EN.663.618 Professional Presentations
The Complete Study & Assessment Guide · Fall 2026EN.663.618 Overview
- Johns Hopkins University
- Fall 2026
- Whiting School of Engineering
- Graduate letter scale
- Practice-intensive, face-to-face
What Professional Presentations asks of you
EN.663.618 Professional Presentations is a graduate course in the Whiting School of Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. It is built on practice rather than lectures: in most sessions you give a real speech and then act as a commentator on your classmates' speeches.
- Assessed by Eleven graded speeches, interviews and meetings plus participation, weekly video observations and a speaker critique paper.
- Attendance rule Attendance decides a pass: missing 3 or more classes, 3 weeks of sessions, means you fail the course; a missed speech scores zero.
- Hardest step Cutting a talk down to one message the audience cares about, then designing slides that support it without repeating it.
- How to prepare Upload topic, storyboard and slides on the weekly schedule, then rehearse aloud to the clock with your own footage in mind.
How EN.663.618 is assessed
| Component | Weight | Format |
|---|---|---|
| Presentation Zen Speech | 5% | Individual speech with slides, 5 to 7 minutes, teaching one assigned chapter of Presentation Zen |
| Technical Speech for Non-Experts | 5% | Individual speech with slides, 5 to 7 minutes, on a technical topic from your field for a non-specialist audience |
| "Design an App" Hackathon Group Pitch | 5% | Team of 2 to 3 with slides: a 90-second pitch to venture capital executives, then conversation; graded as a group |
| Extemporaneous Speeches | 5% | No slides; one practice day and one graded day of short speeches given with little or no preparation |
| Online Job Interview | 5% | No slides, professional dress; about 8 to 10 minutes online for a job you choose from the posted listings |
| In-Person Job Interview | 5% | No slides; a second interview in front of a live panel of classmates, who you also interview for another job |
| Research Walkthrough | 10% | Individual speech with slides, 5 to 7 minutes, visualising and interpreting a dataset; a Technical Communication Lab visit is required first |
| Cool Company Profile in Plan B | 10% | Individual speech with slides, 5 to 7 minutes, profiling a company for MSEM students while adapting to a hidden Plan B disruption |
| Product Manager Memo & Update | 10% | A memo of no more than one single-spaced page on an assigned disruptor, then an 8 to 10 minute meeting you lead |
| Busy Boss Briefing | 15% | Individual speech with slides, 8 to 10 minutes, pitching a consulting deliverable built from The Culture Map |
| Self-Reflective Speech | 5% | Final individual speech, 5 to 7 minutes, on your own growth as a speaker across the semester |
| Participation & Work Ethic | 10% | Attendance, timeliness, preparation, peer feedback and meeting the weekly upload deadlines |
| Weekly Observations | 5% | Short-answer Canvas quiz on your recorded footage, due 12 hours before class |
| Speaker Critique Paper | 5% | An 800-word analysis of a live speaker's delivery, submitted as a PDF |
The syllabus lists these fourteen graded components and they total 100%; the opening self-introduction speech is not graded. One attendance rule sits outside the table: missing 3 or more classes results in a failing grade, meaning you fail the course on attendance alone; the class meets once a week, so that is 3 weeks of sessions. Missed or late speeches score zero, while written work loses one point per day and closes after five days. One speech, other than the Busy Boss Briefing, may be made up in an optional late-term session. Two documents disagree on some details: the assignment packet lists several early speeches a week earlier than the calendar and Canvas, and lists the Self-Reflective Speech without slides while the syllabus and its rubric include them. Check the current Canvas page.
Assessment structure
Segments group the fourteen published weights by the kind of work they reward; widths reproduce the percentages and total 100%.
Current EN.663.618 dates
| Date | Item | Control |
|---|---|---|
| September 21, 2026 | Presentation Zen Speech | Slides due on Canvas two days earlier. |
| September 28, 2026 | Technical Speech for Non-Experts | Given in class. |
| October 5, 2026 | Research Walkthrough Speech | Given in class. |
| October 19, 2026 | Group Hackathon Pitch | Given in class. |
| October 26, 2026 | In-Person Interviews | Given in class. |
| November 2, 2026 | Final graded extemporaneous speech and Speaker Critique Paper | The paper is due by 11:59 pm. |
| November 9, 2026 | Cool Company Plan B Speech | Given in class. |
| November 16, 2026 | PM Manager Update Memo and Meeting | The memo is due on November 14. |
| November 30, 2026 | Busy Boss Briefing | Slides due on November 28. |
| December 7, 2026 | Self-Reflective Speech | Given in class. |
Dates are as published in the course calendar and the assignment due dates on Canvas for this offering. Confirm exact deadlines and submission settings in the live LMS.
