This is a photo of my friend, Kym. Last year, I entered and won the La Trobe University Three Minute Thesis Competition (3MT) with a story about Kym and his life with a condition called aphasia. Kym is depicted holding a piece of paper: the torn corner representing the communication limitations caused by aphasia. Kym’s evocative story made a complex point easier to communicate. 

What inspired me to enter 3MT in the first place? 

I’m going to tell you why, and what I did to produce the winning presentation.

Why 3MT?

3MT is an international competition that “cultivates students’ academic, presentation, and research communication skills” (threeminutethesis.uq.edu.au/about). Participants are given three minutes to discuss their PhD against the backdrop of a single static slide.

Effective communication is an essential life skill. In academia, we are constantly reformulating our ideas to suit different audiences, contexts, and purposes. Research communication takes practice and by participating in 3MT you get valuable feedback on how to develop your communication skills.

In order to present a cohesive and flowing story, you need to think very carefully about the nuts and bolts of your work. 3MT forced me to distil the details of my project into a dense liquor (just a few swigs will give you a good taste of my project) and I continue to use lines from my 3MT presentation on a regular basis because they succinctly capture what my work is about.

The competition carries some prestige. Participating brings exposure to your work and acknowledgement of your efforts from your mentors and peers. This acknowledgement can really reinforce your purpose at times when the going is hard. 

Opportunities will arise.  Since winning 3MT, I’ve spoken about my work on radio and been invited to present about science communication in a range of academic and clinical contexts. The prize money is generous and can fundamentally shift the PhD budget landscape.

My tips on how to approach 3MT

1. Prepare

Know what the judges are looking for. Study the scoring criteria. Watch 3MT videos online and judge them yourself. Notice the ways presenters satisfy the judging requirements – use of narrative structure, vocabulary, and intonation patterns to make a complex story comprehensible and engaging.

2. Think carefully about these questions

What’s the one key message you are trying to convey? If I were to ask a listener what my talk was about, what would I want them to say? My key message was: There’s this thing called aphasia, it’s a big problem, I’m doing something about it.

What is the arc of your story? How will you keep people engaged? Kym’s story formed the backbone of my presentation. His captivating visage helped snare people’s attention and kept them engaged long enough for me to tell them about my work. I kept bringing the story back to Kym as linking the science to the individual helped keep the message salient and relevant.

3. Structure

I used the Context, Action, Result structure and spent about one minute on each section. What’s the problem? What am I doing about it? What’s the outcome? At the time of competing, I didn’t have any results to report. Instead, I spoke about my hypotheses and the possible implications of my work.

4. Choose your words carefully

Script your talk, rewrite it, and seek feedback from peers, supervisors and people who don’t know about your topic area. If jargon or unfamiliar terms are unavoidable, define them carefully and use sparingly: “Kym has aphasia. Aphasia is a communication disability caused by damage to the brain.”

5. Delivery matters

Use a variety of speech rhythms, intonation patterns and pauses to emphasise certain words, phrases and ideas and to transition from one section or idea to another. Used sparingly, speaking quickly can give a sense of urgency or importance, but can also come across as nervy or rushed if overused. Conversely, speaking slowly brings a sense of gravity, confidence or thoughtfulness, but can becoming disengaging if overused.

6. Practice relentlessly

If your script isn’t running through your head while you take a shower, practice some more.

Finally, embrace your vulnerability and take the plunge! Yes, you will be putting yourself on show and exposing yourself to scrutiny, which can be anxiety-provoking. But, rest assured, the 3MT competition at La Trobe University provides a safe environment to practice, hone, and perfect your research communication skills.

Go forth and communicate!

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• Link to Sam’s 3MT presentation: https://vimeo.com/456769911
• More information about 3MT at La Trobe: https://www.latrobe.edu.au/research/red/initiatives/3mt-competition 

Sam Harvey is a speech pathologist and graduate researcher within the Centre of Research Excellence in Aphasia Recovery and Rehabilitation. Sam is studying the effect of dose of language therapy on recovery of language skills in people with aphasia under Professor Miranda Rose. 

