Credentialing Badge
Making an
Engineering Ambassador Presentation 
​
This foundational badge, which is for Engineering Ambassadors (EAs), teaches you how to create an EA outreach presentation. In this badge, you will first learn the importance of making an outreach presentation for the Engineering Ambassadors.  Next, in sections 2, 3, and 4, you will learn strategies for an effective outreach presentation from three different perspectives: content and structure, visual aids, and delivery. At the end of these four sections, you verify your understanding of the material through a comprehensive Kahoot quiz. In the fifth and final section, you are to work with another EA to create and then deliver an outreach presentation to an actual or showcase audience.
1. Changing the Conversation about Engineering 

To learn the importance of making outreach presentations for engineering, you are to review the Executive Summary of Changing the Conversation. This document is a book by the National Academy of Engineers about how we as engineers can improve public understanding of engineering. The summary is 16 pages and should take you about 20 minutes to review. Please pay attention to the reasons for wanting the change public understanding of engineering and the recommended messages for making that change occur. Once you have finished reading, you are to complete this section by scoring at least 80% on this section's Kahoot quiz.
2. Content and Structure of an EA Presentation

​This section provides an overview of the content and structure of an engineering ambassador presentation. For this section, please view the films below. You should also think about the key takeaways from your EA training on content and structure. Then, you are to take the Kahoot quiz to show your understanding of this material. 
Structure of a scientific presentation. Notice how Rachel Perini (an EA) begins her talk in a memorable way that builds credibility, how Jess Spoll (an EA) maps her talk in a memorable way, how Amel Awadelkarim (an EA) uses images to keep her audience on track with her content, and how Rachel Perini provides closure.

Example scientific talk that that uses strategies effective for an EA presentation. Notice how Dr. Ramsey begins with the familiar before moving to the new. Notice also how he uses an imaginative (but valid) analogy to explain his work. Finally, notice how he does not explain all details of his work--just those that the audience needs.
3. Visual Aids: the Assertion-Evidence Approach

​This section challenges the way that most engineers and scientists design slides for their presentations. The first film discusses the inherent problems that prevent most slides from helping engineers and scientists effectively communicate their work. The second film discusses important assumptions about presentation slides. ​Discussed in the next two films are the first two principles of the assertion-evidence approach. After viewing these two films, you should download an assertion-evidence template, look it over, and then view the fifth film to understand how to use the template to create effective slides. Your final task for this section is to take a Kahoot quiz on this material.

PowerPoint's defaults are weak.

One important assumption is to use slides only when they serve the presentation.

AE Principle 1: Build your talk on messages, not topics.

AE Principle 2: Support your messages with visual evidence, not bulleted lists.

Using a template to create assertion-evidence slides.
​4. Delivering an Engineering Outreach Presentation

​This section teaches you the principles for delivering an engineering outreach presentation. 

AE Principle 3: Explain your visual evidence by fashioning sentences on the spot, but only after planning and practice.

Four strategies for achieving projected confidence in an engineering or scientific presentation.
Comprehensive Quiz ​
Score at least 90 percent (18,000 points).
​Sign in with First Name, Initials of School (example: Beth, TSU). Add "2" to your sign-in
​name for a second try (example: Beth2, TSU). Also, please truncate first name if it is long.
5. Creation and Delivery of an Outreach Presentation

For the final task of this badge, you are to use the principles discussed in the sections above to create and deliver an outreach presentation to an actual or showcase audience. That presentation can be a team presentation with another EA. Once you have created and delivered that presentation, your EA advisor should inform the EA Network so that you can receive your credentialing badge. Shown in the film on the right is an example outreach presentation. Other examples appear on the page for Model Outreach Talks.