What EN.663.618 covers
Twelve chapters follow the course from audience-first messages and slide design through data talks, interviews and pitches to the pressure assignments that close the semester.
Audience-First Messages and the WIIFY
Finding the one message a room needs · frontloading the WIIFY · hooks that earn attention · editing a talk down to its coreThe one goal behind every speech
Professional Presentations keeps returning to a single idea: a presentation is for the audience, not for the speaker. The Week 3 slides put it bluntly.
- Focus on what matters to the audience and drop the rest
- What the WIIFY is and why the Y means the listener
- Reading the room: needs, background and stakes
- Frontloading the gain into the first minute
- Maximum effect with minimum means
- The story and content lines on every speech rubric
Slide Design with Presentation Zen and CRAP
The six slide pitfalls · contrast, repetition, alignment and proximity · colour contrast on screen · text-heavy slides that still workWhy slide design is graded
Every slide-based speech in Professional Presentations carries a SLIDES section worth 25% of its grade.
- The SLIDES section that recurs on every slide speech rubric
- Six slide pitfalls from script syndrome to boring minimalism
- Contrast, repetition, alignment and proximity
- What each CRAP principle signals to a viewer
- Using colour for contrast, relationships and theme
- When a text-heavy slide is acceptable
Technical Talks for Non-Expert Audiences
Mixed audiences at a research talk · metaphor and story · click delay from simple to complex · avoiding both the data dump and the fanboy talkThe setting you are asked to imagine
The Technical Speech for Non-Experts is a five to seven minute talk with slides, worth 5% of the grade.
- Who sits in a mixed technical audience
- Avoiding the bad parody of Presentation Zen
- Avoiding the data dump
- Metaphor and story as translation tools
- Editing a technical topic around the WIIFY
- Click delay from simple to complex
Data Storytelling and the Research Walkthrough
Research question from a dataset · effective, ethical and efficient displays · outliers and trimming · showing method without drowning in itOne speech, two names
The syllabus lists this assignment as the Research Walkthrough, worth 10% of the grade with slides required. The rubric sheet calls the same five to seven minute talk the Storytelling with Data Speech.
- Research Walkthrough and Storytelling with Data: the same speech
- Framing a research question from a dataset
- Context, explanation and application
- Showing your method without drowning in it
- The 3 Es of displaying data
- Redesigning dense charts with Presentation Zen principles
Delivery Skills and Video Self-Review
The delivery criteria every rubric repeats · weekly video observations · the speaker critique paper · the self-reflective speechDelivery is the heaviest line on the first rubric
Professional Presentations grades how you speak, not only what you say.
- The delivery lines on every speech rubric
- Why memorized delivery reads as robotic
- Using class footage as an objective lens
- The five prompts in the weekly observation quiz
- Writing a speaker critique that evaluates rather than summarises
- Planning the self-reflective speech and its evidence
Extemporaneous Speaking Under Time Pressure
Stating a position first · hook, main point, example, recap and close · answering as yourself · the ten rubric linesSpeaking with almost no warning
An extemporaneous speech is a talk delivered with little or no time to prepare.
- What makes a speech extemporaneous
- Using a single keyword as your whole plan
- Hook, main point, example, recap and close in miniature
- Opening with a clear position sentence
- Answering from your own point of view
- How the practice and graded rounds are scored
Pitching an App as a Team
Market rationale and USP · competitor comparison and ROI · splitting time without sounding robotic · handling questions after a short pitchThe hackathon scenario
The group speech asks a team of 2-3 students to design a game-changing app and pitch it at an imagined hackathon co-sponsored by Apple and Johns Hopkins University. The audience plays venture capital executives.
- The hackathon brief and the investor audience
- Fitting a whole pitch into 90 seconds
- USP, market share and ROI as the investor checklist
- Comparing competitors, even in a Blue Ocean market
- Splitting time evenly without sounding robotic
- Editing shared slides into one aesthetic
Resumes and Cover Letters for a Target Job
Tailoring for applicant tracking systems · action verbs and the CAR model · the quadrant and twenty-second tests · a cover letter that expands rather than repeatsWhy the job documents come before the interviews
Professional Presentations ends its interview unit with two graded conversations, but they start on paper.
