The Bad Presentation Bingo CARD

The story behind “Bad Presentation Bingo”…

Upon settling in Chicago, I worked in various roles in the worlds of law, government and academia.  In my spare time, I would regularly attend talks about science, technology and other such subjects out of personal interest (I stopped counting years ago when I passed 100).  I found I simultaneously paid attention to a presenter’s style and use of media as well as his/her content.  By gauging my own reaction and that of others in the audience, I developed an eye, and ear, for the most effective ways a speaker can connect with an audience and be effective in conveying a message.

After launching the nonprofit Illinois Science Council (ISC) in 2006, I continued to attend such talks but with the new need of finding interesting topics and speakers for ISC programs, beyond just personal interest.

Finding interesting topics in STEM fields is always easy.  Finding subject-matter experts who are also interesting and engaging presenters, who are skilled at addressing non-technical audiences proved much more difficult.

After suffering through one particularly terrible talk on a science subject of particular interest, I remembered the college game of playing Bingo based on a professor’s commonly-used words.  I turned that idea into a tongue-in-cheek “game” to guide those presenting to any audience not wholly comprised of one’s peers.

For any questions or comments on Bad Presentation Bingo, email Monica.