For Researchers Preparing Conference Presentations,
Job Talks or Pitches
The PresentBetter Program
Walk Into Your Next Talk
Knowing You'll Succeed
After 10+ years and over 1,000 workshops with over 10,000 Phds and postdocs, I'm finally building it so you can access it directly at a price point you can afford.
Announcing: The PresentBetter Program
Learn the critical frameworks that separate forgettable research presentations from the ones that open doors and accelerate careers.
Banda Khalifa, MD, MPH, MBA
Physician Epidemiologist, Johns Hopkins University
I had the privilege of witnessing Andy's exceptional seminar on public speaking at Johns Hopkins. Andy showcased a profound grasp of confident public speaking and demonstrated a commendable ability in scientific communication. The resources he provided were invaluable, and I wholeheartedly recommend Andy for any endeavor that seeks to blend the art of public speaking with scientific precision and passion.
Gala True, PhD
Professor, Tulane University
Andy is a genius at helping academics and researchers create better presentations and become better presenters in the service of their work. I have worked with Andy twice. He helped me transform both the slides and presentation from a stiff, typical academic talk into a compelling story. He also imparted tips and tricks about creating and giving presentations that I'll be using for the rest of my career.
David O. Prevatt
Professor, University of Florida
As a structural engineering professor, I’d long spoken within the familiar walls of my discipline. With Andy’s help I’ve challenged myself to reframe complex engineering for a broader audience, blending rigor with narrative to spark genuine engagement. If you want to elevate your presentations—whether it’s a conference keynote or a public forum—Andy is the one to help you find your authentic voice and make every word count.
Eleonore Fournier-Tombs, PhD
Head of Anticipatory Action and Innovation, United Nations
His training was incredibly empowering and I went from being nervous and a little bland to feeling quite confident. We learned a combination of general principles and specific techniques that I continue to draw upon in my presentations and lectures now. I would highly recommend him to anyone who wishes to work on speaking with passion.
Chris Buddle
Professor and Associate Provost, Academic Office, McGill University
Andy was easy to work with, critical and helpful - constructive in a supportive way. If you're considering working with Andy, go for it!
What Professors say...
The PresentBetter Program teaches researchers to rethink presentations from the ground up:
How to engineer clarity without sacrificing the science, earn credibility the way audiences actually grant it, and deliver with the kind of presence that makes people want to know more.
Built on 15+ years of coaching 10,000+ researchers—from dissertation defenses and conference presentations to public talks and startup pitches—and designed for the AI era, where thinking critically matters more than ever.
You've Been Taught To Present Research The Way You Write It
Methodology first, objectivity always, hundreds of references, slides as your notes. That model was built for journal readers, not live audiences. And now that AI will amplify whatever pattern you give it, using the wrong model doesn't just waste time—it makes or breaks your most important moments on stage.
Arav Saherwala
McGill University
Andrew's mentorship has helped me develop strong research communication and public speaking skills! It has helped me craft other presentations for lab meetings, workshops, and conferences. In fact, I believe working with Andrew has helped me win numerous awards at regional, national, and international conferences.
Mohammad Hadavi
PhD candidate. McGill University
Andy creates a fantastic atmosphere, always brimming with energy and filled with invaluable tips! In February 2024, I had the incredible opportunity to present my research at CatIQ Connect 2024 in front of ~200-300 people from industry, academia, and government, where I was awarded as one of the top three students.it's amazing to see how much I've grown, especially considering English isn't my first language. His guidance has been instrumental in my journey, and I'm truly grateful for all his support along the way
Atia Amin
PhD candidate. McGill University
The first time I met him, I was utterly captivated. His enthusiasm, spontaneity, ideas, and, of course, his impeccable public speaking skills overwhelmed me. Over the course of a year, Andy became my mentor, imparting his knowledge of public speaking to me. He guided me through every facet of the art, from mastering stage presence to harnessing body language and modulating my voice to engage with the audience effectively. I owe a great deal of my success to Andy.
Ramin Farhad
PhD candidate.
University of California, San Francisco
Throughout my PhD I’ve attended several talks and workshops on how to create and deliver an effective presentation. Andy’s presentation workshop was indeed the most comprehensive and transformative session He was quite efficient with the short time we had and shared numerous nuggets of wisdom. And the best part was the delivery of the information, which not only easily made it to my long-term memory, but also served as a living example of how to effectively present data.
Pratik Mahajan
PhD student in Political Science Yale University
Through your presentations skills course and the 3MT competition, you equipped me with the skills and confidence to share my passion for research on indigenous peoples in India. This was immensely helpful in an academic conference I presented at last summer, where I followed your advice to present the results first to make the presentation more engaging. While this is only the beginning, I wanted to share my utmost gratitude for your encouragement and mentorship at a nascent stage of my journey!
What your peers say...
The result?
Q&A time becomes re-explanation instead of a real academic discussion. Follow-up emails never come. Opportunities go to someone whose talk "just clicked," even though your research is stronger.
The real issue:
You're applying a writing framework to a speaking environment. And now that AI can generate slides, scripts, and "improvements" in seconds, that broken framework will get faster and shinier—but no more effective.
Why Most Research Talks Fail
If you've ever walked out of a practice session with a list of 37 things to fix, felt your audience zone out during your methodology section, or watched someone less qualified win the job talk—you've experienced the symptoms of a deeper problem.
