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Share Your Research: How to Give a Good Talk

Share Your Research is a course that will guide learners through the steps of creating and delivering a good research talk. We designed this course for anyone who will be giving research-based scientific talks in the future. This list includes (but is not limited) to advanced undergraduate and graduate students, postdocs, as well as early-career or well-established researchers who are interested in learning more about giving a good scientific talk. While most of our instructors have a background in the life sciences, the lessons included in the course are broadly applicable to other disciplines.

By the end of this course, learners will have:

  • A detailed outline plan for their research talk.
  • Techniques and strategies for delivering an engaging and effective talk.
  • Approaches for finding and refining their preferred speaking style.
  • Strategies for practicing and receiving feedback on their talk.

This page is for educators to access the whole or parts of the course to use in their own teaching.

Course Link Course about page

We encourage all educators to register for the online course and review it in the online platform to read the full course text and see the course components in context.
Syllabus A course syllabus that describes an outline of the course content.
  Syllabus (PDF)

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Full Course Content Document This is a google doc version of the entire course. This document contains all learning objectives, lessons, graphics, links to videos and assessments. Educators can copy and paste, download, or make a copy of this document to use for their own teachings.
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Playlist of Course Videos Full Youtube Playlist of all Course Video content
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Assessment-Only Document This is a google doc version of all assessments of the course. Educators can copy and paste, download, or make a copy of this document to use for their own teachings.
  Assessments (PDF)

  Assessments (Google Doc)
Course Level Undergraduate students, graduate students, and postdocs, as well as early-career or well-established researchers who are interested in learning more about giving a good scientific talk
Educator Audience Faculty, administrators, laboratory PIs, research mentors, and educators looking for resources to help teach the development and delivery of good scientific talks

Course Resources List

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About This Course
In this video, you will learn about a few key areas of the site you’ll use while taking this course.
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Module 1 : Framing Your Talk
This video introduces you to what makes a research talk good, and what will be covered in this course.
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In this video, you will learn about the work you need to do before you start making your slides.
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In this video, you will learn that a successful and engaging talk is one tailored to your audience.
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In this video, you will learn about the value of setting achievable goals for an effective talk and how to set them.
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In this video, you will learn about defining, tailoring and distilling the core message of your talk.
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In this video, you will learn how to establish, refine and then leverage your speaking style to deliver an effective talk.
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Assessments:
Q1
Spend a moment reflecting on what you are hoping to get out of this course. Please write 2-3 goals for yourself with this course.

For example, what do you want to improve in giving a research talk? Are there specific aspects of building and delivering a research talk you want to work on?
Q2
Identify the research talk you will work on and use as your personal example in this course. It could be a research talk that you are about to give, or a talk that you did give, but want to revisit. Describe the setting of the talk (is it a group meeting? Conference talk? etc.) and the length of the talk.
Q3
List 3-4 questions you want to ask about your audience and how you will go about answering them (e.g., I will ask the meeting organizer the level of expertise and the demographics of the audience).
Q4
After you have answered the question above as best as you can on who the audience for your example talk will be (you might need to make some assumptions, but that is OK). Write a brief description of that audience here.
Q5
List 2-3 examples of how you will tailor your presentation to your audience (e.g., Identify a key concept from your research that you need to define).
Q6
Using the example talk you previously identified, define the goal(s) for your talk.
Q7
Find a friend or colleague and practice the “Half-Life Your Message” exercise with them and then document any feedback they gave you or any reflections you had about the process here. Use this worksheet to help you.
Q8
Using the insights from the “Half-Life Your Message”, write down the core message of your example talk in 15 words or less.
Q9
List the individual experimental data from your research that you think will be necessary to support your core message.
Q10
List 3 things you would like to work on in your speaking style and how you will go about doing so (e.g., are you using too many filler words like “um” or “you know”? Are you moving around a lot?). We recommend filming yourself practicing or giving a scientific talk (or find a recording of a talk you have given before). You could also ask others for feedback or do a self-reflection to help you come up with this list.
Discussion Topics:
Introduce Yourself

