc tch In presentations, most communication is basically a sales pitch

Clar arity ity Clarity is of fundamental importance

Ma Mann nner er

• Be confident, genuine and honest
• Be positive

Con

• ntent

ent

• Know your content

If you can’t remember what’s in your presentation

• You’re not prepared
• You have too much content
• What can you leave out?

The he Per Perfect ect Plan an - Do Don n Ba Barden en

(Maximum) three things only

St Styl yle

• Be purposeful
• Style should support message
• Can reflect your personality

De Deliver very

• Write down what you’ll say as a learning aid, but don’t read it
• Maintain a flow
• Always know what’s on the next slide

Don’t Build Walls!

Hu Humor

• r
• Be careful
• Pre-canned humor almost never works
• Be respectful

Ov Over erall all Con

• nsider

iderations ations

• Respect your audience - avoid doing them a disservice
• Earn a reputation for quality
• Be helpful

Foc

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• pics

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• General considerations - David
• Delivery matters - Parker
• Visual considerations - Matt
• Technical presentations - Jason

SO HOW DO WE DO THIS WELL?

BE ENGAGING AND MAKE IT MEANINGFUL.

(AND BE HELPFUL, OF COURSE!)

PRESENTATIONS ARE BORING. PEOPLE ARE INTERESTING.

COMMUNICATE FROM THE OVERLAP

…AND CREATE COMMON GROUND AS YOU PRESENT

THE PERILS OF THE

‘WHAT DID I DO LAST SUMMER’

GIS PRESENTATION.

THING THING THING THING THING THING THING THING THING THING THING THING THING THING FACT FACT FACT FACT FACT FACT FACT FACT FACT FACT FACT FACT FACT FACT

HOW TO PREPARE LIKE A STORYTELLER

1

GENERATE IDEAS

2

FILTER

3

CLUSTER

Adapted from Nancy Durante’s Resonate (2010)

4

CREATE MESSAGES

5

ARRANGE

6

NOTE THE “MOMENTS”

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Adapted from Nancy Durante’s Resonate (2010)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Turning point Turning point AHA!

Don’t get stuck here!!

7

VISUALIZE

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Adapted from Nancy Durante’s Resonate (2010)

4 g n 9 1 L 7 / : / * s r @ = ] ^ # 5 { +

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• pics

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• General considerations - David
• Delivery matters - Parker
• Visual considerations - Matt
• Technical presentations - Jason

VIS ISUALS ALS

AUDI DIENCE ENCE

Non-practitioner Practitioner

NO NON-PRA PRACTITIONER CTITIONER

Do not assume geographic literacy—orient your audience

US USE MAP APS S TO TELL L A S A STORY ORY

Se Segment Clu lustering: WEKA data mining software (using expectation maximization algorithm)

Image Segmentation GIS Data

BUT DON’T OVERDO IT

SM SMAL ALL L MUL ULTI TIPLE PLES

Myer Klump B-12 MSC MacLearnsberry 2 Wiltermood Wiltermood 2 Wiltermood 3 MacLearnsberry Location

MORE RE SM SMAL ALL L MUL ULTI TIPLES PLES

• 1. Identify islands
• 2. Prepare network
• 3. Prepare targets
• 4. Create service areas
• 5. Sum structures

US USE EXAM AMPLES PLES

When trying to explain a complex GIS analysis, you could uld say something like:

“We determined channel elevation differences using bare earth LiDAR to extract heights from the channel center line, followed by a Euclidean allocation to assign those heights to all adjacent cells, then subtracted the result from the original LiDAR raster”

…or you could just show a couple of pictures.

