Young GI angle: Effective data presentation

Junior perspective: Maciej Salaga

The art of effective data presentation is one of the crucial skills that a successful researcher has to master. Written and illustrated words are very often the vehicle through which a person communicates and explains his/her key findings. Hence getting the message across properly has to become one of the first skills that a junior researcher should work on. Here, we provide a junior scientist’s perspective on how to improve your presentation skills together with some tips to help you out in delivering your next demonstration of data.

It is well recognized that inadequate presentation of results is a common problem among junior scientists. Thus no one should be ashamed of their skills at the beginning of their career. In fact, the very first thing that a junior scientist should do is to accept their limitations and start considering data presentation as something that can be learned. Consequently, active and regular training has to be undertaken. To get yourself training on a daily basis, ask your supervisor to schedule a talk for you at one of the lab/department meetings. It will be a great chance to present your data to a relatively small group of colleagues at first and get valuable feedback. Also, encourage your peers to ask as many questions as possible after your talk to ensure that you can swiftly find the answers and reduce the stress of this part of the presentation, commonly thought of as the most intellectually demanding. After a few presentations like this you will definitely see an improvement in your skills!

The next step, and the same time a real challenge, is an oral presentation at an international conference. At this point you can already consider yourself successful since your work has been appreciated by reviewers and the scientific committee of the congress. Invitation to present your data to a broad and professional audience is very important for your career, thus do not forget to include this information in your resume.

It is wise to start preparations at least 2 weeks ahead of the conference. Begin with PowerPoint slides (or other software dedicated to presentations). Although you have to remember that this is only the tool that helps you to put your thoughts in the correct order and present some visual content. Make it good looking, clear and understandable but do not let your slides overwhelm you, since the presenter is the most important person during the presentation. If you can communicate your message clearly and efficiently using words only, this is what you ought to do. Hence work as much as possible on your performance and your own charisma.

It is very important that when the preliminary preparations have been finished you ask an experienced researcher (preferably your supervisor) to listen to your talk and comment on it critically as well as to give you specific advice on what to change to improve your performance. In fact, it is good to repeat this process several times since active training is the best way of learning. It is also good practice to organize a final rehearsal of your talk at a department meeting shortly before the conference to get as much feedback and questions as possible.

Last but not least, it has to be underlined that effective data presentation really boils down to communication. Every presentation of data is good as it communicates the presenter’s message to the target audience. Therefore, excellence in communication should be the desired outcome of the training of all researchers willing to present their results.

Senior perspective: Simon Leedham

Effective data presentation is a fundamental and ubiquitous skill in a medical and scientific career. Communication of your hard-earned data to the wider world is often the final act of a long experimental process and is an occasion that should be savored, or even enjoyed! There are numerous formats – from constructing an abstract, designing a poster, giving a talk or writing a paper; presenting your work requires application of the same rigor that was applied to curating your data in the first place. The plane flight on the way to the conference is not the place to be writing a talk – planning, preparation and practice are key to a successful presentation.

Thankfully, a few simple, underpinning guidelines can be readily applied to almost any presentation format:

Storytelling. Humans have been hard-wired over millions of years of evolution to enjoy and respond to stories. Regardless of format, your data presentation should have a clear narrative thread and a seamless flow that gently guides your audience to the insight that you wish to impart. Illogical ordering, knights-move thinking and overstated conclusions will only serve to confuse and irritate your audience or readership. This is particularly important in conference abstract writing, as a poorly constructed story will rapidly lose the attention and interest of reviewers who may have dozens of abstracts to go through.

Simplify. Given the cardinal ‘storytelling’ rule of data presentation, it follows that only information that is relevant to the story should be included. This is not an opportunity to impress upon the audience how much experimental work you have done, if the data presented doesn’t support or isn’t relevant to the underlying narrative. Generally, a sensible rule is to restrict yourself to one key point per paragraph of prose or presented slide, and ensure that this message is concisely conveyed. Furthermore, when giving a talk, slide templates packed with extraneous information or complex slide transitions may simply detract from the key message you are trying to deliver.

De-clutter. This is particularly important in oral presentations where there is never any excuse for the phrase “I know this is a busy slide, but…”! If your data cannot be presented in a way that can be clearly and rapidly comprehended, then you should think hard about re-formatting it, or leaving it out. The same applies for long sections of text, which are sometimes read out word-for-word by inexperienced presenters, worried about visual cues. It is far more engaging to show a picture and then describe it in your own words. In this situation, repetitive practice in advance of the conference can help to eliminate the need for a visual memory jog.

Reinforce. It is important not to assume a similar level of knowledge to you when presenting your data. A clear but concise introduction that explains all the concepts you will be discussing is critical. Similarly, a summing-up or interpretative sentence can be helpful when describing experimental results and a definitive conclusion section is important when writing abstracts or papers. When giving a talk, the old adage – Tell them what you are going to tell them. Tell them. Then tell them what you have told them – is a useful rule of thumb.

Refine. There is little substitute for the guiding hand of an experienced researcher in all formats of data presentation. Senior colleagues may be familiar with your work and will generally be able to comment from an audience or readership perspective. Be prepared to accept constructive criticism, and refine your work accordingly. For an oral presentation, repeated practice is critical – in front of your colleagues, a video camera, the mirror or the dog! This will help to not only improve the slickness of your presentation but is far less likely to lead to much-feared brain freezes whilst on stage.

Regardless of the format, effective data presentation can be taught and learned. Inherent individual difficulties with scientific writing, poster design or oral presentation should be acknowledged dispassionately, and can be effectively addressed. Numerous online resources are available and specific courses such as the UEG Young Investigators Meeting seek to address abstract writing and oral communication as key learning points. As with any learned skill, practice makes perfect – the more abstracts you write, the more posters you design and the more talks you give, will see improvements in style and content. In science and medicine, effective communication is paramount. Whether we are addressing our patients, their families or our peers, the ability to convey an unambiguous message effectively is a technique we should all be prepared to work towards.