{"id":296,"date":"2018-03-13T07:08:49","date_gmt":"2018-03-13T07:08:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/people.utm.my\/nurazaliah\/?p=296"},"modified":"2018-03-13T07:13:25","modified_gmt":"2018-03-13T07:13:25","slug":"296","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/nurazaliah\/2018\/03\/13\/296\/","title":{"rendered":"Tips on 3MT-3 Minutes Thesis"},"content":{"rendered":"

Some experience sharing on 3MT. From my own experience entering 3MT Competition at the university level in 2016 as well as others sharing from the internet.\u00a0 Hope it will be useful for everyone<\/em><\/p>\n

Before the day:<\/h1>\n

SCRIPT<\/h1>\n

1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Have a killer story<\/h2>\n

This is probably THE most important thing you can possibly do. Everyone loves a good story, so ensure your presentation has one, include a beginning, middle and end. Ensure your last sentence focuses on the take home message. This not only makes it easy for the audience to follow, but a good story is also memorable.<\/p>\n

How to do? Write your own story\/3mt script yourself. Separate by section beginning\/middle\/end and write sentences separately with numbering list.\u00a0 Make sure your script fit on 1 sheet of papers. I find it easy to manage rather than you have a call card etc.\u00a0 But after all it depends on you.<\/p>\n

Why: Easy to memorise\/recall the number and what topics\/sentences. Easy to plan your body language\/expression\/movement on stage\/easy to track your timing.<\/p>\n

During practise-I put time remark when I arrive at certain sentences. So, when minutes 2:55 seconds arrive I already at my last sentence and said my last word at minutes 2:59.<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Create analogy that is relatable to the audience<\/h2>\n

A good analogy<\/strong> helps. Your research will likely span several complex research areas. The real key to this is explaining them in a relatable way. make sure your analogy is something that everyone will be able to identify with, otherwise it\u2019ll just end up complicating the matter further. Keep it simple<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Check out other people\u2019s stories<\/h2>\n

One of the most useful things I find, is looking at what other people have done before me. For the 3MT competition especially, it\u2019s unlikely you\u2019ve ever done anything like this before. Looking at how other people tackled the problem can be very helpful.<\/p>\n

4.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Tailor your talk to your audience (\u201can intelligent but non-specialised audience\u201d)<\/h2>\n

Don\u2019t introduce yourself, don\u2019t acknowledge your lab members or funding bodies and don\u2019t show data!\u00a0 Your audience for this presentation wants to know the bigger picture. Explain what you\u2019re doing, but leave out the detail.\u00a0 (More like telling your abstract but without technical information).<\/strong><\/p>\n

5.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Start your talk by introducing why this topic would be of interest to audience<\/h2>\n

make it relevant to your audience, so that they will be bothered to listen in the first place.<\/p>\n

SLIDES<\/h1>\n

6.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Carefully think about what you should include on your PowerPoint slide.<\/h2>\n

Only include things that are relevant and ensure that any images you use are of good quality (don\u2019t use images with watermarks \u2013 they are copyright protected). Don\u2019t overcrowd your slide as this looks unprofessional and confusing, and avoid distractions like flashing lights or super brightly coloured backgrounds. \u00a0Follow design guideline, colour scheme, focal point, etc.<\/strong><\/p>\n

BODY LANGUAGE\/APPEARANCE<\/h1>\n

7.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 physical appearance does matter<\/h2>\n

but only so far as to ensure that you don\u2019t wear anything distracting, otherwise people will focus on that instead of your talk.\u00a0 Choose your best and suitable outfit<\/strong>. Don\u2019t overdo it and yet don\u2019t look pale and boring.\u00a0 Stand by- ladies bring blazer<\/strong> because you might need to put in the head mic controller\/battery in the pocket of your blazer. If not, you have to hold it, so it will limit your movement later.<\/p>\n

8.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Body language is important.<\/h2>\n

Plan your movement and facial expression according to your script<\/strong>. Be aware of the perimeter set by the organiser. Normally they marked where you should stand and limit you can move.\u00a0 Keep in mind if your hands are flailing around, as this can distract your audience. Don\u2019t stand behind the safety of your lectern staring into the computer, praying for the three minutes to pass! Get out and about, engage with your audience, look each of them in the eye (but don\u2019t stare at just one person the whole talk \u2013 this is a pet hate of mine!). And smile! –That is why you need to rehearse in front of the mirror.\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

9.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Speak in an engaging manner.<\/h2>\n

