Paul Bloom at Small Potatoes:
When I was in graduate school, I couldn’t make it through most of the talks presented in my department. I got bored and frustrated and tuned out. It was before smartphones, so I would doodle or fall asleep.
I figured it was my fault. Maybe, in part, it was—my attention span is not my strong suit. But I’ve heard a lot of talks since then, including many wonderful ones, and I’ve worked hard on improving my own presentation style. And I now think that it wasn’t just my fault. Most talks are bad—boring, hard to follow, and poorly delivered.
So here’s some advice on how to give good talks. Not great ones, perhaps, but at least better than average.
More here.