Making the most of your
IANE Inventors Clinic

The Inventors Clinic provides a special opportunity to explore and expand your innovation and marketing abilities. If you have not yet attended, please come soon. If you have, please return to share your experience. And if you have not yet presented, please give yourself and all of us the gift of your creativity and enthusiasm.

Speakers get to test and refine ideas and presentation skills, gain valuable feedback, and connect with needed resources. And we all benefit: participating in collective innovation around others' ideas is a comfortable way to polish one's own insight.

Clinic structure centers on focused 15-minute presentations, with time for informal discussion. Well-managed sessions give more folks a chance to participate, and keep energy high.

The Clinic works best for everyone when speakers prepare a bit before each session. We offer the guide below to help us all support each other in the most effective, productive and enjoyable way possible.

Short version

1. State the essence of your invention
    – before explaining how and why.

2. Say what support/feedback you want
    – so we know what to listen for.

3. Make your pitch!

Detailed suggestions

The big question

What do I want to achieve as an innovator?

  • Some $ now—salary, licensing fees, etc.
  • More $$$ later—build a business, license my product, ...
  • Get my name and creation "out there"
  • Do good in the world—help people with my product
  • Enjoy challenge, fun, learning, collaboration, ...
  • Play with ideas, technology, products, people, ...
  • Autonomy or community, achievement, contribution, immortality, ...
Where am I taking this invention?

It is fine just to have fun and enjoy the creative process! And if you want to get a product to market and make some money, it is important to focus on activities that will help you to achieve this.

For presenters

What do I want to get out of this specific meeting?
  • Useful feedback on my idea in itself
  • A sense of market potential
  • Ideas for improvement in design, functionality, user experience, etc.
  • Ideas for manufacture, distribution, patenting, licensing
  • Specific help, resources or connections
  • Other ...
How will I know if I am achieving my goals during the session?
  • Check off needs/completions on a prepared list
  • Feedback from audience
  • "Aha!" moments
  • Greater clarity about my vision and implementation
  •  ...
How can I course-correct if I'm not making real progress?
  • Change pace or emphasis
  • Skip pieces that aren't helping people to engage
  • Respond to audience questions
  • Ask for guidance from session facilitator or audience
  •  ...
What help might I like, in advance and/or during the meeting?
  • Assistance in preparation
  • Cues for staying on track & meeting audience needs
  • Sympathy
  •  ...
For audience members
What do I want to give to and get from this session?
  • Full attention to presentation & speaker's needs (one conversation!)
  • Readiness to share my opinions
  • Learn new ways of thinking, managing group process
  •  ...

Designing your presentation

How, how much, how fast:
  • What are the key elements of my presentation?
  • What is their most effective order?
  • How much time/detail/explanation does each one really need?
    Hint: plan for <10 min; questions and discussion wi    ll fill the time
Presentation materials:
  • Posters, flip-charts, etc.
  • Models or working examples: show/operate/pass around
    – h    andouts are not recommended; they usually distract
Delivery:
  • Room setup (where to put self and props; good sight-lines)
  • Balance of talking/listening
  • Time, other cues from leader and group
Close:
  • How will I know I'm done?
  • Then what happens?  (during the break, next day or two, weeks later)
  • Who may be involved? How will we connect?
An effective format
Opening: frame the talk and guide attention
  • Name of idea just a title to focus the presentation
  • Description in 2-3 sentences:What is it, what problem does it solve?
  • Purpose - your main questions for this audience
Body: a concise description of what you have and what you need
  • Context—just the minimum technology/market background
  • Your idea—what it is, what it does, what benefit it provides
    What is the essence of your invention? How is it distinctive?
  • What you've done so far; what remains to be done—
    completes and incompletes, knowns and unknowns
Close: clarify new insights; prepare for next steps
  • Collect ideas, suggestions, challenges
  • Invite people to connect afterward
  • Write down ideas while they remain fresh

And above all: have fun!

 

 

 

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