Research Explainer

So, you’re sitting in a boring talk and suddenly somebody yells “Bingo!” Quite likely audience members have been playing “Bad Presentation Bingo,” the brilliant brainchild of Monica Metzler and the Illinois Science Council. It’s the niftiest way I’ve seen to vividly impress on speakers the aggravations of bad presentation skills and the benefits of good ones. Like any Bingo game, you win by completing a straight line, but in Bad Presentation Bingo the squares contain not numbers but bad presentation practices like “Text-heavy slides,””Monotone voice,” and “Use of jargon.”

For your own self-protection, if you plan to give a presentation I highly recommend that you download the Bingo card, which Monica was kind enough to allow me to post here. Read it carefully and avoid its array of bad practices at all costs. That way, you won’t hear the embarrassing shout of “Bingo!” during your talk.

And if you’re planning a symposium, distribute the card and accompanying  presentation tips to all your speakers. Believe me, it will put them on notice that they can’t get away with the same mind-numbing speaking techniques they may have been used to.

And if you encounter Monica Metzler, thank her profusely!