Whats in the interview room

[FRC1710]

We were wondering if there would be a table in the chairman's room for the judges?
Also am I correct in assuming we stand to present our presentation?
Thanks for all the help!

[Evenstar_342]

At Columbia, I'm not sure where you're team is going, the judges sit at a table and you stand a few feet in front of their table. Last time, we had a few rolling chairs we used to prop up our visual aids, but I wouldn't assume that there would be a projection screen, easel, etc, unless it says it in Section 5 of the manual or you get in touch with your regional director.

We did stand up for the presentation.

Good luck!

[Nuttyman54]

It could vary from regional to regional, but at SVR last year we had a table and sat in chairs. I don't know about any other regionals

[Joe Matt]

What's inside, hmmmm.........



I kid, I kid.

Last time I was there they had a table for the judges at VCU, but at champs we had talbes for the judges and us. I'm for the BYOS mentality at chairmans presentations (bring your own stuff.) If you need a table for stuff, I recomend bringing a small one, or if you need an easel bring it.

Just remember, let the kids do the talking, these people read your submissions, saw your pictures, and saw you guys in the pits, this is the time to put the personal touch on it.

[RoboMom]

Teams should treat this interview process the same they would for a college interview or a job interview.
-Wait to sit when invited to. You may be expected to stand or you may be invited to sit.
-Don't chew gum.
-Come prepared for the presentation (practice so you have the timing down right) and prepared to answer questions.
-The judges are very interested in what you have to say.
Try to have fun with the process.

[GBIT]

At GSR they had us sit in rolling chairs at a HUGE table and rave our presintation. we also brought a projector and screen for a slide show. but to answer your question, there was a table to put stuff on, but don't assume there will be one. Bring one just in case. One other thing having already presented a chairmans pres this year (and comming close to winning but congrats 190) just relax and have fun the judges are there for you and they are very interested in what you have to say.

[technoL]

At the Florida Regional there was only a table for the judges, and then four chairs in front of the table for us to present. There were also chairs around the sides of the room. We asked if we could move the chairs out of the way to set up the easel and some other stuff since we planned for a standing presentation.

[indieFan]

When it's said to go in prepared to make your presentation, that means that you are ready to begin speaking the moment you walk in that door while doing any setup, if needed. You are given 5 minutes for setup AND the presentation, followed by 5 minutes of interviewing.

indieFan

[Priyadarshy]

at VCU it is kinda weird because it is in a bathroom/lockerroom other than that there are two chairs for the judges and a table, and three chairs for students on the other side of the table

[Adare180]

Originally Posted by Priyadarshy

at VCU it is kinda weird because it is in a bathroom/lockerroom other than that there are two chairs for the judges and a table, and three chairs for students on the other side of the table

last year, the interview area for the chariman's award at the Florida Regional was in the male locker room, right in front of the shower stalls. as i recall, there were shower stalls with curtains on both sides walking into the room, then a wall of urinals just past us. The least I can say is that it was slightly awkard enviroment, especially for the interviewing process of such a prestigious award.

This year it was held in some sort of meeting room without airconditioning. Slightly better.

[Tim Arnold]

Originally Posted by technoL

At the Florida Regional there was only a table for the judges, and then four chairs in front of the table for us to present. There were also chairs around the sides of the room.

As we had a PowerPoint and video go go along with our presentation, we placed everything except for the laptop in a usable state into a small box (we had no idea what would be in there). When we entered the room, we quickly realized the conditions would be less than optimal. We made a table for the box out of chairs and quickly ran an extension cord (taking around 30 precious seconds). We showed our video, and attempted to switch to the PowerPoint presentation (by manually switching video cables) and realized there was a problem when nothing came up on the projector. Our first student to speak began immediately to cover while we fixed the PowerPoint (turns out when you close the lid of our laptop, even with sleep disabled, it disables the external monitor). In the middle of the second student's presentation we got it working and just wrapped up with it.

Questions asked included our unorthodox outreach using geocaching and entering a local parade with our 2006 robot dressed up as a snowman (and shooting snowballs). They had more questions they wanted to ask but ran out of time. We brought a 3-ring binder with documentation of our activities and asked for them to keep it, but they denied stating that they would be afraid they might loose it and just to hold onto it in the pit (where they would, and did, later visit). As we exited the room we noticed various trinkets that other teams left as a memoir, or perhaps a bribe , but we did not have anything on us for them.

Moral of the story: Follow KISS, even though its not a robot. While presentations are nice, be sure not to rely on it and have a backup method ready if it is critical!

[technoL]

Originally Posted by Tim Arnold

They had more questions they wanted to ask but ran out of time. We brought a 3-ring binder with documentation of our activities and asked for them to keep it, but they denied stating that they would be afraid they might loose it and just to hold onto it in the pit (where they would, and did, later visit).

Moral of the story: Follow KISS, even though its not a robot. While presentations are nice, be sure not to rely on it and have a backup method ready if it is critical!

We got the same reply also when we wanted to leave our scrapbook documenting our progress. We avoided bringing anything that could cause technical difficulties due to the problems that you had. Maybe a rolling box with a power supply or something next year? "The Chairman's Box"

Also...Congrats on the Engineering Inspiration win!

[Ninjitsu Banana]

At St. Louis, the room we were in for the presentation was a bit cramped, so it would've been difficult to use a projector. What we did instead was run a PowerPoint off of a laptop that was placed right in front of the judges, and used a wireless mouse like a slideshow clicker to advance slides at certain times that were predetermined. The judges were impressed with this...I'd recommend some sort of visual aid for those giving presentations.

Also, I would recommend giving the judges some supplemental information. In our interview, we gave each judge a folder containing more information about our team and its accomplishments, so that when we left and took the PowerPoint with us, they would have material to review. For example, we put inside the folder images taken from a local news program in which my friend and I were interviewed about FIRST and our robotics team. We alluded to the news interview in the presentation and said that the judges could look in their folders for further material.

[meatmanek]

Originally Posted by technoL

Maybe a rolling box with a power supply or something next year? "The Chairman's Box"

Most older teams have a whole bunch of batteries that can't be used in matches, and inverters are pretty cheap.

[SPurekar]

Does anyone remember any questions they were asked by the judges? We're holding tryouts to choose more presenters, and we want to make the tryouts as close to the actual interview as we can. I did the interview at GLR last year, but don't remember the questions we were asked anymore.

Any help would be appreciated!