The ability to deliver effective and engaging oral presentations is a critical skill for all researchers. Unfortunately, despite the importance of clear communication, too many scientific presentations at conferences and workshops are confusing, abstract, and boring. In this short workshop, participants learn several key strategies and tips that will make their professional presentations just a little bit better than the rest. We discuss strategies for presentation planning, show how basic design principles can create more memorable slides, and point towards an outstanding set online tools and resources. Become a presentation superstar! Scott St. George is Associate Professor in the Department of Geography, Environment and Society at the University of Minnesota and a Resident Fellow at UMN's Institute on the Environment. Prior to joining the faculty at Minnesota, he was a research scientist with the Geological Survey of Canada. Scott shares some of his experiences ‘doing presentations differently’ at conferences, outreach opportunities, and the classroom.

1. FIVE THINGSYOU CAN DO RIGHT NOW
TO MAKE YOUR RESEARCH PRESENTATIONS
JUST A LITTLE BIT BETTER

2. RESEARCH

3. Source: Peter Cuhalev
IF I HAVE SEEN FURTHER THAN OTHERS,
IT IS BY STANDING UPON
THE SHOULDERS OF GIANTS.
“ ”Isaac Newton
February 5, 1676

4. REVIEW LITERATURE

5. RUN EXPERIMENT

6. COLLECT DATA

7. CONDUCT ANALYSIS

8. SYNTHESIZE RESULTS

9. REVIEW LITERATURE
RUN EXPERIMENT
COLLECT DATA
CONDUCT ANALYSIS
SYNTHESIZE RESULTS
SHARE FINDINGS

11. COMMUNITY MEETING

12. WORKSHOP

13. POSTER

14. CONFERENCE

15. YOUR BRAIN
SOMEONE
ELSE’S BRAIN

16. Dr. Andy Frasse o Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology

17. EVERYONE LEARNS
HOW TO DO RESEARCH
IN GRADUATE SCHOOL
BUT NOT EVERYONE LEARNS
HOW TO GIVE A GOOD TALK.
“ ”
Dr. Andy Frasse o
Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology

18. 22
THIS IS NOT JUST A PROBLEM
FOR “SCIENCE COMMUNICATION”
OR “SCIENCE OUTREACH”.

19. ?
?
? ?

20. Jean-luc Doumont
Trees, maps, and theorems

21. SCIENTISTS
CANNOT COMMUNICATE VERY WELL
WITH NON-SCIENTISTS,
BUT IN FACT
THEY CANNOT COMMUNICATE WELL
WITH OTHER SCIENTISTS EITHER.
“ ”
Jean-luc Doumont
Principiae

24. FIVE THINGSYOU CAN DO RIGHT NOW
TO MAKE YOUR RESEARCH PRESENTATIONS
JUST A LITTLE BIT BETTER

27. 1STEP ONE
Be clear
about your own goals.

29. FIVEminutes

30. ONEidea

32. TAKE-AWAY
MESSAGE

33. Outline for every research talk
•Introduction
•Statement of problem
•Data
•Methods
•Results
•Conclusion

36. WRITE DOWN
THE MAIN MESSAGE
YOU WANT TO COMMUNICATE
THROUGH YOUR PRESENTATION IN
ONE SENTENCE
(MAYBE TWO).

37. North Dakota Water Science Center, United States Geological Survey | May 13, 2016
Sco St. George
University of Minnesota
Joe Zeleznik
North Dakota State University
ANCIENT FLOODS
AND
MODERN HAZARDS
IN THE RED RIVER VALLEY

38. RECOVER INFORMATION FROM
THE RINGS OF OLD TREES
TO UNDERSTAND THE PAST AND POTENTIAL FUTURE
OF HYDROLOGICAL CHANGE
IN THE RED RIVER VALLEY

41. ?How long can you expect to keep
your audience’s attention?

42. CLASSROOM RESEARCH SUGGESTS SPEAKERS CAN HOLD AN AUDIENCE’S ATTENTION
FOR, AT MOST, TEN MINUTES.

44. IN ROCK MUSIC
YOU HAVE TO
BURN
FROM THE FIRST BAR.
“ ”
Sting, English Pop Star

45. 2STEP TWO
Know your audience.