Sam is passionate about building advocacy and community support for people living with aphasia. He is a committee member for Aphasia Victoria, a consumer advisory group for people with aphasia in Victoria, and co-facilitates the Windy Hill Community Aphasia Group. 

The post Why 3MT? A reflection from the 2020 University Champion (Sam Harvey) appeared first on Research Education and Development.

Recently, La Trobe University held our inaugural ‘Take 5: Research Rumble’ event. It’s a 5-minute research staff competition.

Like 3MT (3 Minute Thesis) before it, we gave our academics one slide but, with our staff having established research track records, we thought we’d give them a few more minutes. So, 5 minutes, 1 slide, and a little terror.

We put out the call and weren’t sure if what the appetite and interest would be.

We underestimated the excitement for the competition (perhaps it was the $3000 up for grabs?) and ended up receiving dozens of submissions. In order to demonstrate a wide swatch of the research being conducted at La Trobe University — and make it interesting for the audience — the committee ensured there was gender balance and representation from a range of disciplinary backgrounds. Those who weren’t in the first edition (during Research Week) were asked to participate in our second edition, which is on Tuesday 26 November (register here).

Back in September, we were starting from scratch and had to consider everything from the program and timing, to the food, judges, AV, room, and on and on. As it was our first stab at this event, we decided to offer guidance to staff on formulating their presentations. The hope was that it would help them produce high quality talks that were accessible to a generalist audience.

How’d it go? Overall, we are thrilled with how things came together.

The pacing of the event was good, the speakers did a fabulous job, and the good-sized audience that attended seemed to enjoy themselves. Of course, there are plenty of things we’d like to improve and we’ll enhance our processes in the future.

This post is the first of a series to help you learn from our successes, as well as our mistakes. I have broken the series into three posts so you can easily navigate to the one that most applies to you. The first is for speakers, and the ones for organisers and the MC will come later.

For Researcher: How to Jam Your Research Into 5 Minutes

After the September event, I asked presenters for their feedback. Here are their main takeaways on how to plan for and deliver a 5-minute research talk. De-identified participant contributions are provided in quotes, with some commentary and contextualisation.

Inaugural Take 5 winners: Sallie Yea (L) from HuSS and Seb Dworkin from PAM. Photo from La Trobe University.

What worked well in preparing for your talk?

1. If there’s training available, go. Presenters were provided with an optional session on planning a research talk for a generalist audience. Most of the presenters attended. Overwhelmingly they said that the prep session was helpful; “attend and follow his advice!”
2. Take the time to sketch an outline for your talk. Consider how you will “sell the big picture and [sort out] the hook” and “prioritise the things you want to say.” Creating an outline forces, you to “think about what it is I want to know and why, and what I am doing.” “Early preparation and constant revising and cutting down” is critical. Ask yourself:
• What is the problem?
• What did I do to address the problem (and for/with who)?
• What are the outcomes?
• And, why does that matter?
3. Engage “support from colleagues who listened to drafts and provided feedback.” Rely on your network but “test it on another person outside of your area.”
4. “Start preparing early” because preparing a five-minute talk will take longer than a 20-minute one. People consistently wish they knew “how long it was going to take to prepare and polish the delivery of a 5 min talk.” 
5. Most people said they “wrote out my script.” Some, “underlining and highlighting key points on the script [which] helped with memorising it,” whereas others employed strategies like trying “to memorise a key word in each paragraph to help me keep my flow.”
6. And “practice, practice, practice.” Participants reported, “practising it in front of someone else was also very helpful to iron out problems and nervous stumbles,” and “I rehearsed over and over in the car on my hour long drives, with the alarm on my watch set, and I subjected my partner to it.”

Any advice for the day of the event?

1. “Get some sleep if possible” and try and “relax. People are impressed you are even doing it.”
2. Breathe and enjoy the opportunity to share your research with others from completely different fields!
3. Be sure to “tell all your colleagues early so they can come and support you.” In other words, “bring a cheer squad.”
4. “It’s a presentation, not a memorisation exercise!” So do your best to not make it “sound like you’ve memorised a script.” You do this by “engaging the audience – [with] eye contact, smiles, passion.”
5. The take home point really is that “you love your research and are passionate about it; make sure that comes through.” So, “channel your inner performer” and above all, “be interesting!”

