Andreas Møgelhøj, The Geek That Speaks: ”My dream is to create a tech talk revolution”
[CRASTINA SHORTS] Andreas Møgelhøj, Danish chemist and physicist who did parts of his PhD at Stanford, presents some really inspiring videos on the art of tech talks exploring themes like ”The Curse of Knowledge” and the ”Big Picture Secret”.
1. Tell us a little about The Geek that Speaks videos!
My dream is to create a tech talk revolution. My name is Andreas. I am the Geek that Speaks. After years of doing science promotion and being a member of a speaking club at Stanford, I have collected my best secrets for technical presentations. Each week you get a short video (less than 5 minutes) and a one-page memo that can be used later for a quick review. The secrets are free. There are no commercials and no catch.
2. Why should this concern me as a young scientist?
If you cannot communicate clearly, your great ideas will be lost. Research funding is based on your ability to sell your science. You do so by communicating clearly and understandable to nonscientist why they should finance your research! Also, in a world with great scientists and poor communication there is no faster way to stand out than to be a great presenter. This will lead to faster promotions, higher salaries and more respect from peers.
3. Give three pieces of advice to the person who wants to give an memorable and convincing presentation!
• Avoid the Curse of Knowledge
The curse of knowledge is when experts forget how it is to be a beginner. Do not assume everyone knows what you have spent most of your life learning. Assume infinite intelligence and zero knowledge. Use 20% of your presentation in the very beginning for background information, to make sure that everyone starts at the same point.
• Use the Picture superiority effect
Humans think and remember in pictures not words. If you just write a word on a slide, research has shown that 48 hours later 10% will remember. A picture instead increases it to 35 %, but the combination of picture and word will make 65% remember. Therefore, replace keywords with specific pictures in your slides and have minimal text.
• Connect your piece of the puzzle to the big picture
People will only care about your specific niche if you connect it with a big problem affecting their world. Establish the big problem very early. How does it affect the audience’s world? By chunking the big problem into smaller and smaller pieces; gradually zoom in to your piece of the puzzle.
Links
Get all 42 free secrets:https://thegeekthatspeaks.leadpages.net/42techtalksecrets/
The curse of Knowledge Secret: http://voice.adobe.com/v/6GRWi2M4knn
The Picture Superiority effect Secret: http://voice.adobe.com/v/TmIZFMrBHu4
The big picture Secret: http://voice.adobe.com/v/7Rg_RoPvWxe
In this slide, Andreas explains why the spelling of the word ”mammoth” is not really what the caveman is concerned about when he encounters one on the Pleistocene tundra.
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