47. AUDIENCE

48. … DESIGNING A PRESENTATION
WITHOUT AN AUDIENCE IN MIND IS LIKE
WRITING A LOVE LETTER
AND ADDRESSING IT
‘TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN’.
“ ”
Ken Haemer
Manager, Presentation Research, AT&T

52. 5Qs

53. WHAT’S THE SETTING OF YOUR PRESENTATION?
WHAT DO THEY ALREADY KNOW ABOUT YOUR TOPIC?
WHAT SOURCES DO THEY GET THEIR INFORMATION FROM?
WHAT’S IMPORTANT TO THEM? WHAT KEEPS THEM AWAKE AT
NIGHT?
WHAT PRECONCEPTIONS WILL YOU NEED TO WORK AGAINST?

55. 3STEP THREE
Make a plan.

56. ?
Someone just asked you
to deliver a presentation.
DO FIRST?
WHAT DO YOU

58. We don’t know where we get our ideas from.
We do know that we do not get them from our laptops.“ ”
John Cleese

65. 4STEP FOUR
Move your notes
off the screen.

66. ?What is the average reading speed
for a literate adult (words per minute?)

67. Concluding Remarks
•Absent rings were uncommon during the growing seasons that followed
major volcanic eruptions, including A.D. 1259 and 1816.
• Because these features have occurred so rarely in high-latitude and high-
elevation tree ring-width records, the hypothesis that the Northern
Hemisphere tree ring-width network is compromised by dating errors due to
unrecognized absent rings would require that many temperature-limited
forest stands in the network exhibited a reaction to cold temperatures that
have essen- tially never been observed anywhere.
•If however absent-ring formation were to increase in forests outside of the
American Southwest, that behavior would represent an unprecedented
response to environmental stress.

69. PICTURES BEAT TEXT…
BECAUSE READING IS SO INEFFICIENT FOR US.
WE HAVE TO IDENTIFY CERTAIN FEATURES
IN THE LETTERS TO BE ABLE TO READ THEM.
THAT TAKES TIME.
“ ”
Dr. John Medina
Brain Rules

74. Source: Amy Luxbacher

75. Source: Amy Luxbacher

76. Source: Amy Luxbacher

77. 5STEP FIVE
Create visual aids
that work for the back row.

78. http://www.usbr.gov/lc/region/g4000/NaturalFlow/current.html
Population Growth of Colorado River Basin 1900-2000
0
12,500,000
25,000,000
37,500,000
50,000,000
1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000
California
Other 6 Basin States Combined
Population
Golf course in Las Vegas photo:
K.Dewey, High Plains Climate Center
Low flow conditions since 2000 have
coincided with increased consumption from
a rapidly growing population and new
demands for water for ecosystem health and
recreation. Increases in consumptive use
are projected to continue.

80. ONE

81. IDEA

82. PER

83. SLIDE

86. “ ”I KNOW YOU
BUT...
CAN’T SEE THIS,

87. MAKE IT BIG

88. MAKE IT
BIG

89. American Association for the Advancement of Science
Chicago, Illinois
February 15, 2014

90. Source: St. George et al., Geophysical Research Le ers (2013)

91. Picea
Pinus
Pseudotsuga
Quercus
Larix
a
18ºN
36ºN
54ºN
72ºN
90ºN
120ºW 60ºW180ºW
0º
How o en have locally-absent rings occurred
across the Northern Hemisphere tree ring-width network?
Source: St. George et al., Geophysical Research Le ers (2013)

93. Be clear about your own goals for the talk.
Know your audience.
Plan your talk on paper first.
Move your notes off the screen.
Create visual aids that work for the back row.
5THINGS YOU CAN DO RIGHT NOW
TO MAKE YOUR RESEARCH PRESENTATIONS
JUST A LITTLE BIT BETTER

95. www.presentationzen.com

96. www.slideshare.net/treubold

98. Dr. Andy Frasse o Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology

99. I CAN POINT TO
SPECIFIC LESSONS THAT HELPED ME
WIN RESEARCH AWARDS
GET A RESEARCH JOB IN EUROPE
AND THAT CONTINUE TO PAY OFF
WHENEVER I PRESENT MY WORK
TO A LARGER GROUP.
“ ”
Dr. Andy Frasse o
Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology

100. RESEARCH

101. twi er.com/sco stgeorge