Some thoughts on giving Good Scien1fic Talksabbott/REU/GoodScientificTalks.pdf · Some thoughts on giving Good Scien1fic Talks ... 15 minutes. IV. ... Tnbr > 50, 70, 90 GeV (138

SomethoughtsongivingGoodScien1ficTalks

Dr. Mike Strauss OU REU 2017

with input from Dr. Eric Abraham and Dr. Ferah Munshi

How many talks have you heard that sound something like this?

What makes a good, interesting talk?

I.WhyBotherWorkingatSpeakingWell?

�  Conferences,colloquiumandyouwillhaveto:�  Thissummer�  Academictalks:� seminars� JobInterviewTalks

�  AnyprofessionaloccupaEon.� Wearen’ttalkingaboutteaching.ThatisadifferentskillenErely.

�  Itisimportanttoknowhowtogiveagoodtalk.� Mayneverbefun,butcandecreaseanxiety.�  SaEsfacEonincompetence.

SpeakingwellMaJers!�  GetnoEced,peoplerememberyou.�  Postdocs,programofficers,reviewers,students

�  Samegoesforbusinessworld.�  Bosseswillgetyourideas�  Impactonthejob;influenceothers

�  JobTalks�  Youwillhavetogivetalkswhenapplyingforpost-doctoralandotherjobs

�  Aspartoftheinterviewtogetajobasaprofessor,aTeroveradecadeofgraduateschoolandpost-doctoralresearch,acrucialinterviewcomponentwillbeapresentaEonatadepartmentalcolloquium.

Withali'leeffort,youcangivegreattalks…relaEvely.

� ManyscienEfictalksarehorrible� ManyscienEstsputnoeffortintotheirpresentaEons.� Mostviolatemuchofwhatwillbediscussed.� Mostpeopledon’twanttoworkatit,evenaliJle.� Mostpeoplefearpublicspeaking.

�  Shypeople/introvertsmistakenlybelievetheycan’tdothiswell,oristoomuchwork�  Introvertsmakegreatpublicspeakers(withpracEce).�  Extrovertsdoaswell(pracEcingdifferentthings).

II.SomeBasicRules

�  Thereisabewilderinglylargearrayofdifferentkindsoftalksonecangive.

�  Fourrulesyoushouldneverviolate:1.AudienceAnalysis:Knowyouraudience

3.PracEce

4.Never,ever,underanycircumstances,gooverEme.

2.Storytelling:Knowwhatyouaretryingtosayandaccomplish

1.AudienceAnalysis

� Whatistheirbackground?

� Whatistheirinterest?

� Whyaretheythere?

� Whatlevelshouldyoupitchthetalk?

�  Isthereamixtureoftheabove?Howisthatrelevanttoyourtalk?

�  Notnecessarilyanydecisions,yet.Butthisguidestherestofyourdecisions.

2.StorytellingGivingagoodtalkmeanstellingagoodstory.Herearesomeideas:�  ForscienEfictalksstartwithcontext� WhatquesEonareyoutryingtoanswer?Whatisthe

fundamentalscience?�  Supporttheimportanceofyourresearch� WhyisthisquesEonrelevant?Whathasbeendoneon

thistopic?�  Tellwhatyouhavecontributed�  Howdidyoudoyourresearch?Whychosethismethod?�  Summarizewhatyouhavelearnedanditsvalue.

3.PracEce

�  EverytalkshouldbepracEced.

�  Decreasesfear.

�  PolishesthepresentaEonandtransiEons.

�  Debugsslides,logicalsteps,colors,mechanics.

�  FixesEmeproblems.

4.NevergooverEme

�  The�threerules�ofpublicspeaking

�  Destroysgoodwill,damagesyourlikability

�  ArrogantandinsulEng:�  Areyouaremoreimportantthanaudience?� DidyounotpracEce?Audiencenotworthit?�  CouldyounotbebotheredtolookupthespecificaEonsforthetalk?

�  IhaveneverseenascienEfictalktooshort.

III.PlanningtheTalk:Details

� Whatareyoutryingtoaccomplish?�  CommunicaterecentresearchresultstothescienEficcommunity.

