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.

The Travelling PhD

Part of my PhD involves me travelling around a lot for various different reasons, whether this is to go for a conference or for a talk. The majority of my travelling however is to go and visit participants. Recently my car (named Emmett) reached a total 100, 000 miles. Not all of this is mine but I have made a smaller but significant contribution. Having only recently passed my driving test it has not only been an education in terms of driving but also in using and knowledge of having a car. It did make me realize that there are many parallels with driving that also are applicable to the completing a PhD.

Calm Before the Storm

During my first year there was a whirlwind of activity, I was new to Newcastle, I was setting up experiments, looking after project students, testing participants. It was daunting and felt like I had gone off at break neck speed, at times being unable to fully process it all. There was a near constant pressure to get things done. Pressure to prove myself to my supervisors. Pressure of moving and settling into a new city. Fortunately I was able to weather that particular storm of pressures. My second year has taken altogether much different pace. It much more nuanced, building there is pressure there but it is a different kind of pressure.

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.

Academic Origins

I have realized that I haven't talked much about my PhD recently, well today is not going to be that day. But something in the last couple of weeks has made me appreciate how interconnected the people I work and have worked with are. Even this may not be that surprising given how (relatively) small academic research is compared to other areas of work such as or the City. It feels more complicated than purely chance.

Conferencing

So the last month has been very hectic. There have been two big international colour conferences back to back in separate weeks. This was my first experience of such a busy conferencing schedule and was intense and very tiring.