THE COMMUNICATION TRIAD: ROLE OF TRAINING, PRACTICE, AND FEEDBACK IN IMPROVING SCIENTISTS’ PRESENTATION SKILLS

Within the research and academic communities there is growing interest in improving scientists’ ability to share their discoveries and knowledge with audiences outside their discipline. To address this need, we developed a series of two-day workshops [Presentation Boot Camp (PBC) and Advanced Presentation Boot Camp (APBC)] that focus on presenting scientific concepts and research findings to scientific/technical audiences and the general public. Through a series of interactive sessions, participants practice techniques for organizing and preparing presentations that communicate messages more clearly and have a lasting impact on the audience. The PBC also includes training in the use and application of a protocol for evaluating presentations [Presentation Skills Protocol for Scientists (2PS)]. The 2PS focuses on eleven presentation skill sets (e.g., organization, relevance, message, language, delivery, presence) that are operationally defined at three levels of competence. The 2PS may be used to provide scientists with feedback on presentation quality and effectiveness and to design professional development programs targeting specific presentation skills.

The Advanced Boot Camp builds upon the topics and approaches covered in the “Basic Training” PBC and provides opportunities for participants to practice their critique language and hone their presentation evaluation and design skills. Participants receive individualized feedback on their presentation skills using the 2PS and learn how to apply sound design principles to their own presentations to make them more engaging and effective. The program also includes exercises to help scientists (1) transform wordy and dense slides into impactful visuals that reduce the cognitive load on the audience and convey complex concepts clearly and (2) create graphs, tables, and other data displays that are easy for audiences to follow, decipher, and interpret. Although the PBC program has been extremely successful, evaluation of the presentation skills of graduates indicates that training alone does not guarantee communication growth or competence. Improvement in presentation skills requires a three pronged approach (1) formal training and reinforcement, (2) frequent opportunities to practice, and (3) regular, structured feedback.