How do you present research findings to keep people interested?

1 Know your audience

Before you start preparing your presentation, you need to understand who your audience is and what they want to learn from your research. What are their backgrounds, interests, goals, and expectations? How familiar are they with your topic and methodology? How much detail and technicality do they need? Knowing your audience will help you tailor your content, tone, and style to suit their needs and preferences.

2 Tell a story

One of the best ways to keep your audience interested is to tell a story with your research findings. A story has a clear structure, a compelling plot, and a meaningful message. It also appeals to the emotions and imagination of your audience, making them more invested in your research. To tell a story with your research findings, you need to have a clear purpose, a main question, a logical sequence, and a key takeaway. You also need to use language that is vivid, concise, and relatable.

3 Use visuals

Visuals are powerful tools that can help you present your research findings in a more attractive and memorable way. Visuals can include graphs, charts, tables, diagrams, images, videos, animations, or infographics. They can help you illustrate your data, highlight your main points, show patterns and trends, and compare and contrast different scenarios. However, you need to use visuals wisely and sparingly. Make sure they are relevant, clear, accurate, and consistent with your verbal message. Avoid using too many or too complex visuals that can distract or confuse your audience.

4 Be interactive

Another way to keep your audience interested is to be interactive with them. Interaction can include asking questions, soliciting feedback, conducting polls, inviting participation, or using demonstrations or activities. Interaction can help you engage your audience, check their understanding, stimulate their curiosity, and create a dialogue. However, you need to plan and manage your interaction carefully. Make sure you have clear objectives, instructions, and timing for your interaction. Avoid using too much or too irrelevant interaction that can disrupt or derail your presentation.

5 Be creative

Finally, you can keep your audience interested by being creative with your presentation. Creativity can involve using humor, anecdotes, metaphors, analogies, or examples that can make your presentation more lively and relatable. It can also involve using different formats, media, or platforms that can make your presentation more dynamic and innovative. For example, you can use podcasts, videos, blogs, or social media to present your research findings in different ways. However, you need to be careful not to compromise the quality or credibility of your research. Make sure your creativity is appropriate, respectful, and aligned with your purpose and audience.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?