What are some cautions you would give others in doing a similar talk?
In this section I have provided some additional feedback for future speakers to consider in italics.  

1. “Do not underestimate the time need to practise and perfect.”
• Again, preparing a five-minute talk is more work than a 20-minute talk. Give yourself lots of time. 
2. “Don’t make too many last-minute changes” or “ad lib on the day, as that may push you over time.”
• An ad lib is hard to fit into a five-minute talk, even for a seasoned pro. A five-minute talk is a highly polished speech and improvising will likely push you over time or derail the flow. 
3. “Don’t make your slide too detailed but… engage the audience with your slide!”
• Simple is best. All elements should be critical to either understanding concepts in your talk or provide emotional impact. You don’t want the audience to be dissecting or making sense of your slide while missing the words you’re saying. 
4. “Go and check out the room you’re presenting in”
• If you’re able to do a test run in the room (with the mic ideally) it’ll put you at ease and you’ll know just how big the room is, what the lighting is like, and the floorspace you want to occupy. 
5.  “Make it simple and show some passion.”
• The best talks take very complicated ideas and synthesise them (often using metaphor and story) for a generalist audience. And yes, passion will sell it even if the audience doesn’t understand every word. I’d argue that in the best talks there’s a 20 second period where only the other disciplinary experts in the room will know what you’re saying, and the rest of the time they’ll be board. It’s during that period where everyone else will be rapt. 

La Trobe Nutrition cheersquad! Photo from @LTUnutrition on Twitter

Some final thoughts from presenters. 

Needing some motivation to put your name into the hat? Presenters told us:

• “I’m really glad to have had this experience and would recommend you give it a go – it’ll help with other presentations/pitches in future I think.” 
• “Why not give it a go. Many more people know what I do now and helps in breaking the ice, especially if you are new to the University.”

If you have a similar opportunity in your world, consider raising your hand for the fun. There are a number of benefits, it’ll: 

• Stretch muscles you might not have used in a while. 
• Help you learn skills to effectively mobilise your research for different audiences. 
• Broaden your network by getting your work in front of new faces.
• Open up possibilities for interdisciplinary collaborations. 
• Put you in the running for additional funding/glory.
• Be fun to be fearless and share your passion. 

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Wade Kelly is the Senior Coordinator, Research Impact, at La Trobe University, in Melbourne, Australia.

Wade’s PhD research focused on how and why universities and academics engage with communities. This is Wade’s personal website and he tweets from @wadekelly.

The post Building ‘Take 5: Research Rumble’ (Wade Kelly) appeared first on Research Education and Development.

Many of us take significant private pleasure in becoming researchers.

We whittle drafts away in the wee small hours or sneak a moment here or there to read a book or article. But finding time to just be a researcher can be tough, especially for those of us who have busy work lives or heavy care responsibilities. It can be challenging to get large stretches of time to sink into researcher mode.

Retreats away from the hustle and bustle of ordinary life can offer us these opportunities. In addition to the practicalities of giving us time, many of us find that there is something magical about being away together.

The College of Arts, Social Sciences and Commerce (ASSC) hosted an annual 2-day, off-site HDR Retreat on the 26th and 27th July. In 2019 the retreat was held at the beautiful Grange Cleveland in Lancefield. The purpose of the ASSC HDR Retreat is to offer graduate researchers an opportunity to reflect on writing and presentation skills, strategies to assist with candidature management, and an opportunity to network and collaborate with other researchers. As a bonus, the countryside setting offers everyone an opportunity to relax, recharge and get to know some of the handsome creatures that also live there (see above!).

Sixty students and 9 academics attended both days of the retreat, with an additional 5 guest speakers presenting across the two days. Academics presented on various topics such as: supervisor dynamics, how to write your journal article in no time flat, engaging in deep work, an introduction to the importance of gaining ethics approval, and identifying and overcoming hurdles for international students (see Kiran Shinde’s post on this workshop here).

Participants at the retreat came from all La Trobe campuses, and from all Schools within the ASSC College.

