Common Errors in Statistics (and How to Avoid Them), 4th Edition

ORAL PRESENTATIONS

Graphs

The rules for graphics in print are equally applicable to lectures and may be summed up as, “Never use a chart that will take longer to explain than the information it was intended to provide.”

Use color sparingly; color can induce emotions that depend both upon the culture and the individual. Still, it can awaken an audience two-thirds of the way through a lengthy lecture. (Think of the use of color in the Rorschach plates.)

Tables

The numeric values in a table should occupy no more than three columns and include no more than three digits each, for example, 318, 3.18, 3.1 × 10⁸.

Text

A slide should contain no more than three bullet points, as in Figure 10.22a, and should never be merely a rehash of the lecture itself, as in Figure 10.22b.

FIGURE 10.22. a. Keep Your Slides Simple. b. Too Much Verbiage.