Medicine, Science and Just Life

All eyes on me! Whether I like it or not!

Two weeks ago, I was giving a communicating science talk myself. It was in a small circle, as part of my studies and in my Communicating Science module. I believe I chose an interesting topic and a research paper that people can relate to and that will spark some thoughts. More about the study and paper in one of my future blogs.

Although I prefer writing to public speaking, in hindsight, I enjoyed the talk a lot. One reason is that I practised my talk well, giving me confidence and security. The nervousness I woke up with faded quickly during the morning. The knowledge that I had about the topic and my medical background made me feel quite calm and confident. I enjoyed reading the paper, and the findings excited me. What I consider the most challenging part of the public talk was the question round afterwards. However, it was exciting to be in the dark about the questions asked. I enjoyed answering the questions and engaging honestly with the audience, which made the exchange interesting. In this part of a public speech, the audience can see whether the speaker really delved into the topics or only scratched the surface. I think the most crucial part of mastering this is to choose a topic you are passionate about or find extremely interesting.

The public speaking training sessions helped me think about how to translate scientific jargon into language that non-specialists could understand and engage with more easily. This is a very difficult but crucial part for building a connection with and getting attention from the non-specialist audience.

Another colleague of mine spoke to us about a possible way to increase visibility (visibility of light) in the dark with some sort of contact lenses. To capture the audience’s interest and make them more curious about the talk, she began her speech with dimmed lights. That made me think that small visual or sensory effects that fit the topic could make the talk more interactive. Spreading the audience’s feeling of engagement with the talk with more than one sense. Something which could be interesting for future talks.