Presentation Skills

Discussion and debate are hallmarks of social and public policy—and they can generate good ideas for research and policy. These discussions often take the form of a panel, where people debate the merits of a policy, finding, or research approach….

It’s just past the time of year when students across the country celebrate their graduation from college, university, or school. Many graduation events culminate with a commencement speaker, typically someone who is an important citizen, a thought-leader, politician, or other…

A few weeks ago, I wrote about how Cognitive Load Theory can be applied to delivering clear, effective presentations. A second learning theory that may be useful for presenters to understand is a group of learning principles developed by psychologist…

You have likely witnessed your share of mediocre presentations, where the slides were full of text and bad graphs. You probably tuned out periodically, checked your email, and eventually stopped paying attention altogether. (You may have also seen members of…

We’ve all sat through boring presentations where the presenter reads the slides, shows barely-legible tables and graphs, and goes over time—many of us have probably given bad, boring presentations. In research and academic circles, we tend to excuse bad presentations…

I’m often asked about my favorite all-time speeches or presentations. There are the obvious speakers who make the top lists: Martin Luther King, Jr., John F. Kennedy, and Steve Jobs, for example. There are others whose TED talks have been…

Researchers and analysts have some unique challenges when it comes to presenting their data and analysis. We are often more focused on the data, statistics, and estimation results than soaring rhetoric or specific calls to action. That means we’re prone…

The Jewish High Holidays have come and gone. At this year’s service for the Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah), the senior rabbi at my temple, Rabbi Amy Schwartzman, gave a thoughtful sermon about the words we use and how they…