Solo Session: Engage Wider Audiences with your PhD

Hello students and graduates. Welcome to PhD Lunch, the podcast of late night talks in which PhDs have a drink and talk about their research topics. You're deep in your PhD with your latest research findings. You update your supervisors about your progress and they become impressed. They also advise you to participate at academic conferences and research seminars to present your research. These fantastic and classic opportunities are the starting point to develop your knowledge, public speaking skills, and networking. However, let me ask you this. Have you considered sharing your research with lay audiences? Perhaps you've considered that, but you hesitate and think that no one will ever hear your research because they're not specialists. Although most people would think so, it's not an impossible task since you could refine your thoughts into opportunities that open unexpected doors when you share your research toward wider audiences. The key is to forget the jargon and master plain and simple language, storytelling and strong hooks. While presenting at conferences and seminars are great occasions to develop your public speaking skills, there are other pathways to engage other audiences. That being said, let me show you free engaging avenues plus a bonus one that might surprise you. First, oral competitions. These are brilliant training grounds where you must practice but also be creative and timely to make your research accessible and memorable for anyone. They are usually short to medium length formats. Competitions like the three minute thesis or elk Ridge National Laboratory Your Science in a Nutshell are popular competitions where you share your research in under 3 minutes. There are other ones where your creativity, performance and taste takeover communication including dance your thesis or bake your thesis. Second, postgraduate research festivals. Most universities host these annually and there are various ways to showcase your research through posters, short talks or keynotes towards a mixed audience of peers, staff and the public. These are also great opportunities to network with like minded people that align with your research interests and beyond. Furthermore, you might even discover bigger festivals to aim for later, such as the World Science Festival or Histfest. Third, in formal forums or cafes. These are more relaxed and casual events led by PhD societies that host them at pubs or cafes, and it's an engaging way of meeting other people, building your confidence and developing communication skills. You'll get the opportunity to present insights of your research under a time limited period, followed by Q&A's from other PhD candidates with pints in their hands at Swansea University. For example, I presented my thesis at the event Talking Research, sharing my findings and challenges of my dissertation in 10 minutes. Now for the bonus stand up comedy. That's right, you can participate in stand ups and share your research by mixing it with humor and satire. It's an alternative yet bold to engage your thesis towards lay audiences, where a strong reading of the room, your personality and human connection are a must to boost your confidence and communication. So let's review. Your research is valuable to diverse audiences and must be shared beyond the academic walls. The opportunities I mentioned here are great to clarify your research arguments and network with people. They require practice and time to develop plain and simple language, storytelling and strong hooks to make your voice heard. So why not take the next step and discover the rewarding parts of your doctoral journey? Thank you all for tuning in, it has been a pleasure.