Doctoral candidate Iana Gritcan won the AUT 3MT finals on August 18th. We asked her to share her thoughts as she prepares for the Australasian finals.
When I was asked to write something about my 3MT competition experience, I agreed; but then started struggling about the content. Should I write something about how I prepared for the day? Or should I write about the presentation skills that I have learned? Or maybe about how I feel now, and how I am preparing for the next round?
The problem is that I do not feel I have any expertise or answers to any of those questions; nor do I possess any secret information or tricks to share. Everything I could write seems to be boring and routine, and just a monotonous repetition of something that probably you have already heard hundreds of times. So I decided to write about the people who helped me along the way, and also about one particular video that I found very inspirational in strengthening my public speaking confidence.
The people who helped me are wonderful indeed. Some of them helped me to find the correct word (thanks, Louise) since I am not a native speaker, which you could probably have picked up from my accent. Others gave me a hand in structuring my talk to deliver my message more effectively (thank you, Heather and Stephanie). Staff at the School of Science volunteered to listen my talk and gave their feedback. My supervisors encouraged me to register and lifted me with moral support on the day (thank you, Andrea, Sebastian, and Mark). My partner has learned my presentation and lived through all its metamorphoses every single day (thank you, Sasha). My fellow PhD students in the School of Science were confident in me, probably, even more than I was (thank you, guys). The wonderful team at the Postgraduate Centre did their best to nurture speakers; I did not miss a word of your recommendations and advice (thank you, Jennie, Annalise, and special thanks to Maggie). To those of you who I met on the day who sincerely wished me luck and congratulated me after my win: thank you all. After writing such a huge thank-you paragraph, I realise that you all made this. I was just speaking from my heart to yours.
Finally, here is the video that I watched on the night before the competition. It revealed to me a surprising secret about public speaking.
Thank you so much Iana for sharing your thoughts and the video with us. The items in the 3 drawers certainly provide useful tips for public speaking.
Speaking on behalf of AUT, we wish you well for your journey across the Tasman and the competition finals.