October 1, 2015 Skykomish Basin Mapping 79

KE KEEP P CO COLORS LORS CO CONSIS SISTENT TENT

US USE MUL ULTI TIPLE PLE SO SOUR URCES CES

PR PRESEN SENTING TING ON CAR ARTOGRAPH OGRAPHY

• Sometimes it can be challenging to describe what is

essentially a creative process. But we must try

• The best way to talk about mapping is to show a lot of maps
• You can assume a LOT of technical knowledge! Some

slanguage is okay

HOW HOW TO DR O DRAW AN OWL N OWL

STEPWISE PWISE EXPL PLAN ANATI TIONS ONS

Think of it as a cooking show for cartography

The Finished Product

Step 1: Set map extent based on area of interest and map elements ArcMap

Step 2: Add additional boundaries (counties, cities) and major transportation features

Step 3: Add protected lands, highly desaturated palette

Step 5: Add visual depth and geographic context to the map by using bathymetry

Step 6: Add even more visual depth by overlaying transparent hillshade derived from bathymetry

Step 7: Add annotation

Step 8: Add areas of interest (coral reefs, Shark River Slough, etc)

Step 9: add semi- transparent mask to focus map readers’ attention on the features within the boundary

Step 1: Export TIFF from ArcMap,

• pen in

Photoshop and create a new PSD Photoshop

Step 5: Finished PSD

US USE INSET SETS S TO O OVERCOME OME RESOLUTI SOLUTION ON LI LIMIT MITATIONS TIONS

INCLUDE “HOW TO” DETAILS

Step 4: Add Dropshadow FX

Here’s where you can get great bathymetry: http://www. ngdc.noaa.g

• v/mgg/coas

tal/startcrm. htm

IN INCL CLUDE UDE DATA A SO SOUR URCES CES

BE BEST OF AL ALL, , LIN INK K TO VID IDEOS

Foc

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• pics

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• General considerations - David
• Delivery matters - Parker
• Visual considerations - Matt
• Technical presentations - Jason

Sh Shor

• rt

t Tec echn hnical ical De Demo

Be Be Prepare epared

Sy System em Se Setup up

• Font size matters
• Change display settings to make font bigger fonts
• For code: mono-spaced fonts (i.e. Lucida Console, 14 to 18pt, Bold)
• Ensure no licenses are about to expire
• Get to the conference room early and do a test of everything in

advance

Tea eaming ing

• One person for slides; one person for demonstrations
• All presenters should know the slides and how to deliver the

demonstrations

• Use same system setup (i.e., fonts)

Le Lear arn n to

• Mu

Multit itask ask

• Do not panic
• Silence is bad
• Annotate your actions

Sp Spea eaking ing

• Remember to make eye contact
• Avoid specific words such as:
• You know
• Easy or simple
• Avoid acronyms

Tec echnic hnical al De Demon

• nstr

trations ations

• Create demo scripts
• Have backups easily accessible
• Do not type code in a demo (copy & paste)
• Avoid unnecessary mouse movements

Prese esent ntation ation Too

• ols

ls

• Mouse with a wheel
• Notepad++
• PyScripter for Python coding

Your Turn

Takea akeaway y Me Mess ssages ages

De Deliver very y Ma Matt tter ers

• Find a way to make

ke yo your pres esent entation ation MEANINGFUL NINGFUL to your audience (e.g. “Communicate from the overlap”)

• Prepa

pare re like ke a s storyt yteller

• eller. People remember stories. People

care about stories.

• “Soft skills” matter, maybe more than anything else in your

career… so practice and prepare like it!

Vi Visua ual l Con

• nsider

iderations ations

• Know
• w Your

r Audience dience and use visuals that are appropriate for your audience

• Use maps and graphics to Tell

l a St Story

• Sma

mall ll Multip tiples les are a great way to communicate quickly and clearly with maps

Tec echnic hnical al Con

• nsider

iderations ations

• Develop demonstration scripts and practice as much as

possible

• Prepare for the unexpected - know where errors could occur

and how to handle them

• Don’t obscure the good information you’re trying to present

Ge Gene neral al Con

• nsid

sider erations ations

• Create a strong and positive impression
• Don’t do your audience a disservice
• Don’t build walls

Slides available at http://gispd.com/events

Th Than anks ks for

• r Co

Comi ming ng