When the Scientist Presents

An Audio and Video Guide to Science Talks(With DVD-ROM)

Check out the author's website at www.scientific-presentations.com

This book looks at the presenting scientist from a novel angle: the presenter-host. When scientists give a talk, the audience (“guests”) expects the title of the talk to determine presentation content, they require understandable slides, and they demand visible and audible scientific authority. To each expectation corresponds a set of skills: personal (voice, host qualities, time control), technical (presentation tools and slide design), and scientific (Q&A, slide content).

The author takes an original human factor view of the presentation delivery, in which the audience is easily distracted, rapidly forgetful, and increasingly impatient. Thus, insightful pointers are given on how to deliver the talk, how to craft the slides, and how to prevent the computer from rendering the presenting host-scientist into a “ghost”. In addition, the book goes in-depth over the treatment of questions by examining the motives and style of the questioners, and advising on how best to answer to each type of questioner.

The book comes with a DVD for audio and video examples, and includes essential PowerPoint and Keynote techniques that a presenter cannot live without.

Contents:

• Content Selection:

  • Paper and Oral Presentation: The Difference
  • Content Filtering Criteria

• Audience Expectations:

  • General Audience Expectations
  • Scientific Audience Expectations

• The Slides:

  • Five Slide Types, Five Roles
  • Slide Design

• The Presenter:

  • The Master of Tools
  • Scientist and Perfect Host
  • The Grabbing Voice
  • The Answerable Scientist

Readership: Students, graduates, postgraduates, and professionals seeking help in improving their scientific presentation skills.
Key Features:

• Unlike other books which assume reader knowledge on how to employ PowerPoint techniques in presentations, this book goes into great detail on the matter (e.g. how to create a hyperlink, how to save a group of elements as a scalable picture, etc.). The book is therefore very practical and even suggests a methodology for content selection