�  AdverEseresearch,drawaJenEontoit.� Getfuturepaperspublished,grantsfunded.�  Impresspeoplebyhowsmart/competentyouare.� Gethired.� Getthroughrequirementwithoutlookingstupid.

III.PlanningtheTalk(more)

�  HowmuchEmedoIhave?

�  Audienceanalysis?

� Mainpointofcontent.� Whatisthetake-awaymessage?� Newmethod,newmeasurement,newcalculaEon� Notthesameaswhatyouwanttoaccomplish�  Istheremorethanonemainpoint?ThatshouldbeclearinyourpresentaEon.

III.PlanningtheTalk(more)�  NarraEve:Youaretellingastory.Whatisit?�  ThinkofyourtalkascreaEvewriEng.� WhattypeofnarraEveskeletonbestfitsyourstory?� Chronological,spaEal,experimental,mystery

� Whoarethecharacters?� Good/badguys(anthropomorphizedequipment,bugs)?

� Whereisthedrama?Conflict?Surprises?�  Thisisnotparodyorfarce,itshouldbeimplicit.�  Thisisalsoveryhard.Don’tletiniEaldifficultyorfailuresdissuadeyoufromworkingonthis.

Finally:CreaEngthetalk�  Outline

�  Onceyouhaveastory,youcanoutlineit�  MainContentFigures.�  Howdoyoustart?Engagetheaudience.

Whyisthisimportant?�  Coolfigures/Goodjokes.

�  SomeEmesshouldbeusedevenifthetalkismoreconcise/completewithoutthem

�  ListSlides�  Writeonpaper�  Whatisvaluableforthisaudiencegiven

theamountof7mealloJed?�  CreateTalk

YouHaveCompleted:1.  IdenEfiedYour

Goal.2.  Audience

Analysis.3. MainContent

Points.4.  NarraEve.

IV.SlideTips

�  Title:Yes

�  Outline:Maybe�  Canhelpguideaudience.�  Cancalmnerveswitheasyfirstslide.� WastesvaluableEme.� NarraEveguidesaudiencethroughtalk.�  Personalpreference,butneverfortalklessthan15minutes.

IV.SlideTips�  Picturesoverwords!�  (Thistalkdoes,unfortunately,havealotof“words”butit

isnotatalkonresearch,data,results…)

�  Bulletsoversentencesorparagraphs!�  Noparagraphs.Neverreadparagraphs!�  Yourtextshouldnotbeexactlywhatyouaregoingtosay.It

shouldbearemindertoyouofwhatyouaregoingtosay.Itislikeanoutline,emphasizingtoyouraudiencewhatthemainpointis,whileremindingyouofthetopicsoyoucanexplainfurtherinwords.Ifyouputallthewordsthatyouaregoingtosayontheslide,itbecomesawalloftext.Youloseyourfocusontheaudienceasyoustareatthescreen.PeoplewillstoppayingaJenEontowhatyouaresayingasyoudroneonandonandon.

How Low Can You Go?

104

103

102

101

100

10-1

10-2

10-3

10-4

10-5

10-6

10-7

10-8

10-9

T(K)

1 K

1 mK

1 µK

1 nK

Surface of the sun Room temperature Liquid nitrogen

Liquid helium

Doppler laser cooling

Sub-Doppler laser cooling

Evaporative cooling

•  Everything stays in the gas phase, must be very dilute.

•  Temperature is related to the average speed of particles.

•  Cooling is the same as slowing down.

•  Cannot touch with any physical object.

•  Typically 103 to 109 particles.

IV.SlideTips

�  Don’tbeconfusing.AvoidcluJer.Onethoughtperslide.

� Maketextlargeenoughtobeseen.Caneverythingbereadfromthebackoftheroom?

SIVA

f1≈c/436.8nm+f2≈c/476.7nm+f3≈c/532nm

206Pb19F207Pb19F208Pb19F

Chris

To search for an e-EDM we will look for ΔU=U+M –U-M in a strong E field.

Precisionstructurecalcula7onsarenotnecessary.

Major Difficulty: A background magnetic field mimics an EDM.

GHz/ 39962458.1)( µµµ =⋅+⋅= BedmB SEgSBgU!!!!

PbF

IV.SlideTips

�  NoAcronymsorJargon.

