Scientific discoveries are the lifeblood of progress, but for those discoveries to have a meaningful impact, they must be effectively communicated to the world. Scientists often find themselves in the role of presenters, tasked with conveying complex ideas, research findings, and insights to diverse audiences. Whether you’re presenting your research to fellow scientists, students, or the general public, the ability to give a captivating and memorable presentation is a vital skill. Yet, giving a science presentation before a live audience is one of life’s greatest stressors. Public speaking is a top fear for almost everyone. Scientists who are non-native English speakers have the added difficulty of language to overcome. With proper preparation, practice, knowledge, and enthusiasm, however, both fear and language difficulties can be conquered and mastered.

Pros and Cons of Using Bullet Points in Your Science Presentation

Bullet points have long been recommended for presentations due to several advantages. They offer clarity and organization by breaking down complex ideas into concise, digestible points, aiding audience comprehension. They serve as visual aids, guiding both presenters and audiences through the presentation’s content. Bullet points also excel at highlighting key information and emphasizing crucial takeaways. Additionally, they enhance readability by presenting information in an easily digestible format, avoiding overwhelming paragraphs.

However, recent years have witnessed a shift away from traditional bullet point-heavy presentations in favor of more engaging and effective techniques. These alternatives encompass visual storytelling, using visuals like images and infographics to convey information more effectively. Less text and more images are favored for visual appeal, while data visualization techniques are adopted for complex data. Minimalist slide design focuses on content rather than distractions, and narrative structures create engaging, memorable stories.

Presentation tips for scientists to improve your public speaking

Know Your Audience

The first step to delivering a captivating science presentation is to know your audience. Understanding their background, interests, and level of expertise will allow you to tailor your content and delivery style accordingly. Consider the following:

• Expert Audience: If you are presenting to fellow scientists or experts in your field, you can delve into the technical details of your research. Use specialized terminology and assume a certain level of prior knowledge.
• General Audience: When speaking to a non-expert audience, simplify complex concepts, avoid jargon, and provide context for your research. Use relatable examples and analogies to make your points more accessible.
• Mixed Audience: In some cases, your audience may include both experts and non-experts. Striking a balance between technical depth and accessibility is essential. You can provide a high-level overview for non-experts while offering more detailed information in supplementary materials or during a Q&A session.

Know Your Material and Craft a Clear Message

Of key importance is to know your subject matter well. Be concise and clear in conveying your message without reading a script or slides. Imagine if the power went out and you had to give your presentation without your slides or sound amplification. Yes – a nightmare! When you know your material well enough to teach it to your audience, you can do it in the dark… but this takes practice and rehearsal.

Before you start creating your science presentation, distill your key message or takeaway into a single, concise sentence. Your message should convey the essence of your research and why it matters. This message will serve as the foundation upon which you build your presentation.

For example, if your research is about a breakthrough in cancer treatment, your key message might be: “Our novel approach to cancer treatment has the potential to save lives and revolutionize cancer care.”

Create a Strong Narrative

A compelling science presentation is not just a collection of facts and data; it’s a story. People remember stories much better than isolated pieces of information. Start your presentation with a clear narrative structure, including:

• Introduction: Begin with a captivating opening that grabs your audience’s attention. You can use a personal anecdote, a surprising fact, or a thought-provoking question related to your research.
• Body: Organize your content logically, following the flow of your key message. Each section should build upon the previous one, leading your audience toward a deeper understanding of your research.
• Conclusion: Summarize your main points and reiterate your key message. End with a memorable closing statement that leaves a lasting impression.

Engage Your Audience

Engaging your audience is crucial for keeping their attention and making your presentation memorable. Here are some strategies to consider:

• Visual Aids: Use visuals such as graphs, charts, images, and videos to supplement your verbal explanations. Visuals can make complex information easier to understand and remember.
• Storytelling: Incorporate stories or anecdotes related to your research. Personal or relatable stories can humanize your presentation and make it more engaging.
• Handouts: Providing handouts for reference encourages focus on key points. Interactivity: Encourage audience participation through questions, polls, or interactive activities. This not only keeps your audience engaged but also helps them connect with the material.
• Humor: When appropriate, use humor to lighten the mood and make your presentation more enjoyable. Be mindful of your audience’s sensibilities and avoid offensive jokes.
• Surprises: Incorporate unexpected elements into your presentation to pique curiosity. Surprise your audience with intriguing facts or findings.

