Why are you giving this talk?

The desired outcome of a talk should guide its structure and your preparation. So… why are you giving this talk?

You have been invited to give a presentation of your research at a conference, in your department, or in a collaborator’s lab. Congratulations! You might be excited, nervous, impatient, terrified, overwhelmed, feeling unprepared, indifferent… But do you know why you are giving this talk to begin with? What’s in it for you? What are you trying to achieve?

Perhaps you know that this talk will advance your career. You might want to get feedback from your peers in order to move your project forward. Or maybe you’re giving this talk to please the person who invited you. Over the course of your career, you will give many talks - some with low stakes, others with career-defining consequences. Sometimes a talk is just “another talk” and the effort you put into preparing slides, an outline or a message is minimal. In these cases, you might simply reshuffle and update old slides because, well, you don’t really have much time to prepare. The thing is, the outcome can still be consequential even when the stakes are low, because you don’t always know who will be in your audience.

Why is it useful to spend time identifying your objectives and adapting your talk accordingly? Because giving a good talk goes a long way. It can help you secure funding for your research, land a job, attract strong students and top-class collaborators, establish yourself as an authority in your field, get media attention, and receive the feedback and advice you need. Neglecting low-stakes talks is not a good idea because every talk is an opportunity to practice and thereby to get ready for when the stakes are high. Hiring a public speaking coach ten days before your first job talk or your first grant interview is probably not going to cut it (I’d love to be able to do miracles!). Additionally, a very bad presentation can tarnish your reputation.

When you think about your objectives, it is key to consider the people on the receiving end. Having a clear picture of your audience will help you choose the right language, the appropriate illustrations and the message that will resonate most effectively with them.

Below are a few example situations -each with different goals- followed by recommendations for adapting your presentation accordingly.

Your objective is to get help to understand the data you’ve collected:

• announce your objective (getting their thoughts) upfront

• state the motivation to do this series of experiments (i.e. your research hypothesis)

• present ALL the data (what seems nonsensical to you might inspire a brilliant idea to someone else)

• explain what YOU think

• show where you have DOUBTS and where things don’t make sense (to you)

• plan the timing of your talk to have many interactions

• have back-up slides

• prepare an outline or a summary and be ready to draw it on a board

• don’t present a perfectly wrapped-up story

Your objective is to get funding:

• explicitly mention the timeliness, relevance and impact of the project

• don’t focus on the past (it’s about what you’ll do, not what you’ve already done)

• use a clear, logical and easy-to-follow structure

• emphasise the rationale for your approach rather than excessive details

• choose carefully the methodological details you’ll present

• think of your talk as a teaser for the Q&A (which is often longer than the talk itself)

• you can intentionally leave some details vague to prompt the questions you want to be asked

• prepare your Q&A, not just the talk

• practice! (These talks are usually short. There is no room for rambling).

Your objective is to be recognised by your peers: (as an upcoming or established researcher)

• express a clear vision with ambitious goals

• show confidence in reaching your goals

• create a clear story-arc

• present clean and well selected details

• acknowledge your team & collaborators (even when you want to shine)

• don’t be too critical of others, focus on the quality of your work instead

• practice!

So, why are you giving this talk? Does the material you’ve prepared support your goals? Remember: every talk is an opportunity to practice!

Your audience plays a major role in the success of your talk. Stay tuned to read more on that topic!