Effective Communication: How it's Done!

From Stepping Up

A successful presentation must convey the work that you have done, the motivation behind the research, and the impact that the work carries. It is important, however, that you learn to adapt your speech to different audiences and be flexible. This section will provide you with the tips and tricks to do just that!

How to Best Address Your Audience

When preparing your presentation, it is of utmost importance that you tailor it to the different audiences you will be addressing in the science fair forum. Whether you are speaking to dignitaries, judges, or local students, the goal of your presentation is always the same: to convey your goals, conclusions drawn and the pertinence of your research effectively. The key in making your delivery a success is being flexible and knowing how to condense information properly and get the essence of your project across.

Before beginning your presentation, it is crucial that you consider the following:

• How much time your visitors have
• Their level of knowledge on your topic
• The age group of your audience
• Know when to Teach and when to Show

Taking the age group of your audience into account is imperative in making your presentation a great success! Always bring it down (or up!) to the level of the audience. If you are presenting to a younger audience or a group that has a limited knowledge base on the topic at hand, bring in as many examples as possible to support your statements and make them easy to understand. Let's take the following affirmation:

• Rab1 blocks ER-Golgi trafficking, causing protein aggregation and increase of cell death.

If addressing grade 5 students, you can rephrase your explanation as an analogy:

• A protein called Rab1 acts as a delivery man in the cell, shuttling materials from the factory of the cell to a shipping department. When the Rab1 delivery man is prevented from doing its job, the materials don't get to their destination and cause cell death.

Regarding judges, it might be difficult to gauge their experience or knowledge in the field that your project is concerned with. Some do not want to reveal their identity or expertise. In this case, it is safe to assume that a judge has a scientific background, but maybe not in your field specifically. Regardless, it is very important that you demonstrate your mastery of the subject you are researching. Please refer to the section on structure for more tips on how to construct a dynamic and well-balanced presentation!

Developing an interest

When you think about it, you might find thousands of reasons why your project is so cool; after all, you probably spent a good part of the year working on it! When presenting your project, you have to consider that not everybody will immediately share you enthusiasm! Starting right away talking about the background might lose some people's interest.

Your first task is to spark the interest of the visitor. But how? The key concept is to tell people you will reveal information that they don't know about yet, but that they really want to know! Hence, when you begin a new section or topic in your speech, it is important to state briefly what you will talk about and why it is important to understand your work.

Another strategy is to use the interrogative form. For example:

• We analyzed the mixture using chromatography to know what compounds were present. (Affirmative form)
• What compounds would be present in this mixture? To answer this, we decided to use chromatography. (Interrogative form)

However, ensuring that your presentation flows well is essential. You can switch from affirmative to interrogative as often as you like, as long as your presentation still flows well. :)

Verifying the understanding

When you are done talking about something, you want to make sure that your guest grasps most of what was said. Surely, a puzzled facial expression indicates that there is still confusion. However, not everybody is that expressive. Furthermore, some people when asked will tell you that they got it, even if it is not the case! A good way of verifying is to ask people specific questions. Ask them their opinion about a particular topic, or what result they would expect at this point of your presentation.

In addition, it is good practice to summarize a section by stating the important points so as to ensure a smooth transition. If you have a lot of time, you can ask your guests a couple of questions at the beginning of the talk, and ask them back again at the end, so that they realize what they have learned. A poster, in contrast to presenting to a large group, is a good opportunity to have a bi-directional communication. You can definitely learn a lot by discussing with judges and the general public.

Talking to Larger Crowds

Delivering a presentation to a group of people rather than one or two can be daunting for some and a little more pleasant for others. Your presentation, however, does not need to undergo significant alterations to fit either scenario. Here are a few tips to make the transition between presenting to large and small groups seemingly effortless:

• If people arrive in the middle of your speech, do not get distracted and continue, as to give your presentation a natural flow. Equally, if some listeners decide to leave before you are finished presenting, simply carry on.
• Answer questions briefly, and avoid starting a conversation with a single person.
• Keep your presentation concise, but allow for individual questions at the end. If you are willing, you can even have very succinct 'breaks' in-between sections to allow for a few questions (i.e. yes/no questions are appropriate in this context). This technique also ensures that audience members are on the same page and on track.

No matter how large your audience is, deliver your presentation in as natural, clear and effective a manner as possible. Remember, it is key to state your case clearly, and keep moving on no matter how many distractions come your way!

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