Practice and Rehearse Your Science Presentation

Practice by breaking down your science presentation into pieces or sections and going over each section until it is perfect and you are confident in being able to present that section. You know your material, you have worked through any language difficulties word by word, you know how to lead into a slide, and you know the length of time required for each section. Once each section of your presentation has been perfected, you can begin rehearsing.

“Practice” is fine-tuning the sections of your presentation, while “rehearsal” is fine-tuning the entire presentation.

Rehearsal of your science presentation is similar to a stage play rehearsal. You no longer need notes, your timing is good, your speech projects clearly with no stumbling over words, and you are feeling more confident in presenting to an audience. You are getting into a flow. Once you have practiced all of your presentation sections, you are ready for rehearsals – complete run-throughs of your entire presentation without stopping. Only by rehearsing the entire presentation will you notice any problems and areas that need improvement. It is during rehearsals when you really start to own your presentation and your confidence builds.

The more you practice, the better your rehearsals will be. The more you rehearse your presentation, the better the presentation will be for your audience and the more confident you will feel.

Non-native language speakers will need to prepare, practice, and rehearse more than native speakers to be able to communicate clearly and to be understood by the audience. Not only is mastery of vocabulary and grammar necessary, but proper pronunciation and intonation are, too.

Non-native speakers must identify words that occur frequently in their field of research and practice the correct pronunciation with native-speaking colleagues. Mispronounced words are jarring to the ear of the audience, distracting them from your message.

Practicing and rehearsing using your smartphone video camera and voice recorder is also helpful to hear your pronunciation, hone your message, fine-tune your speaking speed, and gauge the timing of your presentation. Practicing before a mirror helps you to see your facial expressions, nervous tics, and posture, and to correct as needed.

Refine the Delivery of Your Science Presentation

The way you deliver your presentation is just as important as the content itself. Effective delivery can make the difference between a forgettable talk and a memorable one. Here are some tips for mastering the art of delivery:

• Practice: Rehearse your presentation multiple times to become familiar with the content and timing. Practice in front of a mirror, record yourself, or seek feedback from colleagues.
• Body Language: Pay attention to your body language. Maintain good posture, make eye contact with the audience, and use gestures to emphasize key points. Avoid distracting mannerisms.
• Voice Control: Modulate your voice to convey enthusiasm and emphasize important information. Speak clearly and at a comfortable pace. Avoid speaking too quickly or monotonously.
• Pauses: Use strategic pauses to allow your audience to absorb information and to build anticipation. Pauses can also help you collect your thoughts if you lose your place.
• Visual Contact: If you’re using slides, avoid reading directly from them. Your slides should complement your presentation, not serve as a script. Maintain visual contact with the audience.

Address Questions Effectively

Q&A sessions are an integral part of most science presentations. Handling questions effectively can enhance your credibility and leave a positive impression. Here’s how to do it:

• Be Prepared: Anticipate potential questions and prepare answers in advance. This will help you respond confidently and knowledgeably.

• Active Listening: Listen carefully to the question and ensure you fully understand it before responding.

• Repeat or paraphrase the question: Rephrasing the question both validates and clarifies the question for the audience. Doing so also gives you additional time to compose your response.
• Stay Calm: If you encounter a challenging or unexpected question, stay calm and composed. You can acknowledge that it’s an interesting question and that you’ll do your best to address it.
• Be Concise: Keep your responses concise and on-topic. Avoid rambling or going off on tangents.
• Encourage Interaction: If appropriate, encourage discussion and interaction during the Q&A session. This can lead to interesting insights and a more engaged audience.

Use Visuals Wisely

Your oral presentation is more important than your slides. Why?

Studies show that audience comprehension of your message is vastly better from speech-only versus text-only or combined text and speech presentations. Research suggests that simultaneous aural and visual presentation overwhelms the language processor in the brain, resulting in lower information retention.

This means that the usual presentation format of reading blocks of text on slides – by the audience or the speaker – results in inadequate audience comprehension as well as a terribly dull presentation. If the audience is reading, they are not listening to the presenter.

