Previously, on Life of a Lab Rat, we've talked about presentations and Powerpoint rather a lot. Ad nauseam, maybe. But it turns out that, maybe, just maybe, the worm is turning. There's an editorial in the current issue of Nature Cell Biology addressing the empty whizzbangingness of Powerpoint-driven talks.
Yes, they say, Powerpoint (and by extension, Keynote) can be fun, but does a visually striking presentation really make your research more accessible or memorable? they ask, obviously inviting the negative.
However, graphics tools ought to be used only when necessary. It is worth reflecting on the frustrating experience of watching a Hollywood movie so overloaded with special effects that it leaves the viewer drained from sensory overload but intellectually and emotionally unsatisfied. Less is more: after a day of back-to-back talks, nothing is more refreshing than a visually clear, logically constructed and well articulated presentation.
The story is told of Daniel A. Haber, who on realizing that he had lost his presentation, gave a fantastic talk completely without slides. Never mind that this smacks of insufficient paranoia (I've been known to travel with 2 sets of glass slides — one for the carry-on luggage, and one for the hold — and a set of overheads), but it demonstrates what all of us should be capable of; giving a talk with no visual aids at all.
The 'lesson', and suggestion,
focus audience attention on the speaker, do not read off the screen and reserve slides to present key data and to summarize a complex body of work. Why not introduce the talk without slides?
resonate with me, and I shall have to experiment next time I give a talk in a more 'formal' setting.
Comments
I think a scientist absolutely ought to be able to give an impromptu five, fifteen, or sixty-minute talk on her work, in any setting. Blackboard/whiteboards are usually available, but if not, scraps of paper, napkins, finger puppets, or vigorous handwaving should be enough.
Seriously, this is part of the job. Blackboard talks are becoming a lost art, but in many ways they're better than static presentations. I'm told that mathematicians need something like a blackboard because their equations are dynamic and you have to see them evolve; biology is really the same way. I always give lab talks and that sort of thing using the black (white) board, and I think it's a good way of getting some things across.
If I lost my PowerPoint seminar, I could give a similar talk using the blackboard. As I say, it's part of the job.
Posted by: Ian | November 5, 2007 11:02 PM
I agree. I think the thing that people read off the ppslide is something all should have picked up by now - it is the worst you can do for memory!
Rephrase it and keep it short on the slide. Elaborat and talk about it from the pulpit.
One of our invited speakers had to start giving the talk without a compuer seeing there was a glitch with the cord and electricity. She did a wonderful job and it turned into a good seminar, much better I dare say than otherwise since she could look us into the eyes and connect while telling her story.
that said, I still like to have pictures of experimental set ups and stuff, but you can always draw a flow chart on a white board... :)
Posted by: chall | November 6, 2007 09:36 AM
Most definitely Ian. But it would be a brave move to deliberately give a half hour seminar at a conference without slides - or with very few.
That's not to say it shouldn't be tried, of course :)
PS Ian, is commenting any better for you? The support lot say that the software lot say it's a client-side cache/cookie issue.
Posted by: bk | November 6, 2007 09:46 AM
oh, I remembered a BAD talk though. This summer at a conference for an hour without any slides or any visual aid.... and I had to fight staying awake and understanding at all.
That said, I still think a good speaker can benefit from reducing the slides and try to get eye contact with the audience.
(back to interpret data)
Posted by: chall | November 6, 2007 10:45 AM
And there there was the bloke that came up to one of our staff at the Glasgow HIV congres,s were the company I worked for was the secretariat, and presented us with his acetates.
"Can you convert these to slides for me?"
"No, sir. We don't have the equipment to do that."
"Can you transcribe them and make new slides?"
"Possibly. Let me take a look ... Sir, these are in German!"
Our Deustchebundesmedik had no slides that day.
Posted by: Nige | November 9, 2007 07:59 PM
I was to about comment, but my namesake has beaten me to it (comment 1). I remembe a seminar during my PhD and the slide projector went caput. Someone was about to scurry off and round up a new on when the prof giving the talk told him not to bother, grabbed a peice of chalk and did everything at the blackboard. Excellent and very refreshing.
Posted by: tideliar | November 10, 2007 10:17 AM
But it would be a brave move to deliberately give a half hour seminar at a conference without slides - or with very few.
I have seen it done, but not often -- a half-dozen times in the past 20-odd years. All were very good seminars, but all were presented by older (though not elderly) and very distinguished scientists.
Ian, is commenting any better for you?
No problems the last couple tries, but I've stopped trying to preview comments, so if the formating is crap that's why.
Posted by: Ian | November 10, 2007 01:30 PM
well, I ended up giving the first half of my talk this morning by the white board and moving my hands in front of me to explain how antibiotics kill bacteria...
My computer didn't like me at all, until I came to present the results when all of a sudden it decided to join the presentation and show slides!
I was happy that I could present the results though, not being much of a drawer and survival curvels, historgrams might not be the worst to draw but still, remembering the scales of all your histograms?!
Got a good feeling about the introduction though. Good feedback and people being impressed that I remembered what to say and make it both interesting and fluent :) (a little proud, that is what I am!!)
off to luch!
Posted by: chall | November 15, 2007 05:09 AM