Transcript Communication Skills for Scientists

Good Speaking Skills
for Scientists
Good Speaking Skills
for Scientists
Dr. David Schultz
CIMMS and NOAA/National
Severe Storms Laboratory
Norman, Oklahoma
http://www.cimms.ou.edu/~schultz/communication.html
Comments welcome: [email protected]
The Importance of Good
Scientific Communication
• “Disappoint your listeners at your peril.
They might not throw tomatoes or
rotten eggs, but they might dismiss
you, might be willing to find out how
good a researcher you really are---just
because you put on a bad show.”
Peter Feibelman (A Ph.D. Is Not
Enough)
Connecting With the Audience
• Know your audience and know how to
engage them intellectually.
• Tailor your talk to your audiences’
concerns.
• Use humor, but sparingly and
effectively. Do not put entertainment
over substance.
• Do you combine stories and facts?
• Do you pack a surprise?
• Do you challenge them?
General Concepts
• People want to see you succeed.
• Show professional enthusiasm. It is usually
contagious with your audience.
• You ought to be having fun giving your
seminar. If you are not, reconsider what you
might be doing wrong.
• Be mobile and vary your vocal intonations.
• Exude confidence. You are the expert in
what you are presenting.
• Avoid self-deprecating comments.
More General Rules
• One major point per five minutes of
talking.
• One transparency per minute of talking.
• 28 characters per bullet: (5 words)
TOUGH
• Supplement your overheads with color,
but don’t overdue backgrounds and
photos in your electronic presentations.
More General Rules (Doswell)
• Learn to omit filler from your speaking:
“you know”, “um”, “like”, “ahhh”, “well”. . .
– Pause and concentrate on saying nothing.
• Maintain eye contact with your audience
• Do not read your transparencies aloud.
The Start of Your Talk
• The starts of talks are generally more
difficult to do properly.
• Scripting the first few transparencies will
ease you into the material and ensure
your introductory remarks are said.
• If the person who introduces you says
your name and the title of your talk, DO
NOT repeat them to the audience again,
unless there is a point you want to make.
The Start of Your Talk
• Presenting your “Outline” of your talk
generally wastes time, loses the interest
of the audience immediately, and is
hackneyed.
• Give a well-thought-out discussion of the
“Purpose”, “Goals”, or “Motivation” of
your talk instead.
More General Rules
• Rehearse! Rehearse! Rehearse!
• Almost everyone enjoys getting out a
little early from a seminar. Few enjoy
staying an extra 15 minutes as you drone
on about your work.
• If you give electronic presentations, carry
a back-up set of overheads, especially
for international conferences, job
interviews, etc.
Figures and Tables
• Put as much descriptive (caption-like)
material on the slide as possible. It will
prevent you from having to spend time to
explain the figure to the audience.
• Make sure figures are readable from back
of the venue at which you will be speaking.
DOW Images: ~0100 UTC 15 Feb.
10 km
PPI of radar reflectivity factor (dBZ)
10 km
RHI of radar reflectivity factor (dBZ)
NSSL4 time
series
• temperature drops
nearly 8°C in 8 minutes
• pressure rises 20
minutes before
temperature drops
• wind changes direction
in concert with pressure
rise
• RH increases after
frontal passage
• RH decreases and
temperature rises two
hours after frontal
passage
Concluding the Talk
• Prepare a well-considered “Conclusion” slide.
• Do not make extremely general statements that are obvious
from your talk, but hit the highlights of your results in one or two
slides.
• Avoid “Future Work” slides, unless you have something truly
exciting to say here that you definitely plan on doing. (Calls for
more data or more case studies don’t really amount to a good
use of your or the audience’s time.)
• Do not have “Thank you” or “Questions?” slides. Leave the most
important slide (i.e., Conclusions) up on the screen so the
audience can focus on that during the questions and answers.
• End with “Thank you.” It is a signal to the audience to applaud
(even if you sucked).
Dealing with Questions (Doswell)
• You are the expert. No one knows
more about your work than you. Do not
let the audience intimidate you.
• Simple phrases to remember: “I don’t
know.” If you are uncertain, admit it.
• Do not handwave! You will lessen your
credibility if this is perceived to be true.
• Arguing off the top of your head is
alright, if prefaced as such.
Dealing with Questions (Doswell)
• Some audience members might be on an
ego trip. You are the speaker and you are in
control, if the session chair or the host isn’t.
“Excuse me, do you have a question, or are
you just making a statement?”
• If this persists, offer to “discuss this later after
the session.”
• If the questioner wanted you to perform a
particular analysis, feel free to address
his/her concerns or explain why you didn’t,
but do not allow monopolization of the Q&A.
Dealing with Questions (Doswell)
• Sometimes the question is confusing.
Asking them to rephrase the question is
certainly acceptable.
• Or, “If I understand your question, you
are asking me. . . . Is this correct?”
• Make sure you answer the question!
• Feel free to ask, “Did this answer your
question?” at the end of your answer.
How to Dress
• Comfort
• Confidence
• Class (but no cleavage)
Tips for Electronic Presentations
• Use robust color schemes that will show up clearly in
an exceptionally light or dark room. Avoid light colors
on a light background.
• Use sans serif fonts to avoid pixelation of the serifs
on Times or New York fonts. (Note: This is also
recommended for text in figures submitted to an AMS
journal.)
• Embedded animations are great, but beware that
moving the presentation from one machine to another
may require you to redo them.
• Be wary of too many foofy Powerpoint wizardry tricks.
• Avoid bullet points that appear sequentially.
Using Powerpoint
• Use the spacebar to advance your
presentation. It’s the biggest and most unique
key. Back arrow is the most obvious key to go
backward easily.
• To jump to a different slide within your talk,
type the number and then hit enter.
• Typing <b> will blank the screen.
• <ESC> will exit you from slide-show mode.
Preparation
• Test the operation of the laser pointer
BEFORE your presentation.
• Focus the overhead projector BEFORE your
presentation.
• Place the microphone high on your body
along the centerline (i.e., along your shirt
buttons).
• Make controlled use of the laser pointer
when you use it. Don’t just wave it around
wildly.
• DO NOT PUT YOUR TALK/POSTER IN
YOUR CHECKED LUGGAGE!!!!!
Help to Avoid Being Nervous
• BE WELL-REHEARSED!!!!!!!!
• Be prepared.
• Script out your talk ahead of time. Don’t read it.
• Visualize a successful talk.
• Remember that you are the expert.
• Consider your audience friendly. Ask them
questions to engage them.
• Be proud to show off your research results to
your peers and other scientists!
• Take a deep breath before starting.
• A little nervousness is good--some adrenaline
helps you be enthusiastic.
Giving Presentations in a Foreign Country
and/or in Your Nonnative Language
• Talk slower.
• Reduce the number of slides in your talk.
• Put more words on your slides for the audience
to follow you and as guides to you.
• If you are really nervous write out your talk, as if
you were going to read it, but don’t read it.
• Others?
What You Can Do To Improve
• Learn from positive and negative role models.
• “A severe critic is your best friend in learning
how to write well.” - Chuck Doswell
• Attending and critiquing others’ presentations
is good practice.
• Attend the department seminar series.
• Form student seminar group.
• The more you speak, the better you will get.