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Module Six: Tailoring the Message to an Audience, continued This assignment does not contain any printable content.

6-1 Leveraging Research This assignment does not contain any printable content.

Incorporating Evidence

While telling an anecdote is a compelling way to present your research, it will not be enough to get your point across. Imagine that you go to a car dealership and ask the salesperson which car you should buy. He smiles at you and points to a lovely car across the room. "That one!" he says enthusiastically and launches into a narrative about how much his friend loves that particular model. Would this story alone persuade you? Probably not, unless the salesman added evidence about car safety ratings, reliability, and fuel efficiency. The same is true for your social science issue. You will need to support your presentation with evidence; specifically, you will need to use the information you gathered during the research investigation to explain the social science issue and why you think your research question is worth investigating. In this section, we explore how to incorporate your research.

Data, Facts, and Figures

Part of your presentation is explaining to your audience why this social science issue should matter to them and how it affects them. Using data from your research investigation can help you paint the picture of the social science issue. You might use data to explain "how small," "how detrimental," "how beneficial," or "how useful?" For example, how many people does your issue affect? If it affects a certain population, what percentage of that population? If data is gathered over time, what changes can be seen?

Remember to accurately represent the data. You should not "cherry pick" your data. This means that you should not pick only the statistics or figures that help you make your point, while ignoring data that provide contrasting information. In your presentation, give a well-rounded explanation of the social science issue and explain the data surrounding that issue as completely as you can.

Interviews, Surveys, and Questionnaires

Interviews, surveys, and questionnaires are other great resources to identify supporting evidence of your social science issue. These can be used to add emotion and humanity to a presentation because these resources often get at the "why" of a trend or data point. In other words, people are able to explain why they feel or act the way they do. Highlighting an individual story that represents the group can be used for the purpose of creating a narrative.

When using findings from interviews, surveys, and questionnaires, remember that there are limitations to these types of data. They are primarily able to assess subjective data, such as emotions, opinions, personal experiences, and self- reported habits, which participants do not report always honestly or accurately. Giving participants a limited number of possible responses funnels their answers into categories, and they may feel that none of the choices correctly represents what they want to say. Respondents can misinterpret the question, or a professional collecting information can misinterpret the response. Finally, your presentation of these types of sources can appear biased if not used correctly; for example, avoid singling out a narrative that is not representative of the entire sample.

Quotes and Conclusions from Studies and Reports

A well-written scholarly resource will list the authors' findings. If these findings succinctly summarize the opinions of well-respected professionals in the field, then it can be impactful to quote these findings.

Be careful; the findings may not represent the majority of professionals in that social science field. Additionally, the findings may be based on weak data or have many caveats. Make sure you fully understand the information being presented before quoting the findings and include in your presentation any necessary clarifying information.

Editorializing

Editorializing is a newspaper term, meaning to insert personal opinion or bias rather than to simply report the facts. Removing all bias from your own investigation is tricky; you have specifically been asked to explain your own personal interest in the social science issue and draw a personal connection with the audience as well.

However, there is a big difference between identifying personal interest and inserting bias or opinion with regard to the facts. For example, if a social scientist is investigating marriage, he or she cannot claim that marriage is "a stupid social institution that was invented to keep couples unhappy." Nor can he or she state that "marriage is the only way for two people to truly demonstrate their love for one another." These statements are not factual, cannot be proven with evidence, and stray from presenting a well- researched issue objectively.

Instead, the speaker could note factual trends. For example, the Pew Research Center, analyzing data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau, notes that "only about a quarter of young adults were married in 2008. This compared with about two-thirds in 1960" (2010). Then, the speaker may note why this is of interest to him or her. Perhaps he is disinterested in marriage but still feels pressure from his parents and older members of society to get married. He may wonder if his dynamic with his parents is representative of a national trend and work to find information that supports this theory.

When presenting your issue, be sure to keep a close eye on the line between demonstrating personal interest and editorializing.

Pew Research Center. (2010). The decline of marriage and rise of new families: Executive summary. http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2010/11/18/the-decline-of-marriage-and-rise-of-new-families/2/#ii-overview

Video: TED Talk This assignment does not contain any printable content.

Exercise: Incorporating Research This assignment does not contain any printable content.

6-2 Creating a Presentation Narrative This assignment does not contain any printable content.

