Presenting Science

How to sell yourself for Science (NOT)

The dangers of presenting science to a room full of strangers

Presented by Matt Williams, Greg Keighery, Ray Wills and Alex Chapman

Ray Wills - Convenor

Presented at the Seminar room, Bushfires Board, Hayman Rd, Como, Western Australia on October 20, 1995.

Introduction

As scientists, we aim to develop sound principles to the management of our environment, and promote their application by communicating results by the most effective means.
Public delivery is a part of selling science and keeping it relevant.
We need to avoid the following quotes for our own presentations (examples taken from real life!)

I'm sorry this overhead is too complex.

and

It's not as complex as some of the other overheads I've put up.

Tools for visual presentation

We are all familiar with overheads and slides, but how many of us use these effectively?
Are they carefully prepared, easy to read, memorable, etc?
And what other tools can be used to enhance our presentation?
We will demonstrate how to effectively use chocolate frogs as well as old and new tools

Visual Media

• Demonstrations
• Physical pass-around items
• Handout material
• Flip charts
• Black/whiteboard
• Overhead projector
• 35mm slides
• Moving media
• Computer display

Limitations of media

Audience size
Currency of material
Equipment/power source
Nature of material

Audience sizes for media

Visual medium	Audience size
Demonstrations	< 30
Physical pass-around items	< 20
Handout material	Any
Flip charts	< 15
Black/whiteboard	< 50
Overhead projector	< 100
35mm slides	'000s
Moving media	'000s
Computer display	< 100, or '000s

Using more than one visual aid.

Changes may wake up the audience, keep them alert

• but the changes must be smooth.

If smooth transitions are not feasible in the room you're presenting in, rearrange your presentation to accommodate the changes.
Some of these may never be appropriate to the science you wish to present

• but an appropriate novel approach is more likely to stick with an audience.

How much information

• Ink to information ratio.
• Technology to information ratio.
• Does the device enhance the presentation of information?

References

• Adamy, D. L. (1987) Preparing and delivering effective technical presentations. Artech House Inc. 001.51 1987PRE
• Tufte, ER (1983) The visual display of quantitative information. Graphics Press. 001.4226 1983VIS

http://members.iinet.net.au/~cwills/rtwsci.html