Presenting the PhD: 8 Tips for Making a Great First Talk

I have recently been lucky enough to give an academic presentation. It was a scary thing beforehand but  when I was giving it and afterwards everything was fine. I was pleased to hear that the talk had been received well and that the members in the audience enjoyed it. Perhaps more importantly they got the message of my talk. I was fortunate enough to have a support group around me who enabled me to give the best presentation that I could have at the time (Thank you to all who helped!). Here are some of the things that they helped me do in order to help me give a good presentation.

Single Handed PhD!

Recently I have been struggling with some motivational issues to do with my PhD. These were primarily due to my frustration with the slow pace of the speed of my work (nothing new here for a PhD student). Now however I face a new barrier to my PhD. I have broken the third metacarpal in my right (writing) hand. This has been quite a frustrating experience so far but in some ways it has also acted as a catalyst for reffirmation of my motivation to get over my past frustration and to focus my frustrations on several more productive avenues, both academic and non-academic.

The Wall

One thing that I was told in my PhD induction is that at certain points, you will be very busy and you will have to work long hours, sacrifice much of your weekends and evenings. In the last four months I have reached a level where for one reason or another I have been unable to take a prolonged break (or in some months even just a break)! I have reached a moment that is commonly found during physical exercise.I have reached a wall in my working ability and motivation.