Narrative Presentations

Narrative: The Mark of a Good Presentation

As listeners and thinkers, we respond well to stories. We grow up hearing them, and storytelling plays an important role in every culture. Storytelling has deep evolutionary roots. We are wired to learn from stories. We fashion meaning from them, and they help lend order to our world.

Narrative can become a powerful presentation tool, bringing abstract concepts to life. Great speakers often employ anecdotes, sayings, and stories to engage and inform their audiences.

When determining how to present your social science issue, it can be helpful to identify the narrative that your ideas will follow. In the context of your presentation, the narrative is the story, path, or journey that you take to explain your social science issue from beginning to end.

A narrative can be a literal story that you tell. Stories involve characters that encounter obstacles or difficulties and feature some sort of resolution. For example, in the last module, we illustrated the research process by telling the story of Mark. Mark was introduced as a social scientist confronted with his daughter's somewhat troubling interactions with social media. This became the obstacle Mark confronted, and his research into the relationship between social media platforms and well-being indicated a path toward some type of resolution. Mark's narrative helped provide a framework for the tasks that you would be doing, while also explaining the logic behind each step that he took.

http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2010/11/18/the-decline-of-marriage-and-rise-of-new-families/2/#ii-overview

In the TED Talk given by Pardis Sabeti in the last learning block, you learned about her research within a narrative as well. First she introduced Kenema, Sierra Leone and Arua, Nigeria, the people working there, and the rituals and practices they perform. Then she related the importance of her work while also telling about the events of the Ebola outbreak in 2014. She finished her presentation by looking to the future. In the closing, she asks the audience to think about the next great viral outbreak and asserts that the scientific community will need to be united to battle it.

However, not all narratives are literal stories with characters and a narrative arc. Narrative does not have to be chronological. It can also be logical. You can create narrative by describing the connection between one topic and another, all the while relating it back to the big picture.

What is most important is that the narrative of your presentation organizes the information you introduce in a coherent and compelling way. Narrative is useful because it provides an overarching context for your research and helps to show the relationship between each piece of information that you choose to present.

Structuring the Narrative

You have the rough elements of your presentation, but there are several different ways that you can combine these elements to create an engaging narrative. In this section, we discuss some considerations for structuring your narrative.

The Hook

A hook occurs at the beginning of the presentation. This is something that grabs the audience's attention and makes them want to keep listening. Some effective hooks include:

telling an emotionally moving story citing a surprising statistic or fact asking the audience their opinion on a controversial issue while introducing your own using humor introducing a thoughtful quote

You may be able to find your own hook by thinking about why you were drawn to your research question. You may have found a particularly surprising piece of information during the research process that could serve this purpose. This is a great opportunity to be creative! Simply ensure that your hook is on topic, relevant, and not too shocking. (Don't use foul language or disturbing images.)

The Body

What comes after the hook? As you have seen from some of the TED Talks that you've watched, there is no single, correct way to walk the audience through a social science issue. The flow of the presentation depends on many factors, including the logical links between each chunk of information, the point that the speaker is trying to make, and the most effective way to use the research.

Here are some potential jumping off points you might use after the hook:

Let's discuss some of the logical paths associated with these jumping off points.

Open by connecting the audience. When you open by drawing an immediate connection between the audience and your issue, you provide a contextual framework for the rest of your discussion. Each step of the way, you have the ability to draw on that connection, to expand upon that connection, and to strengthen that connection as you describe the social science issue and your research investigation.

Open by describing the field. When you open by describing the area of the social sciences that you have explored, you have the opportunity to paint your audience a picture in preparation for more difficult concepts. This is a good strategy if your audience will require a lot of background information before understanding exactly how they are impacted by your research question.

Open by posing the research question: Opening with a research question is a great jumping off point for making the case as to why it needs to be answered. I don't know the answer, but we need to find out! Here's why.

Again, these are not the only narrative paths you could take; these are just a few suggestions!

The Closing

Your presentation needs a cohesive closing. Often, closings will reference the beginning; for example, you might ask the audience to remember your hook, answer a question that you posed in the beginning, or show the opening graphic again.

However you do it, the closing should wrap things up by stepping back to look at the larger context of your issue in order to drive home the point: the audience should care. All of your points and the evidence you've offered to support those points drive at that takeaway, and your closing needs to make that clear.