�  TheproliferaEonofBSOsinAGNsisanoutstandingproblem.TypeIaSnarenotasourceofsuchQSOs.Furthermore,thelackofnewTLAsmayforceustoconsiderETLAs

IV.SlideTips�  NoequaEons!

�  Really?

�  Ok,notnecessarily.But,youmustexplaineveryequaEon.�  Everytermcouldbeexplained.�  Importanttermscouldbeexplained(butthenwhythe

wholeequaEon?)�  DoestheequaEonreallyaddvaluetothetalk?Isit

thebestwaytopresentthepointyouaretryingtomake?

� Willyouraudiencecare?

IV.SlideTips

�  Nocode,circuitdiagrams,machinedrawings.�  OnlyexcepEonmightbeinaverytechnicalworking

meeEng.� Willyouraudiencecare?

SampleInputFile

IV.SlideTips�  Graphs:legible!� NocluJer�  Labels,axes�  Symbolsandlineslargeenough�  IsanythingtoocluJered�  Caneverythingbeseenfromthebackoftheroom?

�  Colors:Checkcolors.

� Whenplanning,assume30to120secondsperslide.

�  Ipreferminimum,orno,textanimaEonforscienEfictalks

Which is better?

�  Canyoureadaxes?Whatdoestheplotmean?IstheEtleunderstandable?Canyouseethedata?

TheFirstofMyObstacles�  IdidnotcreateeverypieceinAutoCAD

�  IassumedthoseIdidnotadjusttobegoodenoughforthemachineshop�  Theyhadbuiltastrikinglysimilardesignbefore

RadiusandLuminosity?

Denneyetal

• Measured intensity profile.. •  Rigorous fit to superposition

of modes to determine mode quality.

•  Fits consistent with 100% in mode of choice.

L21

Detailed Beam Analysis

(99.3 +- 0.9)% of intensity in L21 mode.

Also measured: •  Propagation characteristics •  Extinction ratios •  Conversion efficiencies •  Misalignment effects

Sharon A. Kennedy, Matthew J. Szabo, Hilary Teslow, James Z. Porterfield, and E. R. I. Abraham, Physical Review A 66, 043801 (2002).

αs(pT) results

30

•  Use pTnbr > 50, 70, 90 GeV (138 data points total)

•  At each pT, combine all data points with different pTnbr and ΔR requirements

•  Determine results for αs(pT) at 12 pT values

à  α(pT) results up to 400 GeV à  αs(pT) decreases with pT

as predicted by the RGE

Results agree with results from à ALEPH event shape data à  Previous DØ results from

inclusive jets

V.SpeakingTips:Do’s

�  Dospeaktoaudience,nottocomputerorscreen.

�  Dohavegoodlegiblegraphics

�  DopracEceyourtalk.

�  Dostartstrong.

V.SpeakingTips:Dont’s

�  Don’tblockprojector.

�  Don’tputintoomuchinformaEon.

�  Don’tputintoomanyequaEons.

�  Don’thavetoomuchinformaEononanyslide

�  Don’tcoversegments:bewareofappearingtext.

�  Don’tgooverthetop.Youarenotindebateclass,acEng,orsellingcars.

�  Don’tgooverEme

Remember

�  Itisyourtalk.Youareprobablytheexpertintheroom.Itisyourresearch.Beconfident.

�  YouhavepracEcedyourtalksoyouknowwhatyouwanttosay,howyouwillmaketransiEons,andhowlongyourtalkwilltake.

VI.QuesEons

�  SomeEmesquesEonsarethemostchallengingpartofthetalk.

�  RepeaEngthequesEonmaygiveyouEmetothink.

�  Ifyoudon’tknowtheanswerdon’tmakesomethingup.Don’tpanic.“Idon’tknowbutI’lllookthatup”isaperfectlyreasonableanswer.

�  IfthequesEonerisbelligerent,takeitoffline.

VII.Miscellaneous

�  Dressappropriately.

�  PrepareforAVequipment.

�  Beyourself.Don’ttrytomimicsomeoneelse.

�  Keephumoratprofessionallevel.Carefulgoingoverboardwithinternetpictures.

�  Oh,yeah,andremembertopracEceanddon’tgooverEme.

QuesEons?