Anthony Magnabosco shares valuable tips for giving an effective presentation on Street Epistemology, covering essential preparations, audience engagement techniques, and post-talk strategies to inspire and educate.

14 January 2023

By Anthony Magnabosco

One doesn’t have to look very far to find a plethora of tips on how to conduct an effective presentation, so I won’t rehash the general advice most will give. This post will focus specifically on the things one can do in order to give an informative talk on Street Epistemology (SE), based on more than a dozen presentations I’ve given on the subject over the years.

As more and more individuals have started learning about (and have become enchanted with!) SE, requests from people on how to best give a talk about this method to their local groups have increased. I will link to this article when future requests for advice roll in, and I will append more tips as comments below as new suggestions arise.

This article is broken up into three sections: things to consider before giving your talk, things to cover during your talk, and things to do after your talk on Street Epistemology.

Things to Consider Before Giving Your Street Epistemology Talk

Take the time leading up to your talk to address these details in advance.

Assess Your Audience

Understanding the composition of your audience is an important consideration. How many people will attend? Will most be familiar or unfamiliar with SE? Can you expect hostile detractors? Having an understanding of who will likely be attending is a good first step before you prepare one slide or talking point.

If your audience will be primarily comprised of people who have never heard of SE, extra time will be needed to cover the basics. With a more familiar crowd, you can gloss over the basics and delve into the deeper concepts.

Respect Your Assigned Duration

Receive in writing how much time you will have to give your talk and, if possible, to take questions from the audience. Stick to that plan as best you can out of respect for everybody involved.

Record and Share

If your hosts will allow it, give serious consideration to recording your talk so that others may enjoy it. Why spend time preparing for a talk on SE to one room of 30 people when you can record and upload it for thousands? It takes a great deal more effort to capture and edit the talk, but well worth it if you can spare the time and have some familiarity with the equipment needed.

Consider Your Safety

For the most part, your audience will probably be very welcoming and excited to hear your talk. But that may not always be the case. Discuss with your organizers in advance how to handle hecklers and the best exit route if you feel like your safety is in jeopardy.

Things to Consider During Your Street Epistemology Talk

First Steps

One of the first things I like to do before getting too far into my talking points is to query the audience to see how many people are familiar with SE. Even if you don’t plan to make one change to your talk, asking this question shows an interest in your audience, and could give the impression that you are planning a customized talk just for them.

Required Talking Points

I think there are a few topics that nearly every SE talk should contain:

• A quick review of the history of the method, including a reference to the Socratic method, Peter Boghossian’s book A Manual for Creating Atheists, a definition of the word “epistemology”, and how people are taking the method into exciting new directions.
• Clear up the common misconception that one has to initiate talks with strangers in public for it to be considered Street Epistemology.
• Explain that SE is never about telling people what to think but is about asking questions to understand what a person believes, why they believe it, and how they determined that their methods were reliable.

Show an Example

One of the best ways to help your audience get excited about and better understand SE is to show one of your favorite video examples. Avoid performing a live example in front of the audience; instead, direct people to the numerous video examples available online.

Questions and Answer Session

The Q&A portion of your talk is usually the most informative and engaging part for both the presenter and the audience. Whether or not your talk is being recorded, always summarize and repeat back the question you are being asked to ensure clarity.

Things to Consider After Your Street Epistemology Talk

Be Accessible

If you are comfortable doing so, try to be as accessible as possible for people interested in SE. If you have a social media presence, blog, or YouTube channel, make sure you provide those links.

Solicit Feedback

Many people will hold off on telling you how you can improve for next time because they don’t want to come across as critical. Actively soliciting feedback can provide valuable advice to incorporate into future presentations.

Inspire Action

Encourage people to support Street Epistemology in some way, whether by conducting SE, promoting the method, or contributing their skills to the community.

Share Your Work

If your presentation went well, consider uploading your files to a SE community group so that others can use your materials. Sharing successful strategies and challenges can help the community continuously improve.

Conclusion

Presentations on Street Epistemology are educational and promotional opportunities that should not be squandered. With a little planning, every single minute of your talk can be optimized for maximum impact.