Tips for Creating a Narrative

Reflect on your own process in this research project. How did you arrive at the research issue and research question you have selected? You may be able to pull from your own experience to craft a story. Explain your research project to someone new. Discussing your work out loud with someone who is unfamiliar with it might highlight places where it is not clear how you intend to connect one topic to another or how you are reaching certain conclusions based on the information you've presented so far. Draw on an existing narrative. Is there a well-known story — one that can be told quickly — that parallels your research investigation? If so, use that narrative to frame the discussion. This will not only provide you the hook and the overarching framework for your presentation, but it helps you draw the connections between ideas. Be careful! Forcing your topic into a story that doesn't parallel it well can be confusing for your audience.

By "quickly," we mean, "under 30 seconds." For example, everyone knows the story of "The Boy Who Cried Wolf." If you don't know it, it's the story of a boy who frequently tricked his fellow villagers into believing he'd seen a wolf. On the day that he did see a wolf, no one believed him. This whole story can be used to frame a larger discussion about a social science issue without wasting a significant amount of time telling it.

Exercise: Structuring the Narrative This assignment does not contain any printable content.

Exercise: Creating Your Narrative This assignment does not contain any printable content.

6-3 Designing Visuals This assignment does not contain any printable content.

The Anatomy of a Slide

Why Use Visuals?

You may have crafted an engaging presentation narrative with an interesting hook. Your poise, tone, and delivery may be spot on. Your message may be tailored to the audience. While your spoken elements might be tuned to perfection, complementing your presentation with visual images is an effective, powerful way to drive home your message.

The phrase "a picture is worth a thousand words" gets at the exact reason visuals are a key element to your presentation. In some cases, it is faster and easier to simply show the audience what you mean. This can include showing them an exemplary piece of architecture, the impact of war on residential homes, or the faces of people who are brought joy by art.

Graphical representation of information, such as colorful, clearly presented statistics and figures, can help your audience comprehend the meaning behind the numbers.

Finally, slides can "do the talking" while you're filling in details. A simple slide that displays the main point can put your words in context. If the audience walks away with nothing else, they may walk away with the image of your slide, displaying a single word that represents your message.

For all of these reasons, it is not only important to have visuals, but it is important to have well designed visuals. In this learning block, we'll review tips and standards for creating interesting, professional visuals to engage your audience and underscore your message.

Tips for Creating Slides

Read these guidelines for creating effective slides.

DO:

Choose a simple but attractive color scheme that ties your presentation together. Use visuals to emphasize keywords, main ideas, takeaways, and concepts throughout the presentation.

Comparing Effective and Ineffective Visual Aids

The following are demonstrations of how someone might present information on the epidemiology of the increasingly prevalent Zika virus. The first video demonstrates a relatively weak presentation style, whereas the second video is an example of a presentation that is complementary of the material being conveyed and is more likely to engage the audience.

Slide 1

Slide 2

Use visuals to illustrate main ideas and concepts by displaying graphical data or powerful images. Add variety to your visuals. Showing seven graphs in a row can overwhelm the audience. Mix it up by including images, quotes, short video clips, and charts.

DON'T:

Use fonts that are difficult to read. Write everything you say on the slides. These materials should complement and support your presentation — your slides should not serve as a substitute to what you'll be saying while they are displayed. Create a visual for every single sentence. Instead, use visuals to highlight main ideas. Add unnecessary special effects or transitions that may distract the audience. Include "extra" information that is related to your issue but is not discussed during the presentation — your visuals should address only the information that you will discuss during the presentation. Overdesign your slides. Keep the layout simple and avoid adding too many busy patterns, icons, or images. Use busy or colorful backgrounds or wallpapers that will make your main graphics difficult to read.

Slide 3

Slide 4

Slide 5

Slide 6

This presentation includes a number of visual features and elements that could be perceived as distracting or visually unappealing. For example, the font and color scheme switch between each slide. This can make the slides look disorganized and cause viewers to question why visual elements may have changed. The fonts in slide two do not match and could potentially be difficult for some viewers to read. Keep in mind that simple, consistent fonts are best when preparing professional or academic presentations! Be cautious when text appears layered over an image (as in slide 3), as audience members may struggle to read the text. You can avoid this by ensuring the image is transparent enough so as not to detract from the text, or limiting any text/image overlays entirely. The transitions between each slide could also be considered distracting and overly complicated. As with font choices, simple, consistent transitions are best and can help ensure your audience remains focused on the valuable content you're presenting.

