In the idyllic vision of the uninitiated, a scientific presentation tells a story, starting with a clear description of a problem, then outlining a series of steps taken to address that problem, and ending with a special reward: a glistening kernel of new knowledge.
The speaker tells the story using a vocabulary accessible to anyone with a similar breadth, though not necessarily depth, of scientific knowledge so that all in attendance can bask in the final, glorious revelation.
This is an attractive fiction. The ugly truth is that few scientists take the time to describe the situation from which the project emerges, or the particular social or technical problem that remains to be solved, and the consequences of that problem remaining unsolved.
Because of this, many scientific presentations lack drama, and drama is, after all, one of the main reasons why we gather together.
The talks lack drama because they begin with something procedural, e.g., “I am going to talk a little bit about the following nine things.” Or they begin with the protocol, the study design, or the objectives of the study.
This approach is traditional and widely accepted, even expected. Unfortunately, it gives science a bad name, and turns the average person comatose. All drama is about the solution of problems, and to forget this fact, especially in science, is a terrible injury to the most important endeavor of the modern era.
Finally, to grasp what most scientists are speaking about, one must learn a new language. Few speakers that I have heard cease speaking their own language when addressing those who are not familiar with it. There are multiple reasons for this, some of them quite understandable, but again, the habit of doing so harms the enterprise.
I am a communications consultant. I learned a long time ago, and I have to learn it over and over again, that if we want to be heard, understood, and remembered, we must speak to our audience in the language of the audience about what the audience cares about.
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