What’s the most common mistake when presenting complex scientific ideas?
People come to me when they need to explain complicated Tech/Sci stories to their audience in a short amount of time, after their previous attempts left their audiences confused.
I make explainer videos for a living, so I know that the solution to this problem is usually pretty simple as long as you understand one thing: your real goal.
You see, a confused audience is often a symptom of a common misconception- the belief that your audience should have a deep understanding of your work when you’re done presenting it.
In reality, it’s most likely that you are never going to achieve complete understanding after a single presentation, and what you should instead aim for is the ‘feeling of understanding’.
Let me explain.
If your audience listened to you talk for 10 minutes, they can be placed somewhere on the graph below:
On the rightmost end of the graph, your audience understands a lot of the details but feels a little confused, while in the middle (and some of the left) area, your audience knows fewer details but they feel like they ‘get it’. There is a sweet spot somewhere in between where you want your audience to be.
Think about it- we don't need our audience to understand everything in extreme detail because that is our job. And if they need to get a deeper understanding later, they know where to find us.
However, if they don't feel like they “get it” by the time you finish explaining, then it doesn't matter if everything you’ve said made sense. After all, people won’t remember what you said, they remember how you made them feel.
And so, your goal should be- to ensure your audience leaves with a genuine feeling of understanding, confident and engaged with the concepts presented.
In my next post, I'll show you how to find the right balance of detail for your scientific presentations, so you keep your audience interested but not overwhelmed.
Stay tuned!
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