- Researching the job advertisement for keywords and values
- How applicant tracking systems rank a resume
- Resume sections from contact details to skills
- Action verbs, parallel tense and the CAR model
- Design checks: quadrant test, fonts, CRAP and the 20-second read
- When a resume can run past one page
Job Interviews and the SART Method
Situation, action, result and tie to their job · online versus in-person logistics · two questions for the panel · sitting on the interviewer sideTwo interviews for one invented job
Two assignments in Professional Presentations are job interviews, worth 5% of the grade each and delivered without slides.
- The online and in-person interview assignments
- Choosing one of the four job listings
- The SART method: situation, action, result, tie
- The Work, Work, Work reflection worksheet
- Demeanor, logistics and answers on the rubrics
- Asking two professional questions of the panel
Plan B: Presenting Through Disruption
Apologise once and move on · hecklers and experts · defusing tension without jokes at anyone's expense · repeating the main messageA company profile with a hidden twist
The Cool Company Profile in Plan B Mode counts for 10% of the grade, needs slides and runs 5 to 7 minutes.
- What Plan B Mode adds to the Cool Company Profile
- Choosing an MSEM-relevant company and researching past the obvious
- A two-fold WIIFY for students and the professor
- One apology for your own mistake, then forward
- Handling a heckler or a debating expert calmly
- Using humour to defuse tension without overusing it
Product Manager Memos and Update Meetings
Why narrative memos replace bullet slides · a one-page memo on an assigned disruptor · leading a discussion that is not an interview · answering without defendingA presentation without slides
The Product Manager Update Memo and Meeting is worth 10% and takes 8 to 10 minutes of class time. The syllabus marks it as a no-slides assignment.
- Why the course pairs a memo with a meeting
- Ligature, its product and its four values
- Turning a random disruptor into recommendations
- Writing a one-page memo that is not a book report
- Evidence, sources and the AI tools policy
- Facilitating a ten-minute exploratory discussion
Busy Boss Briefing and the Culture Map
Turning a book into a sellable deliverable · four questions every pitch must answer · client ROI and projected income · staying diplomatic when the boss pushes backThe scenario
The Busy Boss Briefing is worth 15% of the grade, requires slides and lasts 8 to 10 minutes.
- Who Smarty Pants Consulting is and what it sells
- Why a book report fails this assignment
- Designing a deliverable the firm can sell
- Mapping what the deliverable looks like and how it works
- The four questions: relevance, need, income, competitors
- Researching client ROI and projected income
The syllabus describes the goal as learning to speak with confidence in extemporaneous talks, job interviews, pitches and difficult corporate situations, and becoming comfortable with the discomfort that public speaking brings rather than expecting the nerves to disappear.
The skills the course keeps returning to
Four threads run through almost every assignment.
The first is putting the audience first: every speech rubric asks for a clear, frontloaded and audience-appropriate WIIFY, the answer to what the listeners get out of the talk. The second is slide design in the Presentation Zen style, which prizes restraint and simplicity, together with the design principles of contrast, repetition, alignment and proximity.
The third is narrative: rubrics reward speakers who narrate instead of listing, open with a relevant hook and send a clear closing signal. The fourth is delivery: sounding conversational rather than memorised, speaking at an audience-friendly pace, and not swivelling to read the screen.
How the assignments build
The sequence moves from low-stakes to high-stakes and from prepared to unpredictable.
Early speeches teach a chapter of Presentation Zen and translate a technical topic for non-experts. A research walkthrough then asks you to interpret a dataset and explain how you reached your conclusions.
Mid-semester work takes you into professional settings: a team app pitch to imagined venture capital executives, extemporaneous speeches with almost no preparation, and two job interviews, one online and one in front of a panel of classmates.
Pressure is added on purpose
Later assignments add pressure deliberately.
In the Cool Company profile a hidden Plan B disrupts your talk, the product manager assignment has you write a one-page memo and then lead a meeting about it, and the Busy Boss Briefing, the largest single weight at fifteen per cent, asks you to turn The Culture Map into a consulting product your boss can sell.
A self-reflective speech closes the semester.
The weekly rhythm
Participation carries real weight, and much of it depends on a weekly upload routine: a topic five days before class, a storyboard three days before, slides two days before, and your weekly observation twelve hours before class.
Every session is recorded, and the weekly observation quiz asks you to watch your own footage and write about it honestly, which is why this guide treats video self-review as a skill in its own right.
The attendance rule
Because most graded work happens in class, attendance is a pass condition in its own right.