If you don\u2019t sound like you\u2019re interested in the topic, why would we be? Most people aren\u2019t very confident when they do public speaking, but you need to get over yourself and fake it until you make it! It\u2019s only 3 minutes of your life!<\/strong><\/p>\n

10.\u00a0 Include Humour<\/h2>\n

Humour can go down well in a presentation, and it can help make your story more memorable. However, be prepared for all outcomes. If your joke goes well allow a few seconds before continuing to let the laughter sink in. Equally be prepared for the audience to find things funny that you didn\u2019t expect. And if your joke unfortunately does fall flat, have a back-up plan or brush past it onto the next part of your presentation. Even humour also you need to practise, but don\u2019t too fake.<\/p>\n

11.\u00a0 Practice, practice, practice<\/h2>\n

Practice by yourself, in front\u00a0of the mirror<\/strong> as well as of other people<\/strong>, and especially people who do not know what your research is about. Practise in front of mirror to know how does your facial expression and movement looks like in front of people.\u00a0 Test few expressions<\/strong> until you find the one that suits well and appropriate for the audience.\u00a0 Rehearse the pronunciation<\/strong> of your speech too. Practise on timing setting too<\/strong> to make sure you cover everything in 3 minutes.\u00a0 Pick a practice partner, you can give each other advice. Multiple people in your research group entering? Great, dedicate a group meeting to presentation feedback. For this, you can never practice enough.\u00a0 Also record you practise video or audio<\/strong>. So, you can recheck and analyse yourself what should you do to improve the presentation.<\/p>\n

On the day:<\/h1>\n

12.\u00a0 Find your happy place (soul solitude)<\/h2>\n

Before your big moment, do something that relaxes you<\/strong>. Don\u2019t go in stressed. Go for a run, eat lots of chocolate, just do something you enjoy.\u00a0 Come early and get familiar with the environment\/ competition event. If possible have on quick test on set or you can just visualize how you will perform later. \u00a0\u00a0Be familiar with the equipment, especially if they are using collar mic.\u00a0 So, make sure you are ready and standby with your own items\/gadgets to make you feel comfortable<\/p>\n

13.\u00a0 Smile, be happy and sincere<\/h2>\n

A smile<\/strong> goes a long way, the audience will immediately click with you, and it will help you yourself feel more confident. Show enthusiasm for your research topic, the audience will feed off it and enjoy the whole experience a lot more.\u00a0 Even if the judges show their serious face, don\u2019t bother and just smile<\/strong>. Find other nice, concern faces for some eye contacts<\/strong>.\u00a0 Eye contacts should be too long. \u00a0Just a quick one throughout the area and repeat it again.<\/p>\n

14.\u00a0 Don\u2019t run over time, but don\u2019t rush!!<\/h2>\n

The three-minute time limit is very strict. Do not go over, even by a second<\/strong>. However, that doesn\u2019t mean you should talk at a million miles an hour to get every tiny possible detail of your research project in. The audience just won\u2019t follow. Instead, have a good story and tell it in good time. Plan some buffer time<\/strong> into your presentation, so that if you do stumble you know there are a few seconds of leeway.\u00a0 Remember you have practice and timing the presentation, so you know you already in safe hand.<\/p>\n

15.\u00a0 Never give up<\/h2>\n

There can only be one winner, and if it wasn\u2019t you this time, that doesn\u2019t mean your presentation wasn\u2019t awesome. Heck, just having the guts to stand up there and try it is something on its own. If it wasn\u2019t your day then don\u2019t worry, there will always be other opportunities. The only way to improve presentation skills is to do more presentations.\u00a0 Your confidence and experience you gain from 3MT will be very useful in a future presentation.<\/strong><\/p>\n

16.\u00a0 But most importantly: Have fun!<\/h2>\n

Sure, the 3MT can be both stressful and nerve-wracking, but it is also a lot of fun! It is a great way to meet other researchers across the Uni, see what they\u2019re up to, and share your own research. Enjoy the experience as much as possible and take every opportunity it throws your way<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Some experience sharing on 3MT. From my own experience entering 3MT Competition at the university level in 2016 as well as others sharing from the internet.\u00a0 Hope it will be useful for everyone Before the day: SCRIPT 1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Have a killer story This is probably THE most important thing you can possibly do. Everyone loves […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6541,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[12],"class_list":["post-296","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-howto","tag-3mt"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/nurazaliah\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/nurazaliah\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/nurazaliah\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/nurazaliah\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6541"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/nurazaliah\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=296"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/nurazaliah\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/nurazaliah\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=296"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/nurazaliah\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=296"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/nurazaliah\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=296"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}