Research and Data Symposium for Food and Nutrition - Effective oral presentation of data-driven research

Research and Data Symposium
    for Food and Nutrition

   Effective oral presentation
     of data-driven research

           Patrick Webb
           4 March 2021

                                 1

Strategic thematic areas (STAs) and key result areas (KRAs)

                       KRA 1.1:   Generating information and evidence s
                        KRA 1.2:   Facilitating technology adaptation and adoption
  Research and      
                       KRA 1.3:   Developing new technologies and knowledge
  Development          KRA 1.4:   Enhancing access to research facilities
                       KRA 1.5:   Laboratory facilities dedicated to national policy priorities

                        KRA 2.1:   Enhancing policy analysis and formulation
     Policies,      
                       KRA 2.2:   Facilitating policy advocacy
 legislation, and      KRA 2.3:   Promoting standards and regulations
    standards          KRA 2.4:   Establishing appropriate legislation
                       KRA 2.5:   Continuous active engagement with CODEX

                       KRA 3.1:   Facilitating growth in trade and commerce in priority aflatoxin-prone commodities
                       KRA 3.2:   Creating incentives that encourage positive behaviors with respect to aflatoxin management
Trade and health       KRA 3.3:   Ensuring compliance with non-tariff barrier rules
                       KRA 3.4:   Streamlining public health objectives with trade instrument use
                       KRA 3.5:   Negotiate standards setting and dispute resolutions through WTO mechanisms
                       KRA 4.1:   Risk assessment to inform decision making
                        KRA 4.2:   Competency and infrastructure for aflatoxin testing
   Enhancing        
                       KRA 4.3:   Improving capacity of value chain actors, and civil society organizations
    capacity           KRA 4.4:   Ensuring health practitioner capacity enhancement
                       KRA 4.5:   Institutional and laboratory capabilities obtained dedicated investment

                       KRA 5.1:   Increasing public awareness, information sharing and knowledge
Public awareness,      KRA 5.2:   Improving policy and political will through targeted communication
  advocacy, and        KRA 5.3:   Mass media campaign design
                       KRA 5.4:   Ensuring social media uptake of key messages
 communication         KRA 5.5:   Monitoring and assessment of awareness raising pathways
                       KRA 5.6:   Advocacy at consumer, producer and policy maker levels

The Da Vinci Code, Columbia Pictures, 2006

1. Preparing content
    a. How to capture audience attention/connect with their interests?
    b. How to structure main messages.
    c. Choice of data visualizations.

2. Planning what you'll say (or not say)
    a. How to manage time while presenting?
    b. How to emphasize main messages?
    c. What to listen for when watching a presentation?

3. Varied approaches for different audiences
    a. What is style of communication for operational agencies,
       Congress or global science committees?
    b. Has COVID changed any of the above? Chat room, background.

                                                                     4

1. Preparing content
    a. How to capture audience attention/connect with their
       interests?
    b. How to structure main messages.
    c. Choice of data visualizations.

       a. Depends on type of presentation:
           a. Single presenter webinar – you’re the focus
           b. Lightening talk panel – you’re competing for
              attention
           c. Conference oral paper – you’re grandstanding

                  Only 2 key elements really matter!
                    i) What’s new here?
                    ii) Why should you care?
                                                              5

1. Preparing content
    a. How to capture audience attention or connect with their
       interests?
    b. How to structure main messages.
    c. Choice of data visualizations.

         b. Its all about time available:
               Use 7 mins or 70 mins to get your message(s)
                   across clearly and coherently.

              Some presenters like conclusions on first
                slide, others work up to conclusions.
              Don’t pad slides with content you can say.
              Maybe use concise text interpretation alongside
                complex visuals.                                 6

 The food system
  accounts for ~28%
  of global
  greenhouse gas
  emissions (2007-
  2016)

 What we choose
  to eat has huge
  implications for
  what is produced,
  how, and its
  footprint.

      Source: Created using data from World
   Resources Institute (2016) and IPCC (2019)

1. Preparing content
    a. How to capture audience attention or connect with their
       interests?
    b. How to structure main messages (e.g., balancing text length,
       clarifying terminology, etc.).
    c. Choice of data visualizations.

         c. Its all about ‘picture worth 1,000 words’:
                Does a visual ‘explain’ complex relationships
                   better than the data, or your words?
                Are you able orally to explain the complexity
                   behind a simple visualization?
                Can the visual stand-alone? It should be able
                  to convey message without explanation.
                                                                 8

Use of CRISPR
  gene editing
  technology across
  agriculture,
  medical and
  industrial
  applications, by
  country.

    CRISPR = "clusters of
    regularly interspaced
    short palindromic
    repeats."

Jon Cohen Science 2019;365:420-421

John Snow’s Broad Street pump analysis of 1854
Date # of Fatal Attacks  Deaths                 Date        # of Fatal Attacks
8/ 19        1           1                      9/9         11              24
8/20         1           0                      9/10        5               18
8/21         1           2                      9/11        5               15
8/22         0           0                      9/12        1               6
8/23         1           0                      9/13        3               13
8/24         1           2                      9/14        0               6
8/25         0           0                      9/15        1               8
8/26         1           0                      9/16        4               6
8/27         1           1                      9/17        2               5
8/28         1           0                      9/18        3               2
8/29         1           1                      9/19        0               3
8/30         8           2                      9/20        0               0
8/31         56          3                      9/21        2               0
9/1          143         70                     9/22        1               2
9/2          116         127                    9/23        1               3
9/3          54          76                     9/24        1               0
9/4          46          71                     9/25        1               0
9/5          36          45                     9/26        1               2
9/6          20          37                     9/27        1               0
9/7          28          32                     9/28        0               2
9/8          12          30 *                   9/29        0               1
9/20         0           0
      * pump handle removed

               Source: Snow (1855) On the Mode of Communication of Cholera (2nd ed.) London: John Churchill.