Introduce yourself on the forum. Where are you from, why have you joined this course, and (in your opinion) what makes a scientific talk good?
Your Speaking Style In a couple of sentences, describe your speaking style. For example, do you like to use your hands and move around? Are you soft-spoken? Read the other participants’ responses and reflect on the differences you notice. Are there any styles you would like to try out and see if they work for you? .
Module 2 : Start Building Your Talk
In this video, you will learn key differences between a scientific paper and a scientific presentation.
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This video explores key elements of storytelling and how you can use them to craft a more compelling and effective research talk.
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This video digs into different storytelling techniques you can use in your talk.
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In this video, you will learn how to go from The Framework (audience + goal + core message) to a talk outline to help you turn your ideas into slides.
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In this video, you will learn about how to use slide design to make your talk more effective.
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In this video you will learn how to pick out the most relevant data to your core message, break that data down so the audience can grasp the results and their importance, and organize that data in a succinct and clear manner.
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Assessments:
Q11
Identify the key elements of your research story using the example talk you have been working on so far. Write down a few bullet points or sentences of which information, data, figures, etc. you could use for each of the following.

a. Exposition (Introduction/Background)
b. Inciting Incident (Research Question)
c. Rising action (Experiments and Results)
d. Climax (Discovery)
e. Resolution (Conclusion/Ending)
Q12
Write down 1 or 2 different story vignettes (e.g., about triumph, excitement, impact, struggle, failure, etc.) that you could use in your research talk.

Q13
Choose a storytelling technique from the examples presented in the video, the list above or of your own preference, and use it to convey the story vignette you wrote down in the previous assessment. Write out bullet points or a few sentences of how applying your chosen technique to the story vignette will look like

For example, if your story vignette is about an experiment that took many years to work, you could ‘make it personal’ by describing both the difficult process you went through and the emotions you felt. Remember you can also apply multiple techniques to the same story at the same time. For example, in this example, you could ‘show not tell’ the specific time in the lab when the experiment finally worked, setting the scene with descriptions of the environment, emotions and people.
Q14
Think of a piece of complex data that you plan including in your example talk. If you have the data in a slide already, have it in front of you to take notes or make a copy to modify it. What is the main message from the slide? What is the minimum information needed to send that message? Write down your notes below of how you can simplify the data.
Q15
Look through the data set for the research project you will present in your example talk. With your audience, goals, and core message in mind, pick out the most relevant data, and summarize or distill each key result down to one main point that supports your core message, and list those key points here.
Q16
Take each main point you listed above and briefly write:

a. How will you set up/introduce the data/techniques you used?
b. How will you show these data (e.g., a graph, plot, images)?
c. What did you learn from that data?
d. What are/were the next steps based on that data?
Discussion Topics:
Compelling or Memorable Research Talk Think back to a compelling and memorable research talk you watched or listened to. What was it? What types of stories or storytelling techniques did the speaker use to make it so memorable?
Translating Ideas What is the most difficult part of translating the ideas in your head into an outline? Did the content and strategies we presented in this unit help with these difficulties? What other tools or strategies do you use to deal with these difficulties?
Module 3: Rounding Out a Strong Talk
In this video, you will learn how to build and structure an introduction for an effective talk.
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In this video, you will learn about how a hook can help you grab the attention of your audience.
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In this video, you will learn about the “so what” and why it is important to help your audience remember and care about your research.
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In this video, you will learn the importance of the ending of your talk, as it is the last thing your audience will remember and your last chance to drive home your core message.
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In this video, you will learn what makes a talk title inviting and exciting.
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Assessments:
Q17
Based on the audience, core message and goal(s) you have defined, and information that you have included in the body of your talk, what information do you need to include in your introduction? What information can you leave out? Write down a few bullet points or sentences summarizing that information here. If you are building slides at the same time as answering these assessments, use these notes to build the individual slides of the introduction section of your talk.
Q18
Following the examples we provided in the text or the video, come up with two different types of hooks you could use in the introduction of your talk and write them down here. If you are building slides for your talk and want to use a hook, add those slides to the talk now.
Q19
For the example talk you are working on, what is your “so what?” Why should people care about your work? Write it down here. If you are having trouble defining a “so what,” talk to a colleague or post in the discussion forum above. If you are building slides for a talk, go into the introduction section and add the “so what” to the talk now.
Q20
For your example talk, briefly write down the three key elements of your ending (e.g., core message, summary of research, and future directions). If you are also working on building slides, make sure to spend enough time translating these ideas onto the slides so that they are as clear and concise as the talk’s introduction and body.
Q21
Use the core message you have identified and write down two (2) different possible titles for your example talk. Share them in the discussion forum to get feedback. If you are also making slides for a talk, choose the title you like best and make your title slide.
Discussion Topics:
Examples of Good Hooks What are some examples of good hooks you have seen or used in a talk?
Defining “So What?” If you are having trouble defining your so what, post here and get advice from your coursemates. Don’t forget to describe your research a little bit, and your audience, goal(s), and message for the talk you are building.
Titles of Talks from our Young Scientist Seminars series

