Communication by Design

You don't need to become a charismatic speaker or a gifted writer to be a great communicator. You're already a world-class problem solver. Communication by Design shows you how to apply the systematic design process you already know to your presentations, papers, and proposals - ensuring your best technical work gets the attention it deserves.

Drawing on two decades of experience mentoring researchers at Stanford University, Jack W. Baker introduces a five-stage, audience-focused design process - Empathize, Define, Brainstorm, Prototype, and Test - and applies it to the communication challenges that define academic careers. From structuring a conference talk to navigating peer review, from designing effective graphics to writing a winning grant proposal, each chapter delivers actionable frameworks backed by research and illustrated with real examples.

Whether you're a graduate student preparing your first presentation or an experienced researcher looking to sharpen your impact, this book gives you a repeatable process for communicating complex ideas clearly and persuasively.