Even good things must come to an end

And this also holds true for the Science Communication course for PhD students at MPŠ.

This year, I was again involved in the course by covering how to successfully present scientific results.

We covered all aspects of a good presentation, including:

🔹 crafting a story

🔹 vocal delivery

🔹 body language

🔹 fear of public speaking and how to deal with it

🔹 a little bit about slides (because it’s about your story and you, not your slides!)

 

Just two days ago, the students had their final assignment – presenting their research in only three minutes.

And they did very well.

They were clear, concise, and engaging.

 

One interesting thing we noticed is that many students started their talk with “ok” or “so”.

Which is not optimal.

 

If you tend to do that as well, what can you do instead?

Well, when you come to the stage, stop, take a breath, glance through the audience – and start.

It is much more effective.

 

Congrats to all the students and of course to Saša Novak for creating such a useful course!

***

Thank you Ivan Porupski for such a nice review of the course:

As a phonetician with some experience in public speaking, I found Arijana’s presentation extremely well made and delivered. She does an effective job of communicating what is important, and why. She emphasizes different possible strategies instead of simply saying “this is the right way,” which is arguably the best takeaway from a public speaking course. I find that her greatest strength is her expertise in both science and public speaking, giving her a unique edge in preparing scientists to communicate better, more clearly, and with greater confidence.