What do you do if your non-technical audience is not engaged during your 3D Printing presentation?

Begin the presentation with an actual 3D-printed part that's visually appealing, functionally complex, and used in daily life. Keep this product as the main focus throughout and explain how 3D printing technology was used to create it. This approach will maintain audience engagement and provide a sense of learning something new.

Try to explain the content in simple terms a lay man would understand. Often, times when you make them involved with an analogy or example they understand they start engaging with you to share what they understood. Once they are comfortable with the topic at hand you can introduce incremental complexity in your presentation. If you have access to 3 D printers definitely showing parts and they interactions will help greatly.

Since I teach business learners, I make sure that i use visuals and real world example so that its going to be easy for them to understand. I am in South Africa so I usually use the example of the 3d printed house in Lolongwe in Malawi. Telling them about the 3d printer that UJ is working on that will build RDP houses

If your non-technical audience seems disengaged during a 3D printing presentation, try these strategies: Simplify Concepts: Break down complex ideas into simple, relatable terms. Avoid jargon. Use Visuals: Incorporate engaging visuals, animations, or live demos of 3D printing to capture interest. Tell Stories: Connect concepts to real-world applications or tell stories that illustrate the impact of 3D printing. Interactive Elements: Include interactive elements like Q&A sessions or hands-on demonstrations to involve the audience. Check Understanding: Periodically ask questions to gauge understanding and adjust your presentation based on the audience's responses.

FDM 3D printers are now affordable and portable. A live demo is a great way to engage and illustrate the concept. After that explain the following: 1. Hardware: Explain the key components and their functions. 2. Firmware: Mention firmware is pre-installed and controls printer operation. 3. Software/Slicing: Outline the software side and slicing process: - Software Selection: Choose slicing software like Slic3r, Simplify3D, etc - Importing Model: Load 3D model file (STL). - Adjusting Parameters: Set parameters like Layer Height, Speed, Shell, Density, Infill Pattern, etc - Slicing: Software slices model into layers and generates G-code. - Exporting G-code. Understanding the above basics empowers users to explore 3D printing confidently.

This does not mean the technical audience IS engaged. Maybe you should try a different field that likes boring presentations. Know your audience and give everyone a reason to engage. Challenge them. Be humble, but show confidence and enthusiasm 🏀⚽️

First you should always carefully describe the real problem you are solving - make sure it is understood and hopefully resonating with the audience. When I observe exciting or impressive work (at least to me) that is somehow not engaging people, it is that they are too quickly focused on some technical aspects of how they did it versus spending enough time on the why and impact narrative. Invest those critical minutes of your all too brief speaking slot to ensure a return.

More than just simplifying, I'd say make things relevant and engaging. For example, a lot of the classes I take for 3d printing involve regional language students, for whom, it is just easier to connect if I speak in their language, and bring up local and traditional examples of the tech on display. It's just better for everyone if one person (the presenter) adapts to the audience than it is to force an entire audience to adapt to your background and relate to your examples and terms.

Use everyday analogies to demystify technical concepts. You might compare the layers in 3D printing to slices of bread in a loaf to explain how objects are built up. Or, liken the printer's precision to the detailed work of a pastry chef decorating a cake.

Whenever you're doing a presentation, you need to step lower at the level of your audience. You being an expert must have the skills to get your audience engaged in your talk. For that, you can add visualization as pictures depict a lot more than words. You can also engage your audience by some tie-breakers or humoral jokes relevant to your topic. You need to develop storytelling skills so that you can make a story relevant to your 3D printing case studies. Unless audience is able to imagine what you're saying, they'll be like empty-minded. So make more stories and engage the audience. For example, I always tell them that 3D printing is just like making a home, putting a brick on a brick. So, they're like yeah, we can imagine this.

A helpful tool to employ during this stage is Kahoot, as it allows you to assess the audience's understanding of the subject matter in real-time. Alternatively, you can backtrack a few steps to provide additional explanation if needed. Also, welcoming anonymous questions as you talk helps you clear up any doubts later.

Spice up the Q&A by using live polls via a presentation app, asking the audience to choose what object they'd like to see printed next. Alternatively, incorporate a quiz with rewards for correct answers about 3D printing facts, keeping the audience engaged and attentive.

Q&A can be definitely helpful because it will let the audience be part of an interactive process where their querries and issues are answered or demonstrated with 3D designs visual, simulation results, with relevant data sets

Quite often an audience is disengaged because they cannot see themselves using such technology or they have questions they feel might be too "dumb" to ask. Prompt them to ask those questions regardless of what they might be.

