The Craft of Scientific Presentations

The second edition of The Craft of Scientific Presentations will be available in the Spring of 2013. The Craft of Presentations provides a score of examples from contemporary and historical scientific presentations to show clearly what makes an oral presentation effective. It considers presentations made to persuade an audience to adopt some course of action (such as funding a proposal) as well as presentations made to communicate information, and it considers these from four perspectives: speech, structure, visual aids, and delivery. In keeping with technological innovations, it discusses not only the use of overhead projectors, but also computer-based projections and slide shows. In particular, it discusses ways of organizing graphics and text in projected images and of using layout and design to present the information efficiently and effectively. Unlike other books that discuss technical presentations, this book anchors its advice in the experiences of scientists and engineers, including such successful presenters as Robert Oppenheimer, Richard Feynman, Niels Bohr, and Rita Levi-Montalcini, as well as currently active laboratory directors, scientists, and engineers. In addition to examining successful presentations, Alley also discusses the errors that cause many scientific presentations to flounder, providing a list of ten critical errors to avoid. Its goal is to provide you with the insights and tools to let you learn from your own presentations until they become outstanding.