Why you should do a three minute thesis presentation

I was amazed when I found out that of ANU's Fenner School of Environment and Society's 120 PhD students, I was the only Fenner entrant in the recent ANU three minute thesis (3MT) competition. There I was in a sea of physicists talking about nuclear fusion. And even I was only there by default as the Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC had asked me to present in 3MT format for the annual conference in Adelaide. I figured if I was going to the trouble of preparing a 3MT talk it would be silly not to enter the comp as well. 

I’ll tell you all about what it was like to participate and what I got out of it in a bid to drum up more numbers for the competetion next year. Believe me it is a fantastic experience and potentially opens up unexpected opportunities.

What I got out of it

The 3MT was time consuming, but I’ve come out of it feeling it was definitely worth it.

Having to give presentations at university has been a challenge, requiring investments of time and courage. I don’t like being the focus of attention. At school I never had to give a talk infront of the class (the most we had to do was read a passage from a book from the safety of our desks). Before the 3MT I’d never stepped out from behind the podium and had never been without a script at hand in case I needed a quick glance (I have yet to master the unscripted speech). Seriously, if I can do a 3MT, anyone can. 

Everyone has a presentation glitch or two to iron out. For myself, I feel I’ve increased my ability and confidence to give an engaging presentation relying not only on a good script but also using movement and gestures. 3MT has given me the knowledge that if I need to, I can get up and perform to a crowd of around 1000 people.

Other gains and unexpected opportunities

If you’re a mercenary, there’s a lot of loot for the winners! And also lesser amounts for other participants. Another bonus is that it looks good on your CV if you get into your university finals. But these were not a personal motivation – just a little unexpected bonus along the way. 

For me (apart from not wanting to make a fool of myself at the CRC conference), another motivation was to give more exposure to my research. There was also the sense of promoting Fenner School (at the College rounds) and the ANU (Open Day and the Finals).

Some people are offered unexpected opportunities even if they don’t win. I remember being told about someone in a previous competition who didn’t win but her uploaded speech on the internet led to a job offer from a well-known firm in her field. One of the other finalists in my group was asked if he would agree to do a documentary film of his work. Even I was surprised by a semi-serious offer to do voiceovers for promos. Who knows, enter the 3MT next year and a whole new career could open up!

What was it like?  A step-by-step guide to the 3MT

Step 1: Go to the next workshop on science communication. I did this a few years ago and it helps you distil your ‘message’ and make it resonate with the general public. It also helps you to identify technical terms you didn’t realise were technical (I was stunned that no-one in my course knew what a levee was) and write a script. It also gives you invaluable presentation feedback. 

As you are going about your daily research, always pay half attention to the little details or possible analogies that might ‘hook’ an audience. 

Because of this I needed very little help with my script, which I knocked up in an afternoon (approximately 350-400 words, i.e., about the length of an abstract). But make sure that you also tick all the ‘content’ boxes that the judges will be looking for – your 3MT judging criteria will be available online).

Step 2: Attend every 3MT training session on offer. Each gives you a different perspective.  

Step 3: Get feedback on your script from multiple people before you memorise it. It is very hard to make changes once the words are hardwired into your brain. Annihilate every superfluous word. Diction is really important and practise emphasis on different words and syllables till it sounds really clear. This is kind of like Hermione Granger in Harry Potter, when she corrects Ron’s emphasis from "Lev’i’o’SA” to “Lev’i’O’sa” to make the magic spell work.  

Step 4: Memorise. This takes a while. Type the speech single-sided into 22 point callibri script, large enough to see at the briefest glance. Underline or bold the words you want to emphasise. This is good initially but you can become glance dependant, so ween yourself off it once you get to a certain fluency.  

To polish, say it into a recorder at the right speed and within the right timeframe, upload it onto an ipod (make sure the length is under 3 minutes – aim for 2.45 and don’t compromise clarity for speed trying to fit in extra words). Then listen to it over and over again while you are doing mundane activities like washing up, gardening, driving. Eventually you’ll be able to say it with the tape at the same time.

Step 5: Choreograph in minute detail: gestures, directions you look, places you walk. If it’s well choreographed the actions will support your words and make everything easier for the audience to understand. Surprisingly, I also found that when I inserted actions it actually helped me to remember the words. Get feedback on the choreography – especially if you know someone into dance.

Step 6: The single slide. It was noticeable how some people started out with really complex slides with lots of elements on them and how the images became simpler and simpler as they progressed through the competition. The best images are slightly ambiguous and become clear as the talk progresses. Many are high impact but it’s not always the case. As my 3MT was a policy talk, one of the best pieces of advice I was given was to ditch my ‘oak and reed’ slide (my analogy – which made some people assume I was going to talk about botany = confusion) and focus on the reason for doing my research (I ended up using a satellite image of Hurricane Katrina, which seemed to suit the climate change [policy] and flood themes).  

Step 7: The performance. Learn tricks on keeping the adrenalin under control, how to breathe for the best voice (and - not kidding – even what not to eat for the best voice). Don’t be surprised if the adrenalin makes you forget your lines as it did for me during a practice training session I went to. I was sure I knew my lines better than that! The more times you get some real life practice infront of an audience, the better you’ll perform when it matters. 

If you’re asked to perform at your University Open Day, grab the opportunity (though be warned – it was hard not to feel the judging was a bit based on how many friends and supporters people brought along. If this matters to you – bring some).  Otherwise just use it for experience and as a good deed to represent your university to potential students).

Step 8: If you make it through to the university finals…professional coaching! At this point we were representing the university, so no expense was spared. They hired a professional coach who (I was told) had coached Barak Obama and Kevin Rudd and all sorts of people. Members of the coaching team gave you written feedback on your presentation after the first practice session (I unfortunately missed that as I was at the CRC conference). For people who wanted, there was also assistance to workshop their script.Sometimes feedback from different members was contradictory, so you had to be open to suggestions but use your own judgement. 

These practice sessions were really worthwhile. Practising on stage at ANU's Llewellyn Hall, getting used to the space and equipment, all the other competitors being so supportive as well as the coaching team. Learning how to use the stage space, without letting the acoustics put you off, nor the lights shining right in your eyes. Learning to direct your gaze high to the level of the little green men in the exit signs. People following you about with cameras as you go on and off stage, as you prepare and mutter your lines. And each practice feeling like an achievement with plenty of ego boosts along the way. It was fantastic training and desensitisation. And then on the night we all performed better than we ever had before infront of a crowd of around 1000 people. We all felt like winners.

Step 9: the national finals and beyond. Sorry, I can’t tell you about this – but I think there’s one-on-one coaching when you get to that point!