Connect with Audience Interests: Tailor your examples or explanations to align with the interests of your audience. Show how 3D printing can benefit them personally or professionally. Use Analogies: Compare 3D printing processes or concepts to familiar objects or activities to help the audience grasp the concepts more easily. Provide Practical Applications: Highlight practical applications of 3D printing that are relevant to the audience's interests or industries. Show how it can solve problems or improve efficiency.

It has to be real to be engaging. Showcase its versatility, from rapid prototyping to custom production. Highlight its impact on various industries like healthcare, aerospace, and fashion. Employ interactive demonstrations, case studies, and visually compelling presentations to illustrate its potential for innovation and problem-solving. Encourage participation and discussion to deepen understanding

I thinking the best way to teach persons, technical or non technical is through the examples relating to everyday life. Audience would relate more to example from everyday life. And help them understand more and endulge more in the presentation.

I always found it to be a good idea to tailor your presentation to your audience. When I taught 3D printing, I would have a general presentation for those who were just curious. I would then tailor that depending on the group I was doing an outreach session for. It helped the outreach classes better understand how 3D printing could affect their industry.

If addressing a group of healthcare professionals, discuss how 3D printing is revolutionizing prosthetics, allowing for custom-fitted, functional limbs at a fraction of the usual cost. Bring a 3D-printed prosthetic hand to demonstrate its functionality and benefits.

Tailoring examples help the audience connect to the technology in more tangible ways they could've even had prior interactions with, which often sparks more interest. The challenge in this is to truly find what your audience cares for. This is easier in targeted presentations, where the whole group might have a professional or personal thread in common. The addressing a group of competitive cyclist for instance, it's clear you gained their attention when mentioning something like the rapid prototyping and fabrication of personalized seats to them. Even more so when you can put the advantages of the technology in terms they care for, such as rider comfort and performance gains. Best of luck out there.

Share a case study of a small business that cut production costs by 70% through in-house 3D printing of parts. Use before-and-after scenarios, illustrated with slides showing the financial and operational benefits.

It will be useful to talk about the real life implications of your design. So that, people in the audience will be able to resonate with your desogn along with your underlying thought porcess.

Dependiendo del público se escogería casos de éxito de la vida real en los que la impresión 3D solucionó una problemática o generó un emprendimiento para que los oyentes se motiven y piensen que ellos también pueden lograrlo.

I think this is the key, we all get bored in any presentation when we believe that what we are seeing has no application or benefit to us, trying to express in simple words that this has a big impact on the way that person works is definitely going to help you.

Clear usecases are also very important to identify benefits for the audience applications. This helps to improve the acceptance of the new technology - the additive manufacturing technology!

Encourage Participation: Encourage audience members to share their thoughts, questions, or experiences related to 3D printing. This can create a more interactive and engaging environment. Reinforce Key Points: Summarize key points throughout the presentation to reinforce understanding and keep the audience focused. By employing these strategies, you can help re-engage your non-technical audience and make your 3D printing presentation more enjoyable and informative for everyone.

If you sense disengagement, introduce a "pulse check" by pausing for a mini-feedback session. Ask if the pace is okay or if there are aspects they're curious about. It shows responsiveness and keeps the presentation dynamic. If they're eager to learn more about a specific application, dive into that topic, perhaps showing a short documentary clip of 3D printing in action in a relevant industry.

Take a short break. Pass around a few 3D-printed parts and mingle with the participants. This way you will learn a lot about their interests and specialisms. Continue with the presentation and explain the special features of the parts. Do not continue while the parts are still in circulation. Learning and memorisation is particularly encouraged by the combination of different sensory experiences.

-Begin at 30,000 ft before you descend into detail. The moment context is lost, eyes go hazy. -Ease into technical details slowly. Avoid using technical terms at all, if possible. -Take advantage of natural human curiosity; people love to be interested. -Follow the age-old story arc: introduction, build, climax, conclusion. It's how we think.

This is not an additive manufacturing related topic, but a very generic case with any technical presentation. However, apart from what everyone mentioned like visual engagement, interactive QA, context and all I'd like to give a very practical solution to how a presentation can be more engaging. Through STORYTELLING and AI. Always try to take the audience with you through a journey that they can enjoy. Although this technique is around for some time and proven to be very effective, what's special in today's context is how AI is changing the landscape of visual storytelling. One can use text-image AI tools or even train a model to create high quality image and videos. These can be presented as highly engaging slides in a presentation.

Make sure there are running 3D printer during the talk while we engange customer with the examples . This might get their attention easily since there are machine running infront of their eyes.

I think you have to go further, try to involve the audience in an experience with 3D. Most people think this is only for creating toys, why not show off creating something really stunning in the presentation

*Use less jargons and more layman terms, your audience might have zero experience with 3D Printing. *Speak less technical and more application to the audience's field. *Bring printed samples which connects with their field for them to touch and see, and let them engage imaginatively on how to apply it to their work process.