I saw one as well heading past York today! Bon voyage!

A strong ending is key. Remind us of the problem, give us a call to action, and make it crystal clear you're done. Let's leave our audience enlightened, not wondering if there's more. The easiest way to ensure no awkward silence.. say "thank you very much"

Ways to build trust throughout a presentation - Subtle 'authority drops' - Thank interaction honestly - Use data to back up you points - Stay calm and in control if anything goes wrong# - Show you want to be there

A big "👋 hello!" To all my new connections and followers! I run DY training, a company specialising in helping researchers give better presentations. We're all about helping folk find confidence and belonging in how they express themselves I post tips and tricks for y'all!

Just gonna leave this here for folks in Academia “It is more fun to talk with someone who doesn’t use long, difficult words but rather short, easy words like, ‘What about lunch?’” —Winnie the Pooh

Speed vs complexity In a talk, the trade-off of speed and complexity is a fine balance... Fast + Complex = Overload 😢 Slow + Simple = Patronising 😢 Fast + Simple = Broad understanding 😁 Slow + Complex = Deep understanding 😁 #Academia #PHDChat #Research #Presentations

Do you organise talks at your uni? Please keep an eye on the tech! Keep those mic batteries charged. Get in early & turn on projectors, lower the screens. HDMI cables are quite fragile, so tell your IT people if they’re bust. You don’t want your speakers to arrive and be stumped by tech issues.

Splendid. No notes.

"Dumbing down" Simple language is easier for audiences to process. But what if they think you’re “dumbing it down”? Studies show that describing research in simple words, jargon-free, makes you seem MORE of an expert, not less. So don’t be afraid to use simpler words. #PHDChat #Presentations

I've trained 1000s of researchers in presentation skills, most of the things people worry about just don't matter that much - you'll make a mistake - you need to prove you're clever - you need to give ALL the information - the audience are judging It's about connecting

Remember: the slides are for the audience, not for you the presenter. If you’re putting stuff on your slides to help you remember what’s next, try another way. Presenter view in PPT lets you have notes for each slide, or cue cards work too, but best of all, learn the talk. #Academia #PHDChat

Please stop putting graphs up for like 1 min and expecting the audience to take anything way other than ''well done, you made a graph" IT TAKES TIME TO PROCESS COMPLEX INFO

Being prepared is half the battle. Know the key ideas you want to convey at each point in your talk. The better you know the talk, the less nervous you're likely to be. When you rehearse, do it out loud, all the way through & and focus on the ideas rather than the precise wording. #PHDChat

There are 2 kinds of graph... 1. Graphs for analysis (complex, dense, all the info in one place). 2. Graphs for communication (simpler, obvious meaning, no excess info). In a talk, help your audience out & show them the comms graph & make it easy for them to see your take-home message.

Academics love to add detail Audiences hate too much detail This is a core challenge of presentations. Between overly complex and incorrectly simple lies a magic space I call Useful simplicity. All you need to get the idea but not overwhelming.

Storytelling is powerful. It’s our oldest form of communication. Arguably, there have been stories as long as there have been humans. If you package your research comms as storytelling, you get a more engaged audience that wants to listen and will remember your key message. #Academia #PHDChat

Opening your talk? Skip the waffle. No one cares where you work or how many awards you've worked on. Grab attention with a hook like, a question, or a bold statement, then get straight to the good stuff. Remeber - useful AND Interesting

The best presenters have found their own style. It's not about being the perfect. The goal is an engaged audience, & there's a load of ways to achieve this. One person's talk may rely on skills that you don't use much, and vice versa. We all have our own skill set. #Academia #PHDChat #Presentations

A social media post that 300 people see for 3 seconds = 15mins of attention. A 20 min talk to 100 people at an event = 2000 mins of attention. Want to grow your academic profile or that of your group? Go to the right conferences, give knockout talks.

If you don't know the answer to a question in Q&A you have 2 options... 1. say you don't know 2. try to make something up and bluff the 2nd is really dangerous cos someone in the audience WILL know, the first honest and humble... Guess which to go for?

Excellent, funny and depressing thread!

What do I do with my hands? They can direct the audience’s attention to the right place, add emphasis to what you say, & provide variety to keep the audience engaged. They can also indicate: big things, small things, precise things, vague things, contrasting things, & connected things. #PHDChat

Remember, that graph you've seen a hundred times? It's brand new to your audience. It's like showing someone a family photo and expecting them to know Aunt Mildred on sight. Guide them through it, don't leave them in the visual wilderness

Tailor your talk to the audience – this is a must You can’t give the same talk to primary school kids that you would to folks in your research specialism. And it goes for every different audience in between. Ask yourself who are they? What do they know already? How do they feel about the content?

I’m going to call it out… just stop putting lots of text one your slides. You know its bad, I know its bad, everyone knows its bad… so can we just not? #PHD #Research #Academic #Presenting #PHDChat

Where should you stand when you present? Where the audience can see you! This is usually front & centre – not shrunk against the wall, or in the corner, or behind the lectern. A blank button ((B) on the keyboard) is perfect for disappearing the slides when you want to be centre stage.

