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When faced with the task of preparing a presentation, the first piece of advice is almost always ‘Know your audience’. In the context of scientific talks, this is particularly important because your audience may be composed of everyone from highly knowledgeable experts to non-specialists with only a passing familiarity with your topic. You don’t want to lose the non-specialists with highly technical, jargony detail but you also don’t want to turn off the experts with overly simplistic content. Balance is key.

It is also important to provide sufficient information in your introduction so that your audience will understand the context of your work. But information overload at the beginning of a talk can be a problem. Providing just the right amount of background to set the stage without overwhelming the audience is critical.

Knowing your audience is very important but it is only one part of the preparation.

An equally important and related question is ‘What is your message?’ Or in other words, what new results, thoughts or concepts do you want to convey to the audience? This question is related to the audience issue because while a mixed audience will engage at different levels, a properly crafted talk will ensure that ALL attendees, regardless of technical knowledge, come away with the same message. Not all audience members will fully grasp the technical content. But if results and conclusions are clear, your talk should resonate with experts and non-experts alike.

Preparing a talk for a mixed audience is a unique challenge. Are you targeting the typical expert or the non-specialist? Who should you have in mind? One strategy that may be helpful is to jot down what you think the range of knowledge will be in your audience. As you prepare content, you can ensure that it is accessible to both and your message is clear.

Another strategy would be to create an avatar or composite audience member based on the presumed range of knowledge, interests and engagement. You can even give your avatar a name and physical characteristics so that you have an individual in mind as you prepare the talk. Think of your avatar as someone you are telling a story and the content will flow naturally. More on ‘storytelling’ in a future post.

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