1. Look at titles of the talks from our Young Scientist Seminars series. Which ones speak to you and make you want to listen to the corresponding talk? Why?
Core message and possible titles

2. Share the core message and two different possible titles for your example talk you developed in the assessment for this unit. See which one the other participants in the course like best, and why.
Module 4: Giving Your Talk
In this video, you will hear tips to connect with your audience—from employing clear language, to asking questions, to using analogies, and more.
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In this video, you will hear strategies for practicing and receiving feedback on your presentation and will be encouraged to find out which may work best for you.
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In this video, we provide strategies to avoid technical issues during your presentation, become used to your presentation environment and choose what to wear.
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In this video, you will learn about why it is normal to be nervous before and while giving a talk and ways to lessen the nerves.
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In this video, you will learn about dealing with the Q&A session after a scientific talk.
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Assessments:
Q22
Identify two (2) examples of jargon you commonly use to talk about your research and write the down below. Consider if the words might be inaccessible (i.e., difficult to understand) or misinterpreted (i.e., they might have other meanings to people outside of your field of expertise). Then determine which strategies (e.g., using analogies, defining a key concept) you can use to explain or describe the jargon terms to make them more accessible to your audience and also write those down. We recommend checking out this Watch Your Words Toolkit by American Geophysical Union. It has some great examples of jargon words with dual meanings (even if you are not a geophysical scientist, we think it will help you get the idea). The toolkit also has a worksheet with some simple questions and prompts to help you determine whether or not a word is jargon and how to simplify it.
Q23
Describe how you will practice your talk (e.g., will you script your talk? Will you practice in front of a mirror with or without visuals? Will you record yourself? etc.).
Q24
List individuals or groups of people that you would like to receive feedback from on your presentation. Provide them with the “Checklist for Getting Feedback” before you practice in front of them in order to get the most targeted, useful feedback. Feel free to adapt the checklist to your own circumstances/needs.
Q25
Now that you have seen others’ examples of how to lessen the nerves on the forum, list your favorite 2-3 strategies you will try before or during your next talk to help you lessen the nerves.
Q26
What are some questions you can anticipate you might be asked during your talk? And, what are your responses to those questions?
Discussion Topics:
Strategies for practicing that worked for you

If you have given a formal presentation, what strategies for practicing it have worked for you in the past? Why do these strategies work for you?
Strategies from the video that make the most sense to you

If you have not given a formal presentation, which strategies in the video make the most sense to you? Why?
Tips for getting comfortable before presentation

Do you have any tips for others in the course regarding how you get comfortable with yourself and your image before and during a presentation?
Strategies to lessen the nerves

What are some strategies you use to lessen the nerves? Share these strategies in the discussion forums.

Strategies for dealing with Q&A

Share your strategies to deal with the Q&A session in the discussion forums.
Worksheets
Worksheet: Distilling Your Message Download
Handout: Narrative Elements of Your Talk Download
Handout: Storytelling Techniques Download
Handout: DO’s and DON’Ts of Slide Design Download
Handout: Strategies to Connect with Your Audience Download
Worksheet: Watch Your Words Toolkit (from the AGU) Download
Worksheet: Getting Feedback Checklist Download
Worksheet: My Talk Plan Download

iBiology and iBiology Courses are part of the Science Communication Lab (SCL). Our mission remains the same, to connect people to science. However, our focus has shifted to producing and evaluating cinematic films for education and the public, which you can find on the Science Communication Lab website. For more information, please see this blog post!