One of my biggest bits of advice for academic presentations: Have a clear goal. What do you want your audience to; - think - learn - feel - do Work it out, then build your talk to achive that

When presenting data... MAKE IT EASY FOR THEM TO SEE THE IMPORTANT BIT

zoom can be tough... Build in moments where you can ‘check in’. Ask them q’s Do polls Ask for a response to a thought Do little activites etc Anything that means they do something you can see/respond to, this way you know they are there.

Body language Broadly speaking, the impression you give off comes down to the shoulders. Folding your arms closes off your body language & can give off "nervous" or "disinterested". Try arms apart, chest open - this says "friendly, welcoming, happy to be here" #Academia #PHDChat #Research

If you want to really really get better at presenting, training and courses will only take you so far. There comes a point where you need to DO it, get feedback and do it again. The feedback loop is what helps you improve.

“It’s more of a comment than a question.” We’ve all been there – and you don’t have to put up with it. If you’re the speaker, you own the space. Tactfully suggest that you’re prioritising people with questions? Roll your eyes? Throw things at them? The choice is yours! #PHDChat #Presentations

"How can I ensure that my key points are remembered by my audience?" - Link them to things the audience cares about - Quickly highlight them at the end - Give them examples and stories to help them understand

Presentation mistakes come in 2 types. Ones that are obvious Ones that aren’t We worry overly about both. Most of the time people will forgive you anything. And remember - they don't know how it's supposd to go.

There are only really two kinds of slide in a research talk. 1. Slides that take complex stuff & make it easier to take in (Graphs, infographics etc) 2. Signposting slides that remind your audience where we are in the flow of the talk. Neither kind is about putting up a wall of text! #PHDChat

So many talks are just lists! Here's all the things we did, all the papers published, all the grants won. Much better to make a point! Have a key message, an agenda, something that the talk revolves around. Say something of note. #Academia #PHDChat #Research #Presentations

Communication isn’t just the words you say. Saying “I’m fine!” with a smile, vs saying it with gritted teeth – big difference. The emotion behind the words can change or reinforce their meaning. Speakers who emote, just a little, give their words more emphasis and guide the audience on how to feel.

People who learn scripts can get very caught up in saying the right word. To the point they stumble if they use a different one of the script. But is almost never words that matter... its the meaning you make, and there are lots of different routes to that meaning.

Right, let me talk about slide templates. Most universities have an official slide template everyone is told to use. More often than not these are rubbish. Focusing on splashing the university logo around so much there is no space for actual content. #PHD #Research #Presenting #PHDChat

Audience switching off during a talk? Could be cognitive overload. Audiences need to take in a lot: there's visual stimulus, audio stimulus, background stuff. And then you need them to think and process the information. Don't make the problem worse with cluttered slides or lots of jargon.

If you want people to care about your data you have to show them the 'meaning'... This line is higher than this line....so what?? This spiky bit is cool... so what?? Data is an idicator of something, never forget to tell your audience what that something is!

We all get nervous. Presenting nerves appear because we fear the unknown/the unfamiliar. Dry throat, hot face, queasy stomach all happen because of our fight or flight response to the unknown. This is why rehearsal matters - you are making the unknown known. #Academia #PHDChat #Presentations

“Always make eye contact” – really? Directed, sustained, unbroken eye contact is a bit creepy. An audience just needs to know that you’re including them – a bit of eye contact here & there, even just scanning across the room, is enough. And it’s harder for some than others – so don’t judge.

5 ways to simplify complex topics so audiences understand them. 1. Simplify your language, both technical jargon and just words 2. Chunk the information- break it down 3. Use metaphors and examples to help them 'see' 4. Provide relevant context 5. Go slowly

A pause in a presentation is great for your audience. It gives them time to process what you just said and builds anticipation for what you are about to say. You don't have to fill ALL the space with words.

You can communicate complex/detailed information slowly OR Simple information fast. You can't do complex info fast Presenting is usually a FAST medium. Do less stuff, slower!

Don’t know the answer to a question? Say “I don’t know” – it’s fine. Maybe you don’t know right now but could look it up – or you’ve forgotten cause of the stress of public speaking, It’s fine. You are allowed – nay entitled – to say you don’t know. “Let’s chat afterwards” is a great follow up.

To be an effective modern research lead, it’s no longer enough to just be good at the research. You have to collaborate, fundraise, profile build, project manage, people manage, budget, report, strategize and generally be on top of things. The current system does not prepare new leads to do this.

Doing Research Impact requires; explaining, discussing, persuading, encouraging, teamwork, collective problem solving, inspiring. All of which require the skills of speaking and presenting.

Body Language analysis can get really nitpicky. "Do this, don't do that. Pay attention to every tiny thing" For a good presentation, it's really the overall impression that matters. What are you doing and how does it make the audience feel? Is that the feeling you want to create? #PHDChat