Presenting Science Concisely

By: Bruce Kirchoff

Learn how to craft clear, credible presentations and tell memorable stories about your research.

Imagine you are a scientist faced with presenting your research clearly and concisely. Where would you go for help? This book provides the answer. It shows how to use story structure to craft clear, credible presentations. In it you will find exercises to help you give both short and long presentations. Elevator pitches, lightning talks, Three Minute Thesis (3MT®), and conference presentations are all covered as are suggestions for longer presentations. Separate chapters address good poster design, how to tailor your talk to an audience, and presentation skills. + Full description

Throughout the book the focus is on creating surprising, memorable stories. Scientific presentations are true stories about new discoveries. They are surprising because every new discovery changes our understanding of the world. Stories are memorable because they move audiences. This book teaches you to tell moving, memorable stories about your research.

The book also covers:

Randy Olson's And-But-Therefore (ABT) narrative form
Mike Morrison's Better Poster designs
Eye-tracking analyses of posters by EyeQuant
Numerous case studies and examples from different scientific fields
Exercises for the reader
Links to videos of exemplary presentations

With light-hearted illustrations by Jon Wagner this book will appeal to researchers and graduate students in all areas of science, and other disciplines too.

- Short description

News

Sales in Australia and New Zealand only. Elsewhere, this title is available through CABI (external link).

Read more on our blog:
Dr Bruce Kirchoff gives his top tips on scientific poster design to help make your next poster presentation a success: Strong Scientific Posters: Presenting science concisely with Bruce Kirchoff

Find out more about Dr Bruce Kirchoff at his website: presentingscienceconcisely.com (external link).

Reviews

"Presenting Science Concisely by Dr. Bruce Kirchoff is a great resource for any scientists who want to better communicate their latest research findings and efforts to the general public. The book offers a detailed, yet digestible, overview of how to talk about your research in a way that is relevant to the everyday lives of readers"
Fancy Comma, May 2022

"An enormously useful book for students in the sciences, their faculty mentors and supervisors, and communication center practitioners. Written in a style that is both conversational and knowledgeably detailed, the book urges the scientific community to tell its stories better."
Laura A. Stengrim, Communication Center Journal 7(1), 2021

"The book is pitched at a broad scientific audience, and researchers at any stage of their career would have something to gain from reading it. Readers who would benefit most from Kirchoff’s book, however, would be advanced students and early career researchers who are starting to dip their toes into presenting their work to public audiences."
Ryan P. O'Donnell, Australasian Systematic Botany Society Newsletter, March 2022

Details

Paperback | November 2021 | $ 44.99
ISBN: 9781486314683 | 134 pages | 234 x 156 mm
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Illustrations

Features

Comprehensive guide to help prepare clear, credible presentations.
Covers elevator pitches, lightning talks, Three Minute Thesis (3MT®), conference presentations, as well as poster design and presentation skills.
Light-hearted illustrations by Jon Wagner.

Introduction
Acknowledgments
1: First Principles: Explaining Science Through Stories
2: A Deeper Look at Narrative Structure
3: Presenting in Three Minutes
4: Elevator Pitches
5: Applications to Longer Forms
6: Poster Presentations
7: Analysis of Real Posters
8: Audience—It Is All About the Audience
9: Presentation Skills
Index

Authors

Dr Bruce Kirchoff is a Professor of Biology at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG). He has won the UNC Board of Governors Award for Excellence in Teaching, the Charles Edwin Bessey Teaching Award from the Botanical Society of America, and the Innovations in Plant Systematics Education Prize from the American Society of Plant Taxonomists. He studied scientific communication at the Alan Alda Center, storytelling with North Carolina storyteller Louise Kessel, and is a member of the Soylent Greensboro improv group.