Abstract

Both in academia and outside, public speaking skills are highly valued. Specifically, academic success requires that you express your ideas clearly both in writing and in speaking. In this seminar, we will focus on public speaking, and reflect around some of the important principles that are required for good public speaking. During this seminar, Dr Carolin Crawford will speak about her own journey in public speaking: how she changed from someone who felt physically ill at the prospect of delivering a research paper at a scientific conference, to being confident in her current role as a public astronomer. Now she delivers over 90 talks a year to audiences in excess of 7,000 and is happy to chat about scientific ideas live on BBC Radio 4. She will talk about what made this transition easier for her, and share tips in how to become more confident in public speaking. Then David Carter and Beatrice Balfour will run a workshop on how to best deliver speeches. The aim of this seminar/workshop is to offer the opportunity to students to reflect on, and to practice, how to best present confidently their thoughts and ideas in academic contexts. Everyone welcome!