Many of the slides in this example are quite text heavy, and, with text-heavy slides, there's always the chance that the audience will read the slides rather than listen to what's being said in your presentation. Keep in mind that your slides are visual aids and that these visual aids should complement a presentation, not dominate the audience's attention. Last, in this example, the student has included one chart (slide 5) conveying information about microcephaly rates in Brazil, but she has cropped important information out of the image, including details citing the source of the chart as well as elements necessary to understand what is being represented. This could potentially add to the audience's confusion around the topic, rather than improve their understanding, as the presenter had hoped.

These are the slides that will display in the video.

Slide 1

Slide 2

Slide 3

Slide 4

Slide 5

Slide 6

Slide 7

The presenter has selected a simple but attractive color scheme and font that remains consistent through the presentation. This first step makes the entire presentation appear more polished and professional. The fonts are all legible and an appropriate size. Changes in the appearance of font are used with discretion and for emphasis when appropriate.

Furthermore, this researcher has limited the amount of content presented on each slide. The audience is less likely to get lost reading the content on the screen and therefore more likely to stay tuned in to what the presenter is saying. In order to cut down on how many words appear in the slideshow, the researcher has presented information graphically whenever possible. For example, information about the spread of the virus was presented via a graphic of a map, and not in a series of bullet points like in the previous presentation. However, the student didn't have to spend a lot of time creating this map — or any of the other graphics in the presentation — from scratch. Instead, she found maps and charts that were already available online and used those in her presentation with appropriate citations.

Deutsche, W. (2016). WHO expects Zika virus to spread through Americas, except Canada and Chile. http://dw.com/p/1HjM3

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2016). Symptoms, diagnosis, & treatment. https://www.cdc.gov/zika/symptoms/

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). (2016). NINDS Microcephaly information page. https://www.ninds.nih.gov/Disorders/All-Disorders/Microcephaly-Information-Page

Smith, C. (2014, November 29). Microcephaly then and now [Prezi presentation].

http://dw.com/p/1HjM3

https://www.cdc.gov/zika/symptoms/

https://www.ninds.nih.gov/Disorders/All-Disorders/Microcephaly-Information-Page

https://prezi.com/iwv4kvehmhbv/microcephaly-then-and-now/

Belluz, J., Zarracina, J., & Moore, M. (2016). Zika virus, explained in 6 charts and maps. Vox. http://www.vox.com/2016/1/20/10795562/zika-virus-cdc-mosquitoes-birth-defects

Exercise: Starting Your Slides This assignment does not contain any printable content.

6-4 Evaluating Presentations This assignment does not contain any printable content.

Evaluating a Presentation This assignment does not contain any printable content.

Exercise: Critically Evaluating A Presentation This assignment does not contain any printable content.

Presentation Progress Check This assignment does not contain any printable content.

Module Six Short Responses This assignment does not contain any printable content.

Theme Wrap Up: Looking Ahead This assignment does not contain any printable content.

https://prezi.com/iwv4kvehmhbv/microcephaly-then-and-now/

http://www.vox.com/2016/1/20/10795562/zika-virus-cdc-mosquitoes-birth-defects

Module Six: Tailoring the Message to an Audience, continued

This assignment does not contain any printable content.

6-1 Leveraging Research

This assignment does not contain any printable content.

Incorporating Evidence

Incorporating Evidence
Editorializing

Video: TED Talk

This assignment does not contain any printable content.

Exercise: Incorporating Research

This assignment does not contain any printable content.

6-2 Creating a Presentation Narrative

This assignment does not contain any printable content.

Narrative Presentations

Narrative: The Mark of a Good Presentation

Structuring the Narrative

Structuring the Narrative

The Hook
The Body
The Closing
Tips for Creating a Narrative

Exercise: Structuring the Narrative

This assignment does not contain any printable content.

Exercise: Creating Your Narrative

This assignment does not contain any printable content.

6-3 Designing Visuals

This assignment does not contain any printable content.

The Anatomy of a Slide

Why Use Visuals?
Tips for Creating Slides

Comparing Effective and Ineffective Visual Aids

Comparing Effective and Ineffective Visual Aids

Slide 1
Slide 2
Slide 3
Slide 4
Slide 5
Slide 6
Slide 1
Slide 2
Slide 3
Slide 4
Slide 5
Slide 6
Slide 7

Exercise: Starting Your Slides

This assignment does not contain any printable content.

6-4 Evaluating Presentations

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Evaluating a Presentation

This assignment does not contain any printable content.

Exercise: Critically Evaluating A Presentation

This assignment does not contain any printable content.

Presentation Progress Check

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Module Six Short Responses

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Theme Wrap Up: Looking Ahead

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