After many years of running the Presentation Skills for Scientists course we have decided that now is the time to discontinue it. It has been enormously rewarding for us to see the benefits imparted to many scientists, particularly those at an early stage of their careers. However the importance of being able to present scientific material in a clear and coherent way remains undiminished, so we hope that our book Presentation Skills for Scientists a Practical Guide published by Cambridge University Press will continue to prove useful.
This 2018 second edition of the book, originally published in 2010, provides detailed information about verbal presentation and slide construction using text, images and video. Links to example slides and video are now online rather than through the DVD supplied with the 2010 edition. See the CUP website for more details.
Some reviews of the 2010 edition
'What sets this book, however, apart from other
books on scientific presentation is the sample presentation
contained on the accompanying DVD-ROM. This illustrates
systematically side-by-side bad and good aspects of an imaginary
presentation, a well-conceived and amusing story of the discovery of
the fictitious OOPS gene on the Y-chromosome, which encodes the
male-specific forgettin protein. This series of short video clips is
instructive and provides a vivid demonstration of how to and how not
to deliver a scientific presentation.' Robert RH Anholt, Genetic
Reviews
'The DVD material provides visual examples of
ways to design slides, an example talk broken down with examples of
'do’s' and 'do not’s,' and exercises for controlling nerves and
enhancing delivery of the talk, for example, enunciation exercises.
The examples of wrong ways to deliver a talk can be painful to watch
but being able to see the problems discussed in the text makes the
reader more aware of how distracting these problems are during a
presentation. Presentation Skills for Scientists is not
intended for experienced presenters. But for new presenters or those
seeking ways to improve their talks, this book provides a great
introduction. And at only 66 pages, it’s difficult not to read it
cover-to-cover.' Shelby Montague, Yale Journal of Biology and
Medicine
'Effective scientific communication is more
important than ever. This slight volume is by no means slight in
content. While consideration is given to the material content of the
presentation, the primary focus is on the qualities that make a
presentation stand out to its audience and how presenters can set
both themselves and their audiences at ease. … Presentation
Skills for Scientists is a brilliant pedagogical tool to help
students improve their presentation skills, whether novice or
advanced. It contains guidance and strategies that transcend the
sciences.' J. Clemons, Choice
'Timeless and succinct, the advice will be
valued by both novices and seasoned presenters. The DVD is excellent
and complements the text with vivid examples of presentation do and
don’ts. Interestingly, the video presenters look, act and sound like
scientists. As a result, common problems that often plague a
scientific talk come into sharp focus, and when corrected, strongly
validate the authors’ recommendations.' Diane E Hannemann, The
Quarterly Review of Biology