Tag Archives: presentations

Communication: talk to peers and the general public

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Effective communication will improve the value of scientific discoveries, says Eleni Wood

As scientists, our work is often driven by data collection and results. But a key step in the scientific process, and one that increases the value of our findings, is the effective communication of our investigative processes and results. Science communication is not only important within our fields for the advancement of our disciplines – communication to other audiences also influences the public perception and credibility of scientists and the work we do.

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Successful vs. effective research presentations

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In a disturbing trend, biomedical researchers can achieve a degree of career success despite an inability to effectively communicate scientific information, say David Rubenson and Paul Salvaterra.

 

“I have only made this letter longer because I have not had the time to make it shorter.”

– Blaise Pascal, The Provincial Letters, 1657

It goes without saying that every biomedical researcher wants to give effective presentations. Or does it? Is a presentation effective if it merely wows the audience with dense data, causes minimal objections, but fails to convey true scientific understanding? While such presentations may provide a degree of career success, they rarely inspire systematic or creative thinking. Scientists are wasting significant time listening to presentations that fail to effectively communicate information.

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Revitalising the scientific research conference

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Many biomedical research conferences rehash old ideas rather than define key challenges. The problem is tied to fundamental issues in the research culture.

Guest contributors David Rubenson and Paul Salvaterra

 

“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?”

“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat.

“I don’t much care where—” said Alice.

“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the Cat.

Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

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A David Letterman-like countdown to the 10 biggest pitfalls in scientific presentations

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Making a good scientific presentation takes time, but awareness of common mistakes is the first step to improving performance.

Guest contributor David Rubenson

The slide presentation has become the most ubiquitous form of scientific communication and it is causing havoc.  Scientists spend enormous amounts of time preparing presentations, travelling to conferences to deliver them, and listening to them almost every day.   But most scientists simply aren’t very good at them – we should change that.

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David Rubenson

I previously argued that this problem underlies a significant communication crisis in research.  As I’ve learnt as a scientific presentation coach at Stanford, there’s a broad understanding of this problem, but insufficient incentive for the time-intensive training many scientists need.  Still, following simple lists of “dos” and “don’ts” is a great way to improve presentation skills.

In that spirit, and to supplement an earlier list of eight positive suggestions, here’s a David Letterman-like countdown of the 10 biggest pitfalls in creating and delivering a scientific presentation:

 

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