The syllabus states that missing 3 or more classes results in a failing grade, so you can fail on attendance alone; the class meets once a week, so that is 3 weeks of sessions.
Religious holidays are the only absences the course treats differently, and a missed speech cannot be given the following week.
How to use this guide
Each chapter follows one assignment or one recurring skill, explains what the rubric rewards in plain language, and gives you original worked examples and practice prompts.
Read the chapter for your next speech a week ahead, as the assignment packet advises, so that your questions are ready for the class before. The guide is an independent study aid; the syllabus, the assignment packet and Canvas remain the authority for dates and requirements.
Worked example · free
Rewrite an opening so the WIIFY comes first
- 2Replace the agenda with a hook tied to the listeners' lives.
- 2State the one message and why it matters to them.
- 2Preview only what the rest of the talk will prove.
Key terms
- WIIFY
- The answer to what the audience gains from listening; the course also spells it WIFFY, and every speech rubric asks for it to be clear, frontloaded and suited to the audience.
- Presentation Zen
- Garr Reynolds's approach to slides and delivery that prizes restraint, simplicity and naturalness, and one of the required course texts.
- CRAP Principles
- Contrast, repetition, alignment and proximity: four design rules for making the important thing stand out and related things look related.
- Click Delay
- A slide animation technique that reveals parts of a chart or diagram step by step so the audience moves from simple to complex.
- Extemporaneous Speech
- A speech given with little or no preparation time, such as an unexpected project update or a thirty-second pitch in a lift.
- SART Method
- A way to structure interview answers: the specific situation, the action you took, the result, and the tie to the employer's job.
- CAR Model
- A résumé bullet structure that names the challenge, the action you took and the result, ideally with a number.
- Applicant Tracking System
- Software that sorts and ranks applications by how well they match a job description, which is why keywords must be tailored.
- Plan B Mode
- A graded condition in which a hidden disruption is introduced during your talk and you are assessed on how well you adapt.
- Narrative Memo
- A short written document in full sentences that shows the thinking behind a recommendation, read before a discussion instead of slides.
EN.663.618 FAQ
How is Professional Presentations graded?
Fourteen components make up the published total. The Busy Boss Briefing is the largest at fifteen per cent; the Research Walkthrough, Cool Company Profile, Product Manager Memo and Update, and Participation and Work Ethic are ten each; eight smaller pieces carry five each, including the job interviews, weekly observations and speaker critique paper.
What is the attendance rule, and what if I miss a speech?
Attendance is a pass condition: the syllabus states that missing 3 or more classes results in a failing grade, so you fail the course even with strong marks; that is 3 weeks of sessions for a class that meets weekly. Speeches cannot be given late: missing your slot or arriving too late to speak earns zero. One optional make-up session near the end of term covers a single speech, excluding the Busy Boss Briefing.
Can I use AI tools for slides or scripts?
Not to generate them. The policy treats AI-written slides, speech content or written work as an academic integrity violation. Light preliminary research, brainstorming and generating images are allowed, but any tool you used must be cited with its prompts on your reference slide.
What do the slide rubrics actually reward?
Most slide speeches weight slides at a quarter of the speech grade. Markers look for Presentation Zen style, effective click delay, a consistent design that suits the subject, visuals that are relevant and easy to read, and slides made without AI tools. Text-heavy slides that force the audience to choose between reading and listening work against you.
How do the two job interview assignments work?
You apply for one of the posted listings with a real résumé, cover letter and video introduction, then interview twice: first online and then in person before a panel of classmates. Your grade rests on the interviews themselves, judged on demeanour, logistics and the quality of your answers.
What are the weekly upload deadlines?
Your topic is due five days before class, your storyboard three days before, your slides two days before, and your weekly observation twelve hours before class. Meeting these on time is a significant part of the participation grade, so treat them as graded work.
How long should each speech be?
Most individual slide speeches run five to seven minutes, while the Busy Boss Briefing and the memo meeting run eight to ten. The packet asks that speeches land within thirty seconds of the announced time, and times may be adjusted on the day, so rehearse a version you can shorten.
What goes into the weekly observation quiz?
After watching the recording of your last speech, you answer short questions about positive observations, constructive observations, goals, tactics for improvement and self-awareness. Reviewers adjust the automatic score after reading, so the number Canvas shows at submission is not your final mark.
Questions students ask in each EN.663.618 chapter
- Is WIIFY the same thing as WIFFY?
