PowerSpeaking, Inc. Presents
Don't Present Like A Scientist
By Ford Hatamiya, Senior Trainer
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Alright, let's clarify. In our 25 years in teaching presentation skills, we've
encountered many scientists and engineers that are also gifted
presenters. Good science and good presenting aren't mutually exclusive.
We have, however, noticed some common self-imposed barriers amongst
technical presenters that hurt their presentation effectiveness. Some of
the very practices that make for good science - a rigorous, sequential
process for investigation and a dispassionate objectivity - make for
poor presenting.
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The Scientist's Presentation
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A scientist or engineer will often present an oral version of a research
paper: the research question, hypothesis, methodology, findings, and
conclusions. While some technical audiences prefer this approach, others
can find it boring.
He or she may also tend to present data-based findings rather than
opinion-based interpretations or meanings of those findings, in order to
demonstrate restraint and detachment. Anything too direct or forceful
can feel like "selling," which they fear could damage their credibility.
But this approach can obscure the key takeaway for the audience and
make the presentation less memorable. This is especially true for
nontechnical and management audiences.
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The PowerSpeaking Inc. Method
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What's the solution? Two brief answers here:
(1) Construct a presentation that maps to the audience's listening pattern.
As a rule, audiences are most attentive and retain the most information
from the opening of a presentation, followed by a large dive in the
middle, and a return to moderate attention at the close. Therefore, the
main take away messages should be strategically front-loaded and
rear-loaded.
(2) Craft and deliver a pointed, positional, provocative statement that
takes a stand on the meaning of the data. We call it a "core message."
Take the title of this piece, for example. It's not called "Our research
shows that as a population, scientists have an inclination toward
detail oriented presentations with a confidence coefficient of 0.9
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For more in-depth strategies and opportunities to practice how to make
effective technical presentations, you may want to consider taking our
HighTechSpeaking program. For more information, feel free to give us a
call at 800.828.1909.
And, by the way, the title of this eTip might remind you of "Don't Be Such a
Scientist," a book by Randy Olson. It's an interesting read that we
recommend.
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