Props in seminar

Question

I've been asked to give a seminar at an other research center about my work. Specifically about a device which was installed in an experiment.

I have an early prototype of it (Size is about 20x5x2 cm). The prototype was and never will be installed and as such safe for people to touch it.

I was pondering to bring it along flashing is shortly in front of the audience for them to better visualize it when I go over the layout of it. After that I would leave it on the table during the talk, as not to distract the audience by circulating it, and let everybody who's interested come to have a look afterwards. There is no subsequent speaker after me.

I was wondering if this is a good idea or considered unprofessional, since showing the device doesn't add any content per se (as it is too small to see for the audience) and only tries to engage the audience.

Answer 1

The goal of your seminar is to educate and inform your audience about your work. If showing the audience a prototype of your work will help them to better visualize and conceptualize what you are doing, then why wouldn't you want to take advantage of that during your talk?

So long as you properly integrate into your talk—make it an essential part of it, rather than just "for show" while you talk—then the prop will do its duty.

What you might want to consider is taking some high-quality photos of the prototype that you can show on the screen as you talk about the prototype while holding it. Then you can get the best of both worlds.

Answer 2

This is a terrific idea, and moreover you should also strongly consider passing the device around so that people can inspect it and hold it in their hands. The idea that the opportunity to have either visual or tactile contact with a scientific instrument or device "doesn't add any content" is simply false. At the very least, including a prop of this sort in your presentation will add an unusual and memorable element to your talk that would set it apart from the hundreds of other talks that come and go in a university department and are easily forgotten; at best, the prop will actually give the seminar participants some actual insight into your experiment and the related science. Either way, it can only work to your benefit.

As a small illustration, I recently brought some 3D-printed objects to a math seminar I was giving. Although one can make the same argument that showing pictures of the objects (which I also did) would contain exactly the same information as you could get from handling the 3D models, the psychological effect of being able to handle the 3D objects, and the reactions I got, were both very positive.

Answer 3

Personally, I've always been unable to clearly understand the arrangement of a complex device from pictures or drawings, and I much appreciate the possibility of observing directly a device after its description.

In addition, since you've been invited to talk specifically about this device, the audience should appreciate your idea of bringing it along.

Therefore, yes, I think it's a good idea.

Answer 4

There are several points to consider:

1. Is it safe to pass it around? If the answer is "no", then it's "no".

2. Can you pass it to all? It would be annoying to let only the front row get it in their hands, so consider this.

3. Do you mind people getting distracted? In general, most audience does not pay attention to the speaker anyway at a seminar, so from my experience, unless you're talking something extremely important, you just shouldn't care that people are distracted, but you may see it differently.

In general, the more different senses get involved the better, so passing it around has a big value. Actually, I even think you can be remembered as "the guy who passed around that funny yellow thingy" if seeing prototypes is not common at this seminar.