2. Planning what you'll say (or not say)
    a. How to manage time while presenting?
    b. How to emphasize main messages?
    c. What to listen for when watching a presentation?

       a. Its all about the clock:
              Stopwatch better than digital clock.
              Practice to finish within (rather than at)
                 time. Don’t wait for moderator to pull plug!
              Plan for 2 mins oral per slide!
              Have a substantive/concrete final slide that
                communicates important points – so you aim to
                reach it on time; ensure the message isn’t missed.
              Slide numbers can help smooth the flow.
                                                                 13

2. Planning what you'll say (or not say)
    a. How to manage time while presenting?
    b. How to emphasize main messages?
    c. What to listen for when watching a presentation?

       b. Pause, repeat, change cadence, smile:
             Mix up your delivery for effect.
             State what it is that you’re stating.
             Surprise with an out-of-character visual.

               All public speaking is a ‘performance’. Best way
               to control nerves is to do more and more. Speak
               as if to a friend or your dog – you would smile,
               laugh, be self-deprecating. Be fun.
                                                              14

Food availability (supply)
                        and health outcomes

Food Availability             % Change in Child       Change in IHD Mortality
(100 kcal/cap/day increase)    Stunting (

Food availability (supply)
                    and health outcomes

Food Availability             % Change in Child       Change in IHD Mortality
(100 kcal/cap/day increase)    Stunting (

Key concerns on quality of evidence: International
 Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) presentation

 “The evidence base proving which humanitarian responses
  are most effective is extremely lacking.“ (Darcy et al. 2013)

 There is a “dearth of published evidence from a range of
  settings on this topic [CMAM]” (ENN 2012)

 “The type of research currently published fails to answer
  adequately many of the questions posed.“ (Hall et al. 2011)

                                                                  17

2. Planning what you'll say (or not say)
    a. How to manage time while presenting?
    b. How to emphasize main messages?
    c. What to listen for when watching a presentation?

     c. Learn new tricks not just new content:

          If you liked a talk, ask yourself ‘why’?
          If you had your eyes closed, would you ‘get’ the
           thrust and messages of the talk?

          Do they really need so many photos of cute cats
           or babies?!?
                                                              18

1. Preparing content
    a. How to capture audience attention or connect with their
       interests?
    b. How to structure main messages (e.g., balancing text length,
       clarifying terminology, etc.).
    c. Choice of data visualizations.
2. Planning what you'll say (or not say)
    a. How to manage time while presenting?
    b. How to emphasize main messages?
    c. What to listen for when watching a presentation?
3. Varied approaches for different audiences
    a. What is style of communication for operational agencies,
       Congress or global science committees?
    b. Has COVID changed any of the above?

                                                                      19

3. Varied approaches for different audiences
    a. What style of communication for operational agencies,
       Congress or global science committees?
    b. Has COVID changed any of the above?

        a. Authoritative, but TAILORED TO AUDIENCE:
             Agencies (what should I do, what is the
              evidence?); Congress (why should we do this,
              what impact?); Scientists (can we generalize,
              which knowledge gaps to prioritize?).

              Find out audience make-up (diversity of
               backgrounds/responsibilities versus technical
               specialists versus generalists)
                                                               20

MULTISECTOR PROGRAM EFFECTS ON
     WOMEN’S DIETS
                                                  Uganda panel survey [n = 3,600 HHs]
Food category               Effect in 2014 (over 2012) Effect in 2016 (over 2012)

Cereals                               1.201527                          .9040405
Tubers/roots                          1.077021                          1.328351
Legumes                               .6867968*                         .8352416
Oilseeds                              .8575654                          .8747842
Vegetables                           1.386811**                         1.095166
Fruits                              .6084369***                       .5977029***
Meats                                 1.269184                         1.478184*
Dairy                                 .6477301                          1.509644
Fats/oils                            1.514287**                        1.359578*

 *   p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001, Odds ratios estimated by fixed effects logit models

Patrick Webb/Tufts University, Director FTF Nutrition Innovation Lab
     CONCLUSIONS
1.   Coherence and integration. Policy
     and program coherence needed
     around i) overall goal, ii) defined
     outcomes, and iii) integrated
     elements of programming to
     achieve them.
2.   Flexibility for adopters, but fidelity
     to design for implementers. It
     matters that what was intended
     stays true if rigorous impact
     measurement desired.
3.   Set appropriate expectations
     calibrated to timeframe and
     feasibility of Theory of Change

3. Varied approaches for different audiences
    a. What style of communication for operational agencies,
       Congress or global science committees?
    b. Has COVID changed any of the above?

     b. Multitasking in a vacuum:
          Watching chat room can be helpful or distracting.

          Beware of your background, settings, pets,
           audio, platform version, ability to share
           powerpoint, eye-contact, timing.

          Lack of audience body language.

          Names on screen help call out and participation.    23

Conclusions
 Be clear (…very clear) in your own mind, a) why the content
  and messages are important, b) define digestible take-away
  messages for them (or they will take their own…), c) keep
  essential information (for audience understanding) to a
  minimum and deal with questions after, d) use ‘big bang’
  final words (not “more research needed”).

 Less is more (in terms of slides, and slide content).

 Practice, but beware the slides of March… (stay calm under
  pressure of technology glitches).

 Don’t rush, talk as if explaining your life’s passion to your
  dog—with excitement and empathy.
                                                                  24

Source: Monmonier
(1991) How to Lie with
Maps. Uni. Chicago
Press.

Charles Joseph Minard in Edward Tufte’s The Visual Display of
Quantitative Information (2001) Graphics Press