The ASSC HDR Retreat is organised by ASSC Research in partnership with the RED team, Directors of Graduate Research and Graduate Research Coordinators. The program was developed with the in-put of a planning committee made up of graduate researchers: Esther Desiadenyo Many-Barfo, Ben Nguyen, Angelique Renieris and Silvina Sanchez Mera.

For today’s RED Alert, we have some reflections on the retreat from Silvina and Esther.

Silvina’s reflection on the 2019 ASSC retreat


I still remember getting the email from our Director of Graduate Research (DGR) asking for volunteers to help with organising the retreat this year and thinking ‘this could be fun’. I wasn’t wrong! I had just started my PhD earlier this year, so for me it was my first time participating in the retreat as well as helping with its organisation. The Committee met several times from April up until the retreat date, to discuss and develop the program.

The driving force behind coordinating the retreat was Jody (Jody Simmons, Project Coordinator in ASSC College), and having the support of other students on the committee who had participated in previous retreats – made everything smooth and fun. During this time, what caught my attention was the importance given to what HDRs wanted from the workshops, as well as the focus on improving the retreat based on previous feedback. HDRs were really at the centre of concern, and our ‘job’ as volunteers was to act as links between our HDR colleagues and the retreat organisers. We got to share our opinions on the type of activities we should have in order to organise ‘custom’ workshops that addressed our needs. Encouraging participation amongst our colleagues was another task for us HDR volunteers. I’d like to think I did a good job on that regard as for this retreat lots of law HDRs participated (well, not lots lots, since there aren’t too many of us in the first place!)

The venue was definitely something! And although I didn’t get to see any kangaroos I did get to play with two big fluffy cats that I wanted to kidnap. On our first day all HDRs had to give a 5 minute presentation on our research and get feedback from our peers. For me, this was the best part of the program of the retreat. While trying to present what your research is about in plain language –and in my case, my non-native language – is challenging, it is also extremely rewarding. I love my topic, but I didn’t think people from other disciplines would be interested as well (after all it is law, you know?) until I found myself in an ethical discussion with colleagues from Education or debating the conduct of States with colleagues from Linguistics!

The second day was dedicated to workshops. They were varied and general enough to interest everyone present. At the end there was a panel of ‘survivors’, recent PhD graduates, who conveyed their experiences and how they managed to get their PhDs done in time. This allowed us all to remember that it is possible to finish, and that many people struggle with similar things.

All in all, the highlight of the retreat was my colleagues, getting to know not only people but their fascinating research shows you how varied PhDs can be and how personal experiences and interests can drive you and shape your investigation. If you get a chance to attend the ASSC Retreat next year you should definitely do it!

Esther’s reflection on the 2019 ASSC retreat


At the 2016 ASSC HDR Retreat at Grange Bellinzona, Hepburn Springs, I watched Anne Brouwer (a member of the organising committee) in admiration as she explained the purpose of our meeting and other details. What struck me most was the flair and confidence in her delivery. It was then and there that I resolved to also partake in events that would allow me to bring out my own confidence. Another two retreats down the line and I had my “moment” this year to stand at the front and introduce details for the 2019 retreat.

As I have participated in a number of these retreats now, I have found that these events are valuable for getting one’s research out there. In this case you are getting your research out there to a broad audience that might be unfamiliar with it. While they may not be in exactly the same discipline, this audience might have the capacity to help shape your research by the different perspectives they bring to it.

The most encouragement I have had in my life has come from people at these retreats. As a result, I have formed lasting ties with other graduate students who I have met in my time away. The retreats have, to a large extent helped me embrace my ‘humanness’ when standing to present my research amidst feelings of nervousness and panic. The ability to do this stemmed from the realisation that my colleagues also experienced the same emotions when it was their turn to speak too.

I have always found the workshops interesting because they have addressed questions I have been battling with. Additionally, the discussions and questions afterwards have provided me with additional insights in terms of what is shared by others.

Apart from just partaking in the retreat, I have derived the most joy by being a part of the organising committee. I have been greatly fulfilled in knowing that I helped bring opinions on board, shape ideas, and above all helped in the overall success of the retreat. The best part is when fellow colleagues thanked me for helping organise a great retreat!

