How can you avoid bias and misinformation in your technical presentations?

1 Know your purpose and audience

Before you start designing your presentation, you need to clarify your purpose and audience. What is the main message you want to convey? What are the goals and expectations of your listeners? How much background knowledge do they have on your topic? How will they use or benefit from your information? Answering these questions will help you tailor your content, tone, and style to suit your specific context and avoid irrelevant or inappropriate information.

3 Avoid logical fallacies and emotional appeals

Another way to avoid bias and misinformation is to avoid logical fallacies and emotional appeals in your presentation. Logical fallacies are errors in reasoning that make your arguments weak, flawed, or illogical. For example, you should not use ad hominem attacks, hasty generalizations, false dilemmas, or circular reasoning. Emotional appeals are attempts to persuade your audience by appealing to their feelings, rather than their reason. For example, you should not use fear, guilt, pity, or anger to manipulate your listeners. Instead, you should use clear, logical, and factual arguments that support your main message and respect your audience's intelligence and autonomy.

4 Use clear and precise language

Another way to avoid bias and misinformation is to use clear and precise language in your presentation. You need to avoid ambiguity, vagueness, jargon, or slang that can confuse or misinform your audience. You also need to avoid loaded, biased, or offensive language that can alienate or insult your listeners. For example, you should not use euphemisms, exaggerations, stereotypes, or slurs. Instead, you should use simple, direct, and neutral language that conveys your meaning accurately and respectfully.

5 Use appropriate and effective visuals

Another way to avoid bias and misinformation is to use appropriate and effective visuals in your presentation. You need to choose visuals that complement and enhance your verbal content, not distract or contradict it. You also need to design visuals that are clear, relevant, and accurate, not misleading, distorted, or fabricated. For example, you should not use misleading graphs, charts, or images that manipulate the data, omit important information, or create false impressions. Instead, you should use visuals that illustrate your points, support your arguments, and provide useful information.

6 Be prepared and confident

The final way to avoid bias and misinformation is to be prepared and confident in your presentation. You need to practice your presentation, rehearse your timing, and anticipate possible questions or objections. You also need to deliver your presentation with confidence, clarity, and enthusiasm, not with hesitation, uncertainty, or apathy. This will show that you are knowledgeable, credible, and passionate about your topic, and that you respect your audience and their time. Being prepared and confident will also help you avoid mistakes, errors, or omissions that can lead to bias and misinformation.

7 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?