Day two of the Society for Conservation Biology conference. While I love this stuff, I admit there are times I'm sitting in a talk and my eyes are heavy with boredom. It's the very same phenomenon that happens in congressional offices during long tedious briefings when we the people are overscienced and under stimulated. Like much in the natural world, this is mainly about stimulation.
With regard to lackluster talks, several factors may be at fault (and let me be the first to insist that I am no doubt guilty of several now and then). After a day of both stellar and not-so-much seminars, my Top 10 Recommendations to Scientists after the jump..
1)Be interested in your topic. It's your research so odds are you're likely involved because it's fascinating to you. Convey that. Talk about why it's exciting and potential implications. Don't simply go through the motions of what you did because it will sound like a standard 3rd grade book report. If you appear apathetic, why should anyone listening care?
2)Know your audience. I learned early on that fishermen in Maine do not want to stare at statistics and a seasoned scientist is generally less amused by references to The Amazing Race than a 23 yr old House staffer hooked on reality tv. It can be challenging, but make an effort to compose slides with those you want to engage in mind. They'll notice and appreciate that.
3)Practice. Please.
4)Conservation scientists take note: Do NOT depress. This is a big one. It's easy to point to examples of global disasters while showing photos of dead animals and vegetation, but if I truly believed ours was a hopeless situation, I would not pursue this field. And for goodness sake - this is double important if you're a professor! If your main message is the planet is going to he** in a handbasket, keep it to yourself and don't be the person influencing the next generation of conservation scientists. (This is a huge pet peeve of mine).
5)Dress to impress. Much about our credibility is conveyed before we utter a word. Look the part. It's easy to insist in our modern world, we're interested in substance over style, but we're a species always sizing up situations by visual cues. Be neat and confident. Speak slowly and intelligently.
6)Say only what you need to. Don't overdo it. If you've prepared a good lecture, the right questions will follow. And in that regard, do ask your own questions and get everyone thinking about your topic with you.
7)Do something unexpected. You may not be the one working on the most charismatic species, but if your presentation includes an unusual photo or reference, yours will be the talk that people remember. Throw a curveball and be prepared to catch it.
8)Don't tell bad jokes. Period. You're not a comedian, you're a scientist. Unless you're funny. And it doesn't count if you think you're funny, get an outside opinion on this.
9)Don't do all the work for your audience. Make them think about problem solving by listening to your talk. You may even find afterwards someone will approach you with a different perspective and new ideas.
10)Don't take yourself too seriously. Convey your expertise without sounding like the research consumes all of your waking hours. Remember our time here is brief and far too transient to stress or argue about the intricacies of one topic.
In summary, it's quite simple really. Love what you do, and your audience will as well. Give em some intellectual stimulation and they'll be anxiously anticipating more.
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Why does it take a younster like yourself to advise the established ones that they must make contact with their audience to get their points across. You are touching on the key to communication -- that is the ability to communicate and not just talk. I hope the message gets across.
Nice post, all useful information particularly the first point. Enthusiasm is important! While I find nothing new here, it is good to be reminded of these points from time to time. It would good to follow up with points for making affective slides.
I will raise a bone of contention with comment #1. I have heard some poor talks from established ones but have heard a greater percentage of atrocious talks from youngsters. Anyone beyond college, it could be argued beyond high school, should be able to communicate well. I get tired of these types of dismissal statements.
"Conservation scientists take note: Do NOT depress. This is a big one. It's easy to point to examples of global disasters while showing photos of dead animals and vegetation, but if I truly believed ours was a hopeless situation, I would not pursue this field. And for goodness sake - this is double important if you're a professor! If your main message is the planet is going to he** in a handbasket, keep it to yourself and don't be the person influencing the next generation of conservation scientists. (This is a huge pet peeve of mine)."
cue the orchestra..."Always look on the bright side of life..."
"Ours" may not be a hopeless situation, but the situation for many, many populations and species is indeed handbasket-like. If conservation biologists don't call em as they see em, who will?
Great commentary, and it follows its own rules.
Here's another example from my experience.
Planetary astronomer Heidi Hammel, besides being an excellent scientist, is a top notch communicator. She caught the public's attention as the enthusiastic young scientist who described "the great comet crash" of 1994. (Shoemaker-Levy 9 vs. Jupiter -- Jupiter won, but was not unmarked.)
I had the chance to interview her for a young reader's biography, and my web pages for that book (click my name) include links to her Astronomy FAQ plus scenes of her at work on Mauna Kea at NASA's Infrared Telescope Facility. The book includes some of her discussion of how she connected so well, but I had to cut out some of my favorite parts of that interview because of space limitations and age range.
Most memorable to me was when Heidi described her family Thanksgivings, when she would be watching football with Uncle Larry, who was typical of the everyday person on the street. He had some interest in science, but not in the nitty-gritty details that we scientists savor.
During commercials, Uncle Larry would ask her about her work, and she had no more than a minute or two to tell him.
Whenever she speaks to the media, she knows that thousands of Uncle Larry-types will be hearing her answer, so she speaks to them as she did to Uncle Larry during those Thanksgiving get-togethers.
Her enthusiasm carries over whenever she speaks to an audience of any kind, and she always targets them perfectly.
It is so important to keep circulating these points. I think it is especially important to identify your audience and speak to them. There is nothing worse than a speaker that talks over your head or talks down to you. If you can really talk to your audience and clearly illustrate what your message means to them, there will be no head nodding in your audience. As someone who has endured many talks that could have been enjoyed, I really appreciate you bringing up these points. Also, having personally heard you speak, I can honestly say that I have never had to endure one of your talks.
What a great post. With Speaking Science 2.0 and with my public talks about both of the books, I try to follow a lot of these principles (as well as others).
You've got to make it fun. It's excruciating to bore people.
One thing you don't mention: Avoid wordy Powerpoint slides, and definitely avoid reading verbatim from wordy Powerpoint slides.
And definitely definitely avoid white Powerpoint backgrounds with wordy slides using black fonts. Or if you're going to put on a show like this, don't use Powerpoint--just bring your transparencies and overhead projector....and preferably make a joke early on about not using email either.
And yet another thing: With rare exceptions, nobody wants to hear anybody go on for longer than about 30 minutes before Q&A starts.
Thanks Julz, glad my talks kept you interested. Not sure I can take full credit though given sea cucumbers always have a way of stealing the show.
Chris, you know how I feel about your slides and presentation style. You never disappoint and I've learned a thing or two..
And on that note, with my own talk here at SCB on marine ecosystem based management tomorrow, wish me luck.
When I saw the title of this post - "Stimulation is Important" - I thought it had something to do with sea cucumbers! Now I see I was right after all!
After that foto spread from S Africa, I'm a big Sheril fan. Anyway,
Chris knows my thoughts on this, but I'll repeat it nonetheless: we don't teach our science students to communicate. The Uni undergrad level needs a mandatory communications course. I just rewrote my sciency GFs e-mail/press release to her public because my profession is all about communication (she sent it to me for a rewrite). It took me 5 minutes, but it took her an hour to compose.
This is basic to certain professions but alien to many scientists, who are of a different mindset. They must be taught. This needs to be part of the curriculum. Period.
Best,
D
Good advice... Applies to pretty much any presentation or lecture.
sheril, number #5 is so refreshing to see up on the list. a guest lecturer marched into our program last year wearing purple jeans, a holey shirt, and a head of hair that probably hadn't seen the likes of a comb in two weeks.
not that there's anything wrong with that.
but he was definitely not aiming for #7.