You're optimizing for the wrong model.
Journal articles are designed to be scanned. Readers jump to the results, skim the discussion, and only dig into methods if they're skeptical. But most researchers present as if their audience will consume information linearly, patiently, and without judgment.
They won't.
The people who already know the background, don’t need your version of it and the people who don’t won’t listen before they decide if what you’re talking about is important. You need to lead by triggering curiosity, without that people’s interest wanes quickly.
You start with background.
They check their email.
You spend too long on methodology.
They stop listening.
You cram 30 minutes of content into 10.
They get lost.
You stay objective and professional.
They get bored.
You treat slides as your notes.
They tune you out and read instead.
Rethink Presentations for How Audiences Actually Listen
Before you use AI to polish your slides or tighten your script, you need to change the mental model. Because AI will give you exactly what you ask for—and if you're asking the wrong questions, you'll get impressively lackluster results.
The PresentBetter Program teaches the frameworks and mindset shifts that great presenters use instinctively (even if they don't realize it):
Great talks don't begin with a 30-minute draft that you gradually cut down to 10 minutes. They begin with five questions that force clarity: What's the problem? What's your hypothesis? What's your approach? What's your primary result? What's the significance? From there, you build a one-sentence throughline—"In order to [solve X], I am [doing Y], by [approach Z], so that [impact + outcome]." This becomes your anchor. Everything else scaffolds from it.
Don’t trim down your talk.
Build up, from a better foundation.
Don’t over-explain your methods.
Just earn credibility.
Don’t follow the journal-article structure.
Design for memory.
Don’t treat slides as your notes.
Use them as audience visuals.
Don’t be objective 100% of the time.
Let them hear how you feel.
Why AI Makes Rethinking More Important Than Ever
ChatGPT can write your abstract. Claude can pen your whole script. Gamma can design your slides. Descript can edit your practice video. AI will do whatever you ask—beautifully, quickly, and efficiently.
But here's the problem: AI is a frequency model.
It learns from the most common patterns in its training data. And the most common academic presentations follow the broken model: methodology-heavy, slide-dependent, emotionally flat, structured like a paper.
If you prompt AI to "improve my research talk," it will give you a polished version of what most people do. Which means you'll sound exactly like everyone else.
From uncertain presenter to TEDx:
Jason's journey, told by Jason
The researchers who will stand out in the AI era aren't the ones with the best tools (we all already have them). They're the ones who know how to think correctly about presentations first, so that when they use AI, it accelerates the right patterns instead of amplifying the wrong ones.
That's what this program does. It rewires your approach so AI becomes a multiplier, not a mimic.
10+ Years
10,00+ Researchers Trained
500+ Workshops
12 Modules.
4 Entry Points.
16 Lessons Built for What Actually Works.
This program is designed around the talk you're preparing right now—whether that's a conference presentation, dissertation defense, funding pitch, or job talk.
Pick your frame.
Choose 1 of 4 presentation types you're preparing for: conference, defense, pitch, or job talk. Each frame gives you a unique perspective through which to navigate the 12 modules, so you're learning what matters most for your specific context.
9 Core Ideas.
The mental models that shift how you think about content, credibility, connection, visuals, and delivery. These aren't tips—they're frameworks. Once you understand them, you'll never go back to the old model.
3 Key Practices.
How to practice efficiently (not just repeatedly), manage anxiety with research-backed strategies, and get feedback that actually improves your talk instead of just identifying problems.
Pre-Trained AI Agents.
At key decision points—after you draft your one-sentence throughline, after you design a key visual, after your first-minute opening—you can trigger an AI agent trained on this framework to give you structured feedback or alternative versions. You're not asking ChatGPT to guess. You're using an AI agent that knows (almost!) everything I know.
5-Step Workflow (for PIs and institutions).
If you're a PI or running a lab, there's a structured process that scaffolds trainee presentations from core message to conference-ready, with peer feedback loops and sign-off gates built in. You stay in the driver's seat without having to micromanage every step. (Learn more here.)
Duration: 2.6 hours
Investment: $89
Format: Self-Paced
Built on 15+ Years of Successful Presentations.
The PresentBetter framework has been personally taught to 10,000+ researchers across universities, institutes, and labs. It's helped doctoral students win 3-minute thesis competitions, secure dissertation funding, and land competitive postdocs. It's helped senior researchers present to policymakers, pitch to investors, and teach their own trainees how to communicate without sacrificing rigor.
This program distills that work into 16 total modules built with input from PhD and postdoc trainees who've been through it and PIs who've coached alongside it.
What you're getting:
The Framework
The frameworks that feel obvious once you see them—but that most researchers never learn because they're too busy surviving feedback loops that quickly identify problems, but struggle to provide solutions.
Producation Quality
16 videos that might just blow your socks off. Premium video, integrated whiteboard-style visuals, exclusive worksheets, and pre-trained AI agents that know exactly what to do and how to do it.
Lifetime access
Lifetime access for $89 USD. No monthly fees. Just the program, the exclusive AI agents, and the workflows you need to master your next talk.
Rethink Presentations. Then Let AI Accelerate.
You've spent years earning your expertise. Don't let a broken presentation model—or a well-meaning AI trained on broken patterns—undermine it.
Learn to think correctly about presentations first. Then every tool you use, every practice session you run, and every talk you give will compound instead of just repeat.