|
Speak from your heart
Dr Megan Argo
Postdoctoral Fellow at Curtin Institute of Radio Astronomy, Curtin University of Technology, Perth, Australia
For a lot of people, their first experience of explaining their research to a lay audience can be quite daunting. Try to find a friendly audience to practise on if you are nervous, ideally people outside astronomy. Talking to a general audience can be a lot of fun, but go easy on the heavy stuff. I find that a set of picture slides with very little text works best for me, that way I can tailor the talk to the level of the audience without having to rewrite it. I've used the same set of slides in talks with primary school kids and amateur astronomical societies just by varying the level at which I'm talking. (The children usually ask the more interesting questions!) The most important thing is to enjoy it - if you're not having a good time, chances are the audience aren't either.
|
