ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Melissa Marshall - Communications teacher
Melissa Marshall aims to teach great communication skills to scientists and engineers, so that they can effectively share their work.

Why you should listen
Melissa Marshall is a crusader against bullet points and an evangelist for effective slide design in scientific presentations. She believes that the future depends on the innovations of scientists and engineers, and is passionate about helping them effectively tell the story of their work.

A faculty member with the Department of Communication Arts & Sciences at Penn State University, Melissa specializes in teaching speaking skills to engineering students and has also lectured at Harvard Medical School, the New York Academy of Sciences, Cornell University and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Melissa is the co-founder and advisor for the Penn State Engineering Ambassadors, an award-winning science and engineering outreach communication program. She is also an organizer and the faculty advisor for TEDxPSU, a student-run TEDx event held at Penn State each year.

 

More profile about the speaker
Melissa Marshall | Speaker | TED.com
TEDGlobal 2012

Melissa Marshall: Talk nerdy to me

Melissa Marshall: Fálenme con sinxeleza

Filmed:
2,462,860 views

Melissa Marshall trae unha mensaxe para todos os científicos (de parte dos non científicos): Estamos fascinados polo que estás facendo. Cóntanos sobre iso, dun xeito que o poidamos entender. En só 4 minutos, comparte potentes consellos para presentar ideas científicas complexas a un público xeral.
- Communications teacher
Melissa Marshall aims to teach great communication skills to scientists and engineers, so that they can effectively share their work. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:17
Five years ago, I experienced a bit
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Hai cinco anos, experimentei un pouco
00:19
of what it must have been like to be Alice in Wonderland.
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como sería ser
Alicia no país das marabillas.
Penn State pediume a min,
unha profesora de comunicación,
00:23
Penn State asked me, a communications teacher,
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00:25
to teach a communications class for engineering students.
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que lles dera unha clase de comunicación
a estudantes de enxeñaría.
00:29
And I was scared. (Laughter)
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Tiven medo. (Risas)
00:31
Really scared. Scared of these students with their big brains
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Medo de verdade. Medo deses estudantes
coas súas grandes mentes,
00:35
and their big books and their big, unfamiliar words.
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os seus grandes libros e as súas grandes
e descoñecidas palabras.
00:39
But as these conversations unfolded,
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Pero ao desenvolverse esas conversas,
sentín o que Alicia debeu sentir
cando caeu polo tobo do coello
00:42
I experienced what Alice must have when she went down
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00:45
that rabbit hole and saw that door to a whole new world.
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e viu a porta dun novo mundo.
Xustamente así me sentín
cando tiven esas conversas cos estudantes.
00:49
That's just how I felt as I had those conversations
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00:51
with the students. I was amazed at the ideas
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Sorprendéronme as ideas que tiñan,
00:54
that they had, and I wanted others to experience this wonderland as well.
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e quería que outros probaran tamén
este mundo marabilloso.
00:59
And I believe the key to opening that door
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E creo que a clave para abrir esa porta
01:02
is great communication.
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é unha comunicación estimulante.
01:03
We desperately need great communication from our
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Precisamos desesperadamente
unha comunicación estimulante
01:06
scientists and engineers in order to change the world.
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dos nosos científicos e enxeñeiros
para dar cambiado o mundo.
01:09
Our scientists and engineers are the ones
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Os nosos científicos e enxeñeiros
son os que están a atacar
01:12
that are tackling our grandest challenges, from energy
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os nosos maiores desafíos, na enerxía
01:15
to environment to health care, among others,
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no medio ambiente e no coidado da saúde,
entre outros,
01:18
and if we don't know about it and understand it,
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e se non sabemos disto nin os entendemos,
01:21
then the work isn't done, and I believe it's our responsibility
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o traballo non está feito,
e creo que é a nosa responsabilidade
01:24
as non-scientists to have these interactions.
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como non científicos
manter esas interaccións.
Pero estas conversas estimulantes
non poden xurdir se os nosos científicos
01:27
But these great conversations can't occur if our scientists
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01:30
and engineers don't invite us in to see their wonderland.
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e enxeñeiros non nos invitan
a ver o seu marabilloso mundo.
01:34
So scientists and engineers, please, talk nerdy to us.
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Así que científicos e enxeñeiros,
por favor, fálennos con sinxeleza.
01:39
I want to share a few keys on how you can do that
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Quero compartir algunha suxestión
sobre como facelo
01:42
to make sure that we can see that your science is sexy
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para asegurármonos de que podemos ver
que a súa ciencia é sexy
01:46
and that your engineering is engaging.
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e que a súa enxeñaría é atractiva.
01:48
First question to answer for us: so what?
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Primeira pregunta para respondérmonos:
¿E logo que?
01:52
Tell us why your science is relevant to us.
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Dígannos por que a ciencia
é relevante para nós.
01:56
Don't just tell me that you study trabeculae,
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Non nos digan soamente
que estudan as trabéculas,
01:59
but tell me that you study trabeculae, which is the mesh-like structure of our bones
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senon que estudan as trabéculas:
a estrutura de malla dos nosos ósos
02:02
because it's important to understanding and treating osteoporosis.
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porque son importantes para entender
e tratar a osteoporose.
02:07
And when you're describing your science, beware of jargon.
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E cando estean a describir
as súas investigacións, coidado coa xerga
02:12
Jargon is a barrier to our understanding of your ideas.
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A xerga é un obstáculo
