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Design Thinking for Talk Preparation

Nicholas Del Grosso

January 23rd, 2020

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  • Cognitive Scientist
    • PhD in Systems Neuroscience
    • M.Sc. in Behavioral Neuroscience
    • B.Sc. in Psychology

  • Freelance Programming Instructor
    • Python, R, and Matlab
    • Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced Courses
    • Focused on Data Science and Research Software Development

  • Design Enthusiast
    • Design Methodologies
    • Design Tradeoffs
    • Design Assumptions

About Me

“Scientific DevOps”, EuroSciPy 2019, Bilbao Spain

“Refactoring Your Code”, PyCon Africa 2019, Accra Ghana

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I Lead the Munich Science Slam Presentation Workshops...

...where we create 20 talks for our slam in just 4 hours.

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This Talk is About How We Use

[Design Thinking]

to create our talks!

Because I Think That If You Do It, Too, It Will Help You.

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What Do You Mean By “Design Thinking”?

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Talks are Complex Knowledge Products!

Table of Contents

Section 1

Section 2

Section 3

Summary

Impact Statement

Thesis

Biography

Hook

Motivation

Background Review

Closing Statement

Conclusions

Further Directions

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Our Talk Quality Metrics: “The 5 C’s”

Clarity

Conciseness

Cohesiveness

Creativity

Completeness

The Feeling of a Finished

Thought, Delivered

A Focused Argument that supports a main point

Maximal Usage of the Allotted Time

Easy to Understand and Relate to.

Engaging on an Emotional Level through Surprise, Novelty, and Humor

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These Can Be Thought of as Components of a Knowledge Transfer Process

Clarity

Conciseness

Cohesiveness

Creativity

Completeness

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Optimizing on 5 Variables is a Major Challenge...

Clarity

Conciseness

Cohesiveness

Creativity

Completeness

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Optimizing on 5 Variables is a Major Challenge…

...so we prioritize them during the design process!

Clarity

Conciseness

Cohesiveness

Creativity

Completeness

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Optimizing on 5 Variables is a Major Challenge…

...so we prioritize them during the design process!

Clarity

Conciseness

Cohesiveness

Creativity

Completeness

1

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Optimizing on 5 Variables is a Major Challenge…

...so we prioritize them during the design process!

Clarity

Conciseness

Cohesiveness

Creativity

Completeness

1

2

2

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Optimizing on 5 Variables is a Major Challenge…

...so we prioritize them during the design process!

Clarity

Conciseness

Cohesiveness

Creativity

Completeness

1

3

2

2

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Optimizing on 5 Variables is a Major Challenge…

...so we prioritize them during the design process!

Clarity

Conciseness

Cohesiveness

Creativity

Completeness

1

3

2

2

4

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How Does This Work In Practice?

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Intro, Thesis and Conclusion

30-Second

Conciseness

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Biography

Intro, Thesis and Conclusion

Core Values

Long-Term Objective

30-Second

“I love…”,

“I like…”

“I’m fascinated by...”

“It’s important to me that…”

“I want to”

“My goal in life is to.”

“By the end of my studies, I hope…”

“My dream is to…”

“My name is…”

“I am...”

“Since…, I have…”

[ Strategic Level ]

Conciseness

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Biography

Intro, Thesis and Conclusion

Core Values

Long-Term Objective

Thesis

Topic

Format

Impact

30-Second

“I love…”,

“I like…”

“I’m fascinated by...”

“It’s important to me that…”

“I want to”

“My goal in life is to.”

“By the end of my studies, I hope…”

“My dream is to…”

“My name is…”

“I am...”

“Since…, I have…”

“Today, I want to tell you that…”

“... is the cause of …”

“...’s model is better than …’s”

“You should …”

“by talking about…”

“by taking what people know about … and applying it to …”

“a story about…”

“a review of…”

“the results of my…”

“a workshop where…”

“In order to…”

“because I think it will…”

[ Strategic Level ]

[ Tactical Level ]

Conciseness

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60-Second

Body

Clarity

Conciseness

Cohesiveness

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60-Second

Evidence

Premise

Thesis

The “Essay”

Body

Clarity

Conciseness

Cohesiveness

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60-Second

The “Essay”

Body

Clarity

Conciseness

Cohesiveness

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Elevator Pitches

90-Second

Body

Introduction

Hook

Conclusion

Applause-Getter

Bio

Takeaway Message

Clarity

Conciseness

Cohesiveness

Completeness

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The Underlying Model: Think “Nested Sandwiches”

The

“Attention”

Sandwich

The

“Knowledge Discovery”

Sandwich

The

“Take-Home Message”

Sandwich

The

“Reason”

Sandwich

The

“Data”

Sandwich

(This is the good stuff!)

The

“Impact”

Sandwich

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Essay Structure Recipes for Different Occasions

Body

Introduction

Hook

Conclusion

Applause-Getter

Body

Introduction

Hook

Conclusion

Applause-Getter

Body

Introduction

Hook

Conclusion

Applause-Getter

90-Second Conference Mixer

Body

Introduction

Conclusion

45-Second Follow-Up

90-Second Lightning Talk

5-15 Minute Presentation

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Finally: 7-Minute, Packaged Talks

Table of Contents

Section 1

Section 2

Section 3

Summary

Impact Statement

Thesis

Biography

Hook

Motivation

Background Review

Closing Statement

Conclusions

Further Directions

Show the Map

Emphasize Transitions

Celebrate the Arrival!

Announce the Destination

The Detective Story

The

Quest

The Challenge

The Journey

Clarity

Conciseness

Cohesiveness

Creativity

Completeness

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Okay, but do you really do this “in real life”?

(An actual question I get all the time)

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Yes.

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Okay, Let’s Review!

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Review: What 5 “C’s” Did I Suggest as Good Talk Qualia?

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Review: What 5 “C’s” Did I Suggest as Good Talk Qualia?

Clarity

Conciseness

Cohesiveness

Creativity

Completeness

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Review: What Order Do We Optimize Them On In The Workshop?

Clarity

Conciseness

Cohesiveness

Creativity

Completeness

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Review: What Order Do We Optimize Them On In The Workshop?

Clarity

Conciseness

Cohesiveness

Creativity

Completeness

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3

2

2

4

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Key Takeaways

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3

Never Sacrifice Rapid Iteration In Design

Essays Are Knowledge Sandwiches Enveloped in the Delicious Breading of Purpose.

Come to the Workshop!

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Thank You For Your Attention!

(Please Add / Follow Me on Social Media)

(Please Suggest Me as a Presentation and Programming Trainer)

Further Resources:

nickdelgrosso

nick-del-grosso

Body

Introduction

Hook

Conclusion

Applause-Getter

Bio

Takeaway Message

Clarity

Conciseness

Cohesiveness

Creativity

Completeness