Know Your Audience

Due to my various interests, I possess a unique perspective on concepts as they are taught in different classes. The most common interdisciplinary subject that I have encountered is energy. There are so many different types of energy and many ways to produce and analyze it. For example, in physics you study the energy required to do work in several different lights. Then, in chemistry, you study how energy is produced chemically. For example, when molecules are broken down they release energy. This is also an important subject in a biology class when studying the conversion between food and energy. Finally, in electrical science you study both the flow and magnitude of electricity. As shown in my Study Guide for electrical science (at the end of this page), the flow of energy through a circuit is measured by the flow of electrons, called current. This is measured in amps. The rate at which current changes direction is called the frequency. Frequency is even studied in music classes. For a stringed instrument, the number of oscillations per second results in a pitch. The pitch is a reflection of how high or low the note is which is directly proportional to the amount of energy produced by that oscillation.

It is important to note that all of those cases are discussing the same topic but are highlighting different properties of the subject based on the setting. This is an important technique to learn in speech. When you give a presentation on your research, it is important to know the audience that you are speaking to. Though, to each audience you will be presenting the same topic, but some audiences want to know more about different aspects of that subject. When presenting to your peers, you will want to use very basic concepts and just scratch the surface of the details. When presenting to your colleagues, go into as much detail as possible and use every piece of jargon you can. They will understand what you are saying and the process that you are implementing, so put emphasis on those aspects On the contrary, if you are presenting to your investors, you are going to want to highlight the importance and impact of your research and what you (and possibly they) are gaining from it.

However, even while catering to your audience, it is important to not lose sight of the subject. In all of the speeches, you should provide background information, the goal, the process, the results, and the impact of your research. Though, some of them will receive more attention depending on the audience, each of those topics are important and it is imperative that you reflect on all of them. Also, always thank your audience for their time and be prepared for questions.

During my research, I have had to write numerous papers for not only presentations, but to keep track of the information I had learned and the progress I have made. These papers discuss everything from the specifications of the NAO Robot to the details of the Hough Transformation. All of these papers were supposed to be written so that anyone can understand the process that I am trying to explain, even those with only a faint mathematical background. As you will see, my skill in conveying mathematical topics improved as I continued to write papers. I even started adding pictures and diagrams that help convey my point. I developed my PowerPoint “Autonomous Adventures with the NAO Robot” so that it would appeal to the mathematical audience that I was presenting to at the Carolina Math Seminar. I was able to go into more detail about some of the more math heavy aspects of my research. However, the audience was less familiar with how computers operate. I had to stay really generalized when talking about coding or how the computer processes information. Though, I feel that I have made quite a lot of progress, catering to my audience is a skill that I am continuing to improve and work on.