para a nosa comprensión das súas ideas.
02:15
Sure, you can say "spatial and temporal," but why not just say
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Seguro que poden dicir
"espacial e temporal", pero, por que non
02:18
"space and time," which is so much more accessible to us?
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"espazo e tempo"
que son moito máis accesibles para nós?
02:22
And making your ideas accessible is not the same as dumbing it down.
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Facelas accesibles
non é o mesmo que facelas parvas.
02:27
Instead, as Einstein said, make everything
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Ao revés, como dixo Einstein,
fagan que todo sexa
02:30
as simple as possible, but no simpler.
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tan sinxelo como sexa posible,
pero non máis.
02:33
You can clearly communicate your science
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Poden comunicar claramente
as súas investigacións
02:36
without compromising the ideas.
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sen comprometer as ideas.
02:39
A few things to consider are having examples, stories
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Poderían considerar o uso de exemplos,
historias e analoxías.
02:43
and analogies. Those are ways to engage
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Son maneiras de enganchar
02:44
and excite us about your content.
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e entusiasmarnos co seu contido.
02:47
And when presenting your work, drop the bullet points.
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E ao presentar o traballo,
esquézanse da listas con frechiñas.
02:53
Have you ever wondered why they're called bullet points? (Laughter)
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¿Preguntáronse por que lles chaman "frechas"?
(Risas)
02:57
What do bullets do? Bullets kill,
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¿Que fan as frechas? Matan,
02:59
and they will kill your presentation.
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e matarán a súa presentación.
03:01
A slide like this is not only boring, but it relies too much
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Unha diapositiva coma esta non só
é aburrida, senón que se apoia demasiado
03:06
on the language area of our brain, and causes us to become overwhelmed.
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na nosa área cerebral da linguaxe
e abrúmanos.
03:09
Instead, this example slide by Genevieve Brown is
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Pola contra, esta diapositiva de exemplo
de Genevieve Brown
03:13
much more effective. It's showing that the special structure
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é moito máis efectiva.
Amosa que a estrutura especial
03:16
of trabeculae are so strong that they actually inspired
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das trabeculas é tan forte
que realmente inspira
03:20
the unique design of the Eiffel Tower.
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o deseño único da Torre Eiffel.
03:23
And the trick here is to use a single, readable sentence
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O truco aquí é usar
unha frase sinxela, lexible,
03:26
that the audience can key into if they get a bit lost,
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que o público poida entender
se se perde un pouco,
03:29
and then provide visuals which appeal to our other senses
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e de seguido, incluír elementos visuais
que apelan aos outros sentidos
03:33
and create a deeper sense of understanding
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e cren un sentido máis profundo
de comprensión
03:35
of what's being described.
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do que se describe.
03:37
So I think these are just a few keys that can help
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Creo que estas son só algunhas claves
que poden axudar
03:40
the rest of us to open that door and see the wonderland
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a que os demais abramos a porta
e vexamos o país das marabillas
03:43
that is science and engineering.
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que son a ciencia e a enxeñaría.
03:45
And because the engineers that I've worked with have
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E como os enxeñeiros con que traballei
03:48
taught me to become really in touch with my inner nerd,
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me ensinaron a entrar en contacto
coa miña rariña interior,
03:52
I want to summarize with an equation. (Laughter)
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quero resumilas cunha ecuación. (Risas)
03:54
Take your science, subtract your bullet points
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Colla a súa investigación,
quítelle as listas con frechiñas,
03:59
and your jargon, divide by relevance,
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e a xerga, divídaa pola relevancia,
04:01
meaning share what's relevant to the audience,
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que significa compartir
o relevante para a audiencia,
04:04
and multiply it by the passion that you have for
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e multiplíqueo pola paixón que sente
04:07
this incredible work that you're doing,
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polo incrible traballo que está facendo,
04:09
and that is going to equal incredible interactions
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e isto será igual
ás interaccións incribles
04:12
that are full of understanding.
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que están cheas de comprensión.
04:14
And so, scientists and engineers, when you've solved
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E así, científicos e enxeñeiros,
04:18
this equation, by all means, talk nerdy to me. (Laughter)
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cando resolvan esta ecuación, madia leva,
fálenme con sinxeleza. (Risas)
04:23
Thank you. (Applause)
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Grazas. (Aplausos)
Translated by Penny Martínez
Reviewed by Xusto Rodriguez

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Melissa Marshall - Communications teacher
Melissa Marshall aims to teach great communication skills to scientists and engineers, so that they can effectively share their work.

Why you should listen
Melissa Marshall is a crusader against bullet points and an evangelist for effective slide design in scientific presentations. She believes that the future depends on the innovations of scientists and engineers, and is passionate about helping them effectively tell the story of their work.

A faculty member with the Department of Communication Arts & Sciences at Penn State University, Melissa specializes in teaching speaking skills to engineering students and has also lectured at Harvard Medical School, the New York Academy of Sciences, Cornell University and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Melissa is the co-founder and advisor for the Penn State Engineering Ambassadors, an award-winning science and engineering outreach communication program. She is also an organizer and the faculty advisor for TEDxPSU, a student-run TEDx event held at Penn State each year.

 

More profile about the speaker
Melissa Marshall | Speaker | TED.com