- Yes. The Week 3 slides use both spellings for the same idea: the answer to what the audience gains by listening. The rubrics mostly write WIFFY, the lecture slides write WIIFY, and both refer to the listener rather than the speaker. Chapter 01 · Audience-First Messages and the WIIFY
- Can I ever use a slide with a lot of text in a Presentation Zen style deck?
- Occasionally. The Week 3 lecture accepts a text-heavy slide when it presents one clear idea and still follows good design principles, and it names a quotation as the obvious case. What it rejects is paragraphs or bullet lists that force listeners to choose between reading and hearing you. Chapter 02 · Slide Design with Presentation Zen and CRAP
- How technical should a talk for non-experts be?
- Technical enough that specialists in the room still find substance. The packet forbids making the speech too simplistic and warns against glossing over critical ideas. Keep the difficult concepts that support your main message, then change the route to them with a metaphor, a story or a stepped diagram rather than removing them. Chapter 03 · Technical Talks for Non-Expert Audiences
- Is the Research Walkthrough the same as the Storytelling with Data speech?
- Yes. The syllabus and assignment packet use the Research Walkthrough name, while the rubric sheet heads the same assignment Storytelling with Data Speech. Both describe a five to seven minute, slide-supported talk built on a dataset from the provided sites, and the rubric splits the grade evenly across delivery, slides, story and content, and speech-specific criteria. Chapter 04 · Data Storytelling and the Research Walkthrough
- Why did my reflection quiz score drop or change after I submitted it?
- Canvas needs a set correct answer even for questions where you judge your own performance, so some reasonable responses are marked wrong automatically. The instructor or a TA then reviews each reflection by hand and changes the score, so the figure you see on submission is provisional. Chapter 05 · Delivery Skills and Video Self-Review
- How long should an extemporaneous speech be?
- The course rubric sets the required time at 1-2 minutes. That is enough for a clear stance, one worked example and a recap, but not for a list of points, so choose the single example that proves your position and let the rest go. Chapter 06 · Extemporaneous Speaking Under Time Pressure
- How long is the hackathon pitch itself?
- The rubric sets 1:30 for the pitch, and the packet describes a 10-minute slot in which the remaining time goes to conversation with the audience. Plan the speaking parts to finish inside 90 seconds, then prepare for questions, because answering them well is one of the graded criteria. Chapter 07 · Pitching an App as a Team
- Should I use an objective statement or a summary of qualifications?
- Either can work if it is written for the specific position. An objective should name realistic goals inside the company rather than long-term ambitions, and it risks sounding focused on your own gain. A summary argues what you bring, but it can look thin if you have little relevant experience yet, which matters if your relevant experience is still limited. Chapter 08 · Resumes and Cover Letters for a Target Job
- What should I wear for an online job interview?
- Dress as you would in person: the rubric asks for a professional, well-ironed outfit even on camera. The packet's dress tip rules out club wear, creased shirts and sneakers. Online, logistics also covers a clean, professional background, good lighting, looking into the camera and handling the technology smoothly. Chapter 09 · Job Interviews and the SART Method
- How do I prepare for a disruption I can't see in advance?
- Rehearse against categories instead of specifics. The packet names logistical snafus, technical dilemmas and other disruptions, so practise a version with no slides, one with a persistent interrupter and one with a debating expert. Script a single recovery sentence that restates your message; that sentence works whatever the draw turns out to be. Chapter 10 · Plan B: Presenting Through Disruption
- How long should a product manager update memo be?
- In this assignment, no longer than one single-spaced page. The general syllabus rule for written work asks for a PDF with 12-point, double-spaced text and a header with your name, date, assignment name and word count, so the two conflict. Check the assignment page on Canvas, where the submission is due November 14, and follow it. Chapter 11 · Product Manager Memos and Update Meetings
- What is the Busy Boss Briefing assignment?
- A slide-supported pitch of 8 to 10 minutes, worth 15%, in which you act as a new consultant at a small coaching firm and propose a sellable program based on The Culture Map. The instructor plays the firm's CEO, and the proposal must be profitable and practical rather than a summary. Chapter 12 · Busy Boss Briefing and the Culture Map
How to prepare for the assessments
Work one week ahead. Read the assignment description and the matching rubric before the class that precedes your speech, write your WIIFY as one sentence, and storyboard on a single page before you open any slide software. Rehearse aloud against the clock at least twice, once with a friend who does not know your field.
After every speech, watch your recording before writing the weekly observation, and carry one concrete delivery goal into the next talk.
