The Narrative of Presentation: Telling a Story

Year – 1750 John Montagu, The 4 th Earl of Sandwich He had a problem:

Year – 1750 John Montagu, The 4 th Earl of Sandwich He had a problem: How could he gamble AND eat?

So he invented – the sandwich “I'll have the same as Sandwich!!” The sandwich is a technology: “The greatest British contribution to cuisine” New York Times

“The sandwich was invented in 1750 by the British aristocrat, John Montagu, the 4 th Earl of Sandwich” Human beings do not listen to DATA!! We're programmed to listen and respond emotionally to stories!! Why tell stories? Because: A story with drama sticks with us better than dry fact:

A good presentation should tell a story about your research about your struggle and progress in solving some problem Scientific research is about people solving problems

"C:\Users\mark\Documents\WAS Dusseldorf\MarcinJakubowski_2011U-480p.mp4" "C:\Users\mark\Documents\WAS Dusseldorf\CarolynPorco_geysers_on_saturn_2009U-480p.mp4"

A good presentation should tell a story about your research about your struggle and progress in solving some problem Scientific research is about people solving problems

Remember the “theatre” of the Nature abstract? 1. Introduce the background and context. 2. State the outstanding important problem in the area, yet to be solved or overcome... “current data gives inadequate detail on N 2 O levels... ” or “however, the theory fails to account for known facts, such as... “, etc. (This builds tension!!) 3. THEN, immediately state that your work here overcomes this problem, at least partially... “Here we show that... “ etc. 4. Continue with methods, results, implications. This bit of theatre is how the abstract tells a STORY, rather than just delivering information. This adds drama and makes reading easier and more fun.

How can you make your talk into a story? Key questions What is the struggle in your work? What are the key obstacles? How are things now, and how might they be if you could succeed?

Example After 4 long years of work, you have finally identified two new proteins that seem to be involved (somehow, still unknown) in the growth of brain tumours in monkeys. How can you craft a dramatic story around this?

Example After 4 long years of work, you have finally identified two new proteins that seem to be involved (somehow, still unknown) in the growth of brain tumours in monkeys. How can you craft a dramatic story around this? 1. How brain tumours grow in humans is still mostly unknown, which makes it very difficult to devise medical treatments.

Example After 4 long years of work, you have finally identified two new proteins that seem to be involved (somehow, still unknown) in the growth of brain tumours in monkeys. How can you craft a dramatic story around this? 1. How brain tumours grow in humans is still mostly unknown, which makes it very difficult to devise medical treatments. 2. Even the basic genes and proteins involved are mostly unknown.

Example After 4 long years of work, you have finally identified two new proteins that seem to be involved (somehow, still unknown) in the growth of brain tumours in monkeys. How can you craft a dramatic story around this? 1. How brain tumours grow in humans is still mostly unknown, which makes it very difficult to devise medical treatments. 2. Even the basic genes and proteins involved are mostly unknown. 3. If we could at least identify these elements in a related species, such as monkeys, this would give us helpful clues.

Example After 4 long years of work, you have finally identified two new proteins that seem to be involved (somehow, still unknown) in the growth of brain tumours in monkeys. How can you craft a dramatic story around this? 1. How brain tumours grow in humans is still mostly unknown, which makes it very difficult to devise medical treatments. 2. Even the basic genes and proteins involved are mostly unknown. 3. If we could at least identify these elements in a related species, such as monkeys, this would give us helpful clues. 4. In our work, we've taken a small step by identifying two new proteins....

Planning a presentation – practical matters Good writing is mostly about editing.... The same is true for effective presentation.

FIRST: What is your purpose? THINK – who is your audience and what's the most valuable thing you can impart to them? What are the ONE or TWO big messages to get across? REMEMBER – you are far more familiar with your field than the audience will be, and you will lose them all quickly if you try to do too much. Focus on essentials.

SECOND: what is your structure? Guide the listener through a story Start with a brief overview of your message to start. This is the “abstract” of an oral presentation. Then begin with background and the outstanding problem. Tell what you've done that's new, method, results, etc. End with a (very) few take home points. Add a personal touch! Include your own experiences (why you became interested in the problem, the experiment that failed, the chance discovery, etc.) These are fun to hear and help bring the science to life.

We like speakers with heartbeats, people alive and eager to tell us something... … but also not too hyperactive... Style: Aim for “controlled enthusiasm”

Life of a strangely exuberant form C:\Users\mark\Documents\CliffordStoll_ p.wmv

A more pleasant form of life "C:\Users\mark\Documents\WAS Dusseldorf\malik_1.mp4"

Summary Turn your talk into a story of discovery; this adds natural drama, makes the talk memorable. Identify and focus on the obstacles and problems that your work overcomes; the drama hinges on these. Make your talk simpler than you think it should be

The military way of thinking: This doesn't mean repeat yourself three times. Do let the audience know what information is coming next - it prepares the listener to hear you. Then tell them. Then reiterate main points. 1. Tell them what you're going to tell them. 2. Tell them. 3. Tell them what you told them.