Reflecting back on the various roles I have had in a Data Science team, it has occurred to me that I am one of the few people who is often asked to present.

From a whole host of meeting invites, to slides in various Teams channels and countless versions of presentations on my laptop, I realised that I had presented more than 120 versions of 18 projects over the last six years — that’s roughly one presentation every three weeks! Through this, I can safely say that I have sat through and given presentations that did not land well with various audiences.

One would argue that this many presentations were unnecessary for technically apt stakeholders in a data literate organisation, but these individuals are few and far between where I work.

Many of my presentations have been time-consuming and cumbersome to prepare, but they have been invaluable in my attempt to become a better Data Science communicator. Regardless, I am thankful of my introspective moments which have led to confidence in my content and communication skills.

To date, being a keynote speaker and attending a panel at Financial Times Energy Summit on ML in the energy industry has been a highlight. Whilst I have so much more to learn, I now know that I can drive an engaging conversation with those who are listening.

So, here are six points that I think are valuable and some resources I have used when considering presenting my projects.

#presentations #communication #data-visualization #data-science #storytelling