How To Give a Great Research Talk

image credits: https://flic.kr/p/aRYWGe

Let’s set the scene: I am freshly 18, it's the second semester of my first year of university, and I just finished working on my first, very, very minor research project. I poured my soul into this project and the paper I wrote accurately demonstrates everything that I put into it. But there’s one problem: the research symposium is coming up. I have never been good at public speaking. I get nervous, I stumble over my words, and I never feel like I’m explaining my work correctly. 

Here’s the thing: You are absolutely not alone in feeling this way.

Whether this is your very first symposium or your hundredth, standing in the spotlight and presenting your work can be one of the most nerve-wracking parts of research. As your resident anxious astrophysics undergrad, here are tips that have helped me through my very first poster symposium.  

1. Material

   1. Make sure you have a thorough understanding of the content that you are presenting. I suggest asking any last minute questions you may have to your mentor / PI to fill in any gaps. 

   2. Have a good ratio of words to figures on your slide deck or poster. Having a lot of words may lead you to reading directly off of your slide/poster instead of speaking to the people who are listening. Instead of re-writing your whole paper, have key phrases and figures that can be referenced while presenting.

2. Audience

   1. Do not assume that everyone in your audience is an expert! Go over what each part of your project means as you go, this will help to explain your conclusion/results. 

   2. While sharing your work with professors or faculty can be daunting, try not to be intimidated. They have come to see YOUR work, to hear YOU speak, to learn from YOU. No matter how small it may seem, your work, progress, and goals are all important. 

3. Practice

   1. While this may seem obvious now, but last minute nerves can make any well-rehearsed presentation go wrong. Practice your presentation in front of a variety of people, in a variety of places. Friends, family, roommates, classmates, etc! Bother them until they agree to listen to you practice!! 

   2. Try not to memorize! Use your slide deck/ poster as a guide so that the flow of your words feels natural. 

   3. Be mindful as you speak. If you speak too quickly, it may be difficult for your audience to understand what you are saying.

   4. Most importantly: try not to stress when you mess up. It’s only human. 

4. The dreaded Q & A

   1. This was the scariest part of preparing for my first symposium was the fear of not knowing the answer to a question. But if and likely when this happens, here are some important things to remember: 

      1. Don’t be afraid to take a second to think about the question, or even repeat it back to yourself as you come up with an answer

      2. Explain to the rest of the audience the relevancy of this question to your project, and be truthful if your work doesn’t provide a clear answer!

Now that you are ready and prepared to present your project, take a second to breathe. No matter how the presentation goes, know that you should be proud of all the work you have put into your project. I wish you the best of luck!