What do I do with my hands?
They can direct the audience’s attention to the right place, add emphasis to what you say, & provide variety to keep the audience engaged.
They can also indicate: big things, small things, precise things, vague things, contrasting things, & connected things.
Shifting to cloud computing environment when your HPC queues are long is often a resource. Unless if your provider is Google Cloud. Then you need to request access for GPU access, which takes "2 business days". Really? This is totally counterproductive from a cloud computing sense #phdchat
Giving a talk?
Don't let the tech take you by surprise.
Figure out beforehand: what kind of mic is it, should I bring my own clicker, can I just plug in my laptop, what is my backup plan? Be prepared - it helps with the nerves and gives you confidence.
Can I just present off my laptop screen?
Yes, to about 3 or 4 people, and then only when you're all sat at the same table.
Any more than that and you want to be up on a big projector screen or display screen.
If people can't see what you're doing -what's the point.
Microphones Do I really need a microphone?
Yes! You might think you have a booming voice, but It's not about you & folks at the back may be struggling with the echo, or the hum of the air con, or using a hearing aid & induction loop.
If its provided, use the mic.
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EERA's #EmergingResearchers' Group former Link Convenor Saneeya Qureshi on how the #ERG supports emerging researchers and early career researchers. #EERAedu #EERAblog #ECRchat #PHDChat #AcademicChatter #EduSci https://blog.eera-ecer.de/emerging-researchers
*Storytelling*
Storytelling is powerful. Its our oldest form of communication. Arguably, there have been stories as long as there have been humans. If you package your research comms as storytelling, you get a more engaged audience that wants to listen and will remember your key message
Finding your voice in research? #academic #science #edchat #HigherEd #University #phdchat #acwri #writing
Speed vs complexity
In a talk, the trade-off of speed and complexity is a fine balance...
Fast + Complex = Overload 😢
Slow + Simple = Patronising 😢
Fast + Simple = Broad understanding 😁
Slow + Complex = Deep understanding 😁
So many talks are just lists!
Here's all the things we did, all the papers published, all the grants won.
Much better to make a point! Have a key message, an agenda, something that the talk revolves around. Say something of note.
We all get nervous.
Presenting nerves appear because we fear the unknown/the unfamiliar.
Dry throat, hot face, queasy stomach all happen because of our fight or flight response to the unknown. This is why rehearsal matters - you are making the unknown known.
Being prepared is half the battle.
Know the key ideas you want to convey at each point in your talk.
The better you know the talk, the less nervous you're likely to be. When you rehearse, do it out loud, all the way through & and focus on the ideas rather than the precise wording.
The best presenters have found their own style. It's not about being the perfect. The goal is an engaged audience, & there's a load of ways to achieve this.
One person's talk may rely on skills that you don't use much, and vice versa. We all have our own skill set.
#Academia #PHDChat #Presentations
What's the biggest crime people commit when it comes to their presentation slides?
We ask lots of people this - and the answers all add up to "too much stuff"
People put too much stuff on their slides and it overwhelms the audience.
Stop it.
