We can all recall invited speakers who give inspiring and well-prepared presentations, taking their listeners on a journey that is informative, thought-provoking and often entertaining. However, too many keynote speakers deliver nothing arresting — witness the swathes of audiences whose electronic devices evidently exert a greater pull.
Technical irritations don't help. For example, an A4 page of text written in 11-point font doesn't project well in a large auditorium; the resolution of images for projection needs to be much higher than it does for a publication; and pale colours fail to stand out against a white background. Neither do I want to be told that most of the information on a slide isn't relevant for today's talk, so I should concentrate instead on the compacted 10% in the top corner.
Speakers, it is likely that my registration fees have contributed to your travel, so I expect you to demonstrate that you have given a lot of thought to your talk and prepared each slide carefully rather than simply recycling it. I have come to listen to you, the expert, so I expect to enjoy a well-organized, possibly brilliant, presentation, in which creative visuals amplify your words and enhance my understanding.
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Ford, J. Keynote speakers must try harder. Nature 542, 165 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/542165d
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/542165d