Hi. I m Karen McKee, and in this new series I'm talking about how to give better scientific presentations.
In this video, I tackle one of these myths: the need for a laser pointer.
Everyone seems to want to use one, even those speakers who cannot hold the light point
steadily enough for the audience to see what it is the presenter is trying to emphasize.
I know a few colleagues whose hands are so unsteady that the laser light point
jumps all over the screen and momentarily touches on every data point in view.
Which one are we supposed to focus on? Actually, this laser user is only one of several categories and subcategories.
The category I call Unsteady Hands includes people who are
nervous and are shaking with fear; And people whose hands have an involuntary tremor;
And those unfortunates who suffer from both. You'd think that such people would say
to themselves that this bit of technology just isn't working for them. But you'd be wrong.
Instead, they resort to maneuvers such as holding the pointer with both hands or steadying the hand
holding the pointer against the lectern. These solutions may work somewhat to hide the jitters
but may also draw attention to the fact that the speaker can't manage with one hand.
Then there are the speakers who use the laser pointer as a reading aid by running the light along the text
on the screen, which they read aloud to the audience. Let's call them the Readers.
This group not only commits the sin of filling up their slides with a bunch of text, they add to
the audience's suffering by painstakingly reading what the audience members are already perfectly
capable of reading by themselves. AND they highlight the torture with their laser pointer.
Related to the Readers are the Circlers, who endlessly circle points on their slides while they are talking.
Sometimes, they circle things for no good reason. This is a self-soothing behavior
similar to the distracting habit of some speakers who wring their hands or rock back and forth.
The most dangerous are the Wavers, who wildly swing their laser light around the room like Obi
Wan Kenobi, sometimes pointing at the ceiling, the walls, or directly into the audience's eyes.
A colleague of mine is one of these. He's obviously oblivious to the fact that he's doing it.
He gets carried away with what he's talking about, excitedly points out some key piece of data on
the screen with the laser point, then turns to the audience for their reaction. Unfortunately, while
keeping his finger pressed on the laser button. Does he wonder why the audience is ducking?
The remote controllers that are used by a speaker to advance to the next slide
are often outfitted with laser pointers, which only encourages laser-challenged users.
Unfortunately, some users never figure out which button to push for the laser and keep
inadvertently advancing their slides.
These Fumblers may also nervously fidget with the pointer, adding to the distraction.
I say, get rid of laser pointers. Or at least invent one that automatically shuts the light off if the
laser pointer is moved too erratically or for too long. In the meantime, those of you who cannot
hold the laser light point rock-steady might want to use another means to emphasize your point.
For example, you can use animation to highlight items on your slides.
An animated arrow or circle is an effective way to point out a key data point. In general,
though, you should be designing your slides so that it is rarely necessary to point out a key
piece of data or text. Important information or data should already be obvious without additional
emphasis. If it's extraneous, it shouldn't be on the slide in the first place. When giving a talk,
you want your audience to be focused on what you are presenting and not distracted by your
use (or abuse) of audiovisual aids. Some people can use laser pointers effectively,
but others run into problems, which I've outlined here. I hope my comments will help you avoid
some of the more annoying ways that laser pointers are used. Thanks for watching and
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