Choosing your visuals carefully is therefore very important. Slides that do not have blocks of text and instead rely on the speaker to inform the audience offer better presentations and better audience understanding of the message. This style of slide presentation is the Assertion-Evidence format (the What, the Why, the How), created by Michael Alley, presentation expert and engineering communication professor at Pennsylvania State University. More details on his work and examples can be found here http://writing.engr.psu.edu/speaking.html.

Using the Assertion-Evidence format for your slides will enable better audience comprehension of your message because the slides showcase key messages, not topics, backed by supporting visuals. No bulleted lists and no blocks of text are used in the Assertion-Evidence approach. In this approach, the load of conveying the message is on the oral presentation, not the slides – hence the strong requirement for practice and rehearsal.

Key Elements of the Assertive-Evidence Science Presentation Slide Format

The key elements of Assertion-Evidence slides are a concise, declarative, and complete sentence used as the key message headline of each slide, with fortification – Evidence – of that assertion by the image on the slide. Images may be charts, maps, graphs, pie charts, photos, etc.

The Assertion sentence should be no longer than two lines, and in a large enough font to be seen at the back of the room. Do not use a question as the headline as the audience will be searching the slide for the answer. Use succinct declarative sentences with visuals to reinforce the assertion. If you can state your point in 140 characters, you are concise and clear.

Visual aids are powerful tools for enhancing the clarity and impact of your presentation. However, it’s important to use visuals wisely to avoid overwhelming or distracting your audience. Consider the following tips:

• Simplicity: Keep your visuals simple and uncluttered. Avoid using too much text on slides. Use visuals to illustrate key points rather than duplicating your spoken words.
• Relevance: Ensure that each visual contributes to your narrative and reinforces your message. Irrelevant visuals can confuse your audience.
• Consistency: Maintain a consistent style and format for your visuals. Use a cohesive color scheme and font style throughout your presentation.
• Visual Hierarchy: Use visual hierarchy to emphasize important information. Make use of size, color, and placement to guide your audience’s attention.
• Practice with Visuals: Practice your presentation with the visuals to ensure smooth transitions and timing. Familiarize yourself with any software or equipment you’ll be using.

Key Science Presentation Speaking Tips

• Keep your audience in mind and adapt your presentation to their comprehension levels. Speaking to colleagues or other scientists will be different from speaking to the general public or high school students.
• Go early to the venue to view the layout of the room and stage, and to perform a lighting, sound, slide, and temperature check.
• View your slides from the back of the room
• Before going onstage, step up your energy and shake off stage fright by doing a few quick calisthenics or even simple jumping, and walk onstage with a smile.
• Greet your audience, and let your audience know if you are non-native speaking and that you will be happy to clarify anything unclear in the Q&A at the end of your presentation. The audience wants to be on your side, so let them.
• If a non-native speaker, start off slowly so the audience has time to become accustomed to your accent.
• Start by telling your audience in a sentence or two what you will be telling them in your presentation so they will have context.
• Speak with a loud, clear, full voice to be heard at the back of the room, especially if there is no microphone. Pause after key points.
• Speak with enthusiasm and a varied cadence, speed, pitch, and tone and avoid sounding boring with a dull, quiet monotone, or you will put your audience to sleep!
• Look at members of your audience in the eye across all areas of the room and smile; it helps them bond with you.
• Notice if you are losing your audience! If they are busy on their phones, nodding off, yawning, or generally look uninterested, change the pace of your presentation – speed up or slow down – or skip particular slides that are less important.
• At the end of your presentation, summarize your message for your audience and accept questions. Allow 5 minutes for questions if the format allows.
• Repeat audience questions after they are asked so that all audience members will hear the question.

With a clear message, concise assertion statements, and useful evidence images on your slides; enthusiastic energy; and many practices and rehearsals, your presentation will communicate your findings to a most appreciative and attentive audience.

Conclusion

In the world of science, effective communication is essential for sharing discoveries, advancing knowledge, and making an impact. Giving a captivating and memorable presentation requires careful planning, audience consideration, and the mastery of both content and delivery. Whether you’re presenting to fellow scientists, students, or the general public, the principles outlined in this article can help you convey your research in a way that engages, informs, and leaves a lasting impression. By knowing your audience, crafting a clear message, creating a strong narrative, engaging your audience, mastering the art of delivery, addressing questions effectively, and using visuals wisely, you can become a more effective and memorable science communicator.