Amgen Scholars, Karolinska, June–August 2023

19 July, 2023/in Feedback ENG /by olle

Hi guys & thanks for a great day at Björkö and Birka!

Time has come to plan and prepare your (1) poster, and (2) presentation. Below, you will find some advice, as well as my Google slides from the seminar in June. Feel free to email me for questions, reflections, or feedback.

O.

PS Some of you will have lots of data, and some will have less. This is nothing out of the ordinary, as one has to be really lucky to be completely successful with the experimental part during a short summer research school. So do the best with what you have and focus to turn the communication part into a meaningful learning experience–be ambitious, be proud, be awesome!

olle@bergman.com
se.linkedin.com/in/ollebergman/en
instagram.com/generalblom

A. The presentation 20 June

B. Preparing your poster

Mindset
Remember: if the event is a pond full of fish (i.e. valuable professional contacts), then the poster is your fishing rod! Make it interesting, make it a platform for encounters, interaction, and discussion.

Workflow
I suggest an iterative process, starting with a crude sketch which is improved during a series of feedback cycles. Take help from your group, friends, colleagues, supervisors, and teachers!

Starting point
The simplest way is to use the KI template and work in PowerPoint. You could also find another template on the internet, start from scratch, and/or use InDesign or some other layout program. Either way, make sure you stick to a grid!

The CARP principle
Remember the CARP principle—contrast, alignment, repetition, and proximity? Here’s a video and a pdf chapter.

The title
You could either write a title that describes what your project is about or a title that describes the outcome. You can even ask a bold question!

Exploring XY-888, a quiggoline-type inhibitor targeting quinone reductases and quinol oxidases
Describes the scientist’s ambition.
XY-888 inhibits both quinone reductases and quinol oxidases
A statement, built on the active verb “inhibit”, which describes the results of the study.
XY-888 – a regulator of the activity of the entire respiratory chain?
A bold research question! (Proceed with caution, as the seniors stopping in front of your poster may feel challenged; are you ready to face some opposition?)

The figures
Make sure that the text in your figures is easy to read from a distance. Remember to Remove to Improve.

Inspiration
This page looks a bit messy but actually points to some really good guides and websites: The Poster Design Hub

C. Preparing your presentation

Mindset
Focus on your main messages, and don’t let them drown in a sea of details!

Workflow
I recommend manual planning before you start designing your slides. As you may remember, Post-It notes can be very useful during this planning stage.

Starting point
Three main messages, your best visuals, your abstract (if you have one).

Links

Scientific Presentations – a booklet by by Neil J. Cronin
My favourite presentation: The Magic Washing Machine with Hans Rosling
A science talk PPT template
This template is based on a chapter in Matt Carter’s Designing Science Presentations.

Summer Research School for high school students, Karolinska Institutet, Solna, 22 June 2023

29 June, 2023/in Feedback ENG /by olle

Thanks for a great afternoon at Karolinska! Good luck with your projects, and feel free to get in touch with your questions, ideas, and reflections!

O.

PS Please remember what I said about the Amgen Scholars Program:

It puts you at the center of a great network of like-minded people from all over Europe.
We need more representation from Scandinavia.
It’s only open to undergraduate students who have not completed their bachelor’s or first degree; don’t let the window of opportunity close when you enter university!

If it sounds interesting, I would be happy to put you in touch with an alumnus!

olle@bergman.com

Social media

se.linkedin.com/in/ollebergman/en
instagram.com/generalblom

Our seminar

A PPt for scientific presentations

This template is based on a chapter in the first edition of Matt Carter’s Designing Science Presentations. Matt is an assistant professor of biology at Williams College, Massachusetts, and an amiable person!

A science talk PPT template

Presentation techniques

Information design

Basic graphic design: Contrast, Repetition, Alignment, Proximity
A chapter from a book by PowerPoint guru Garr Reynolds.
Remove to Improve
The video we studied during the workshop demonstrates the data-to-ink ratio – great stuff!
Remove to improve
Some notes from the makers of the video above.

Rhetoric

Karolinska 14 June 2023

15 June, 2023/in Feedback ENG /by olle

Hi guys & thanks for a great afternoon at Karolinska! Below, you will find some additional material, my Google slides as well as some links which may be useful.

I wish you a nice summer and good luck with your summer projects: may your experimental systems be reliable and may your biomolecules be obedient!

Feel free to email me for questions, reflections, or feedback on your PPt slides or poster design.

O.

olle@bergman.com

Additional slides

As the heat in the lecture hall was a real challenge I have done a mini-presentation with some things I wanted to add.