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Esther Desiadenyo Manu-Barfo is a PhD researcher with the linguistics department at La Trobe University. She has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English and Linguistics and a Master of Philosophy Degree in Linguistics from the University of Ghana, Legon. Her field of studies is Documentary linguistics. She is currently writing a grammar of Dompo, a moribund language spoken in Ghana. She attributes her interest in linguistics to its inter disciplinary nature and its knack to challenge one to critically delve into language issues. Her research interests are in the field of language description with a focus on phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics and pragmatics. She is the vice-president of the Graduate Research Student Society and the Graduate Students representative for the Linguistics Department. She loves to volunteer, travel and sight-see and make new friends.

Silvina Sanchez Mera is a first year PhD student in Law. Her research looks at the International Criminal Court’s practice in prosecuting international crimes committed against child soldiers.


She holds a Masters in International Law from Bangor University (UK) and a Lecturer position in International Law and Human Rights at the Catholic University of Santiago del Estero, in her hometown (Jujuy, Argentina).

The post Researchers on retreats: The value of being away together (Silvina Sanchez Mera and Esther Desiadenyo Manu-Barfo) appeared first on Research Education and Development.

“Not only is it important to ask questions and find the answers, as a scientist I felt obligated to communicate with the world what we were learning.” ― Stephen Hawking

As a PhD researcher, you’re often focused on a very niche research area with loads of technical jargon, complex ideas and concepts that can be difficult to communicate to researchers from different fields.

Why is it important to be able to communicate your research?

While your main focus as a graduate researcher might be to write your thesis, you need to be able to communicate effectively in writing and orally for a range of audiences (academic journals, media, industry and the community).

The idea of translating our academic interests into simpler, more engaging words can seem daunting, but it all helps share our work, widen the range of potential collaborations, and create new opportunities.

In research, the ability to succinctly convey your ideas to other researchers and to the public is one of the most important skills you can gain, yet the opportunities to build these skills are often scarce.

That’s why, at the end of 2017, a group of graduate researchers (including me) founded the Physiology, Anatomy and Microbiology (PAM) HDR Student Society with the aim of nurturing social relationships, promote networking and provide platforms to enhance educational experiences, and therefore promote positive outcomes for individuals within the department.

Since then, we have held professional development events as well as networking and social activities for the PhD researchers in the department, which has really helped shape our local intellectual climate.

When I heard about the Graduate Research School’s Intellectual Climate Fund (ICF), it seemed like a great opportunity to further build this momentum, particularly between graduate researchers and academic staff. Our committee got together and came up with the idea of organising a ‘Showcase Symposium’, where all of our department’s PhD researchers would present their work to staff, students, collaborators and other interested parties within the research community.

This is an event we had been wanting to organise for some time, given our department is quite large in size and diverse in its scientific disciplines. We thought it would be the perfect opportunity to practice these skills of communicating our research to peers in a conference-style day. We hoped it would allow PhD researchers to gain fundamental skills, particularly in public speaking and networking in order to foster collaboration and peer support.

We planned the day as a series of 10-minute talks, 3-minute talks and scientific posters, as these are common presentation formats at the conferences we’d be attending. Students submitted abstracts to be considered for these talks and were chosen based on scientific merit. On the day, we ended up having 25 oral presentations and 34 poster presentations, which was fantastic!

Break time! Panoramic shot of the conference venue, the John Scott Meeting House Chamber, lined with posters, and participants buzzing after some great talks. Photo by Ella Johnston (on Twitter).

This environment allowed new PhD researchers, or those wanting to further develop their skills, to do so in a comfortable environment surrounded by supportive and understanding peers. This event helped graduate researchers build their confidence, which we hope will better prepare them for presenting at the larger, more confronting national and international conferences.

I was delighted to hear that the attendees of the symposium, both students and departmental staff, greatly enjoyed the day and felt that it achieved its intended aims.  Hopefully, we will have the opportunity to run this event every year to continue fostering an exemplary research culture within our department.

This symposium allowed me to reflect on the ‘bigger picture’ of my research and how I could gain interest from multiple disciplines. It would be naïve to assume that everyone is equally intrigued by your research. However, the skills we gain from being able to interest people outside our field are invaluable ones that will stand us in good stead in our careers.

