Improving Behavior Analysts' Public Speaking: Recommendations From Expert Interviews

In his 2014 paper, Friman provided 15 recommendations for behavior analysts wishing to improve their public speaking skills and encouraged the field to view public speaking as a mechanism through which we can more broadly disseminate our science. Although some behavior-analytic research exists on the topic of public speaking, this body of literature is small, and many empirical questions remain. Little is known regarding which skills need to be targeted to improve public speaking and what successful public speakers in our field do to be effective and entertaining. In this study, we identified and interviewed the 10 most frequently invited public speakers at major behavior-analytic conferences. We then coded transcriptions of the interviews using qualitative analysis to generate a preparation checklist for presenters, a considerations list for behavior analysts training mentees on presentation skills, and a feedback form for those wishing to improve their public speaking skills.