Addition

A PPt for scientific presentations

This template is based on a chapter in the first edition of Matt Carter’s Designing Science Presentations. Matt is an assistant professor of biology at Williams College, Massachusetts, and a very friendly person!

A science talk PPT template

Presentation techniques

Poster design

A resource page with some selected guides and websites.

The Poster Design Hub

Information design

Basic graphic design: Contrast, Repetition, Alignment, Proximity
A chapter from a book by Garr Reynolds.
Remove to Improve
The video we studied during the workshop to demonstrate the data to ink ratio – great stuff!
Remove to improve
Some notes from the makers of the video above.

DTU Biosustain 5 December 2022, Poster Improvement Workshop

7 December, 2022/in Feedback ENG /by olle

Hi everyone,

Thanks for a great afternoon and evening at Gråbrødretorv where we had some really interesting discussions on how to balance the perspectives of the scientist and the communicator. I am looking forward to seeing what improvements you will come up with!

Part III of the workshop

6–12 December: the virtual feedback room at GoVisually will be open. Submit posters by adding them to Dropbox; you can add as many versions as you want.

Start by adding the poster in its original format. Give it the name “YOUR_NAME_ORIGINAL”
(Not for those who design their first poster this week, of course.)
Any version you add should be named “YOUR_NAME_VERSION_##”

12 December, 10:00: deadline for improved versions.
12 December, afternoon: the winners will be announced.

If you have any questions or reflections, please email me: olle@bergman.com.

Working with your poster

Check list

Will it be useful as a networking tool?
Does it have a clear main story?
Are the conclusions or the project aims clear?
Is every component there to support these main messages?
Does it look interesting to the poster exhibition participant?

Below are some links that can be useful when you design and improve your poster.

My slides.
Better Posters
By McMaster University professor Zen Faulkes; by far the best resource on poster design on the web.
A poster guide for Ph.D. students.
A draft for a chapter of an upcoming book for Springer Nature.
The Poster Design Hub
A (somewhat messy) resource page with some selected guides and websites.

Information design

Basic graphic design: Contrast, Repetition, Alignment, Proximity
A chapter from a book by Garr Reynolds.
Remove to Improve
Learn about the data-to-ink ratio.
Remove to improve
Some notes from the makers of the video above.

Some tools and models

Five principles for any communication activity

1. Define your task. Always know WHY you are initiating a communication activity, and what the GOAL is. How will you change the world?
2. Analyze your target group. Be like the elephant: listen more than you talk.
3. Know yourself. Follow your passions, improve your strengths, work on your limitations. Let your experience and your personality guide you as a communicator, and believe in your own values, voice, and style.
4. Understand the limitations at hand. Start any communication activity by drawing up the limits of time, budget, man-hours etc – then start creating.
5. Seek inspiration in all types of communication. Remember The Grand Unified Theory of Communication and Influence!

The Aristotelian triad

Keep in mind that communication not only conveys information (logos) but also trust/attitudes/values (ethos), and emotions (pathos).

Ethos = trust, credibility, personal trademark
Pathos = emotions – positive or negative
Logos = facts and logic

Here’s a great blog article!

The inverted pyramid

In short: frontload your texts and announcements, starting with what really matters for your audience.

The Wikipedia article is very enlightening. Have a look at the Five Ws when you’re at it!

Homepage

SciLifeLab Facility Forum, Djurönäset, 17 October 2022

21 October, 2022/in Feedback ENG /by olle

Djurönäset’s bus stop for southgoing traffic.

Thanks for a great late afternoon session! Here are some advice, built on the feedback:

Always set up a goal for your communication activities.
Then use that goal as an aiming point when you’re planning, preparing and performing the activity. (Setting up goals is also a great way to start a work meeting!)
Keep in mind that communication not only conveys information, but attitudes, values, emotions etc.
The Aristotelian triad helps you navigate this complex universe – both as you analyze what’s coming at you, and as you try to plan and execute your own communication.
If you prepare an elevator pitch, remember that it can be used in a number of ways.
This 100-word summary works excellent as a LinkedIn Summary and can also be used as a bio. Remember to edit the content and the tone of voice to every different context.

Below, you will find my Google slides as well as some links which my participants usually find useful. Feel free to email me for questions, reflections, or feedback on your PPt slides or poster design.

Olle B.

olle@bergman.com

Such a lovely autumn we’ve had in Mälarregionen! View from Hällbybrunn, northwest of Eskilstuna.