These skills become especially important when communicating our research to a broader, non-academic audience (e.g. newspaper articles, TV shows and radio broadcasting). The majority of the general public, though potentially interested in our topics, will not understand the complex language of academia. Being able to simplify the ‘bigger picture’ and relay our research using lay terminology invites interest and collaboration not only from people within academia and research organisations, but also from those in the wider community.

If you are able to effectively communicate the key ideas of your research, they will be the keys that unlock endless opportunities.

If you would like to see more of the action from this event, check out the hashtag #PAMHDRSymp18 on Twitter.

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Ebony Monson is a PhD student in the School of Life Sciences, La Trobe University. Her research focuses on looking for novel mechanisms that drive an immune response to viral infections, with the hope that teasing apart the complexity of an effective immune response will allow the creation of novel anti-viral treatments to combat in-curable viral infections.

When Ebony is not in the lab, she is busy helping organise different activities for the department as part of the Physiology, Anatomy and Microbiology (PAM) HDR student Society and La Trobe Microbiology Society. 

She is on Twitter at @ebony_monson, and her lab is @HelbigLab.

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When giving a talk, the worst thing a person is afraid of is making mistakes that will consequently lead to embarrassment.

Different people do have different skills on managing public audiences.

There are people who love giving talks, and those who feel that speaking in public is their worst nightmare.

However, when it comes to talking in front of an audience, everyone can experience fears.

In this post, we offer ideas that can help you make an astounding presentation!

PREPARATION

Transferring one’s work into a talk is not as easy as one thinks. The best way to start is to convey the talk into words that can give a clear idea of what needs to be transmitted.

• One of the first things to do is to understand the audience.
• Take time to create a script, it will help to present the key ideas more clearly.
• Outline the structure of the presentation in such a way that the audience can follow the subject easily.
• While writing the talk think as if you were telling a story to someone that is not in your field and does not know the topic.
• Use sentences that capture the attention of the audience.
• You are allowed to tell a joke, but if you are not good at jokes, do not do it! It can work against you!
• There are a lot of different presentation applications you can use besides Powerpoint (such as Prezi). Whatever you use, keep it as simple as possible. Slides must not overwhelm the viewer.
• Images and diagrams are better than text, use only a few words in your slides and try not to read them. They are there only to make your presentation clear, not for you to read them.
• You need to be fluent and the best way is to rehearse as much as you can until you feel comfortable and confident about what you are saying. Rehearse the talk alone. Once you feel ready, do it with friends and ask them for feedback.
• Record your rehearsals and watch the video to evaluate yourself. Practice is the key to a natural delivery.
• Do not memorise every word. If you forget a word you will get stuck in the middle of your presentation; believe it or not it is difficult to recover. Memorise only the key points; that should be enough to keep the flow of your presentation.

QUESTION TIME

Your skills are also evaluated by the way you tackle the questions. You should keep in mind that you know more than anyone in the audience about your particular topic

• Always be prepared to answer hard questions. No matter how difficult they are, you have to learn to deal with them. Take your time, take a deep breath, and do your best to answer the question.
• Prepare extra slides that can help you answer questions.
• It is all right to say “I don’t know the answer” to a particular question.
• If you do not understand the question, you can ask them to repeat or paraphrase it.
• If you are not sure about the answer, you can paraphrase the question back to make sure you understood correctly. It will give you some time to think of the reply.
• A good presentation is always rewarding. It will encourage people to talk to you after the presentation.

The original version of this post was published on 16 November 2016 at the ‘Science is not my favourite colour’ blog, and is used here with kind permission. 

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The ‘Science is my Favourite Colour‘ blog was created because of the idea that doing research is not always easy! 

It was created, and is managed, by five ordinary PhD researchers from different backgrounds who are eager to share their experiences in the scientific world. These graduate researchers are Pramod Subedi, Patricia Casas, Constanza Martínez, Julieanne Vo, and Natasha Brohier. 

The blog project can be found on Twitter and Instagram (handle at both platforms is @scimyfavcolour), and also on Facebook.

The post Dealing with your fear of speaking in public (Science Is My Favourite Colour) appeared first on Research Education and Development.

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