Paul Edwards: “How to give an academic talk”

My colleague Paul Edwards has been giving talks about how to give talks for over a decade now. There’s a good reason he’s asked so often to do it: he has very sound advice, and he’s given it a lot of thought. He also has created a detailed advice handout, now in version 4. Of course, I don’t agree with everything he recommends, but I do think he’s right on the money on almost everything. And if train yourself to use his advice, and practice, you’ll get good enough that you can make your own judgments about what works best for you and your personality.
But, for god’s sake, work on your presentation skills and practice. Effective communication to an audience is not an in-born skill for most people.
Edwards on How to Give an Academic Talk