Art of Speaking Science

I am not a funny person. But I have worked very hard to add humor into my presentations. In this entry you’ll learn 3 tips for incorporating humor into presentations.

I still smile when remembering the first time someone came came up to me after a seminar program and said “I really loved your program; I especially enjoyed your quirky humor!”

I felt like I had finally “made it” (and I was beaming for a week after that seminar!). It was the compliment that I had been waiting for. I had spent years working on this particular presentation skill (and still do) and it was the first time someone mentioned that the humor helped them to enjoy the program.

In a effort to help you understand how you can add humor to your presentations, I will try to occasionally add humor here too. For my first “humor” post, I decided to include this tongue-in-cheek look at “How to Write a Scientific Paper” written by E. Robert Schulman.

I am demonstrating three very important rules regarding presentation humor:
1) You don’t have to be a naturally “funny” person to include humor in presentations. Just look on the internet for something funny that somebody else already created and use that! Just remember, to give them credit.

2) Always make sure the humor is related to your topic and your audience.

3) Use humor like you would a spice in cooking. A good spice will liven up the meal, but not be overwhelming. The same with your use of humor. One or two small humorous elements in a short presentation will be enough to make it more interesting and enjoyable.

Oh, I should mention, Schulman’s article was originally printed in the magazine “Annuals of Improbably Research” which focuses on research that makes you laugh and think. Another resource to bookmark in your science humor folder?

Here’s a presentation from particle physicist Janet Conrad at Columbia University titled “How to Write and Give a Good Scientific Talk”…

While I disagree with her on a few minor points, I think she does a good job at covering the basics and she also has some interesting, creative examples…really! Who knew that particle physics could be so FUN!
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“And now I am going to talk about …”

This is probably the most common “transition” that I hear, especially when a scientific speaker moves from one slide to the next. The problem with this is approach is that it really doesn’t transition at all.

Specifically, it fails to make a connection, which is the main purpose of the transition. Worse, it forces the audience to try to ferret out the connection which means they can’t give you their full attention. It also means they may make the wrong connection or just leave them with a fragmented, choppy view of your work.
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I’ll never forget the day when Jane, my boss at that time, called me into her corner office for one of her famous “professional development discussions”. Perhaps because I was a young manager Jane felt compelled to offer me extra career advice and guidance whenever she felt I had gotten off-track. Usually it was good advice, but this day was different.

Even though it has been more than 10 years, I still remember her exact words, “Lisa, you are TOO passionate. You’re too involved and intense about work.” She went on, but I didn’t hear much of her words after that.
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