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Abstract

We are all asked to give science talks from time to time. But whether that talk is a good talk or mediocre talk can determine whether you get the job or not, whether you get the funding, whether you effectively communicate your results to your colleagues, or actually engage your students with the material. In short, the science talk is an essential part of our job. But far too often, the talk is approached as a nuisance, an afterthought, or simply an opportunity to prove that you've been working on something. Sometimes the speaker seems bored! and in such a case, you can be assured that the audience is also disengaged, making the whole exercise performative rather than informative. Other times, speakers will just assume that the work is so inherently interesting that merely showing some esoteric plots and barely explaining them is enough to keep the audience enthralled (spoiler alert: it isn't). In this talk, I will highlight some common pitfalls that get in the way of a successful talk, and outline a range of techniques that can help improve audience engagement. Drawing on my training as a stage actor, as well as years of experience communicating science to public audiences, my aim is to help make science talks a little less of a chore and a little more useful for speakers and audiences alike.