Explaining your research at the Pub

Just a few weeks after moving in to Manchester, a very interesting event popped up in my Facebook news feed. As they describe it in their website http://www.pubhdmanchester.org.uk/ PubhD is basically a bunch of people from different backgrounds in science, humanities, engineering, and other branches of knowledge at PhD level that gather in a pub. Then 3 of them who have previously volunteer to be the speakers have 10 minutes each to give a very informal but academically strict talk about their research and 20 minutes to answer any questions that the audience may have about it.

The speakers are supposed to be armed with nothing more than a whiteboard and coloured markers but handouts can be used to better illustrate their points. The events are held in a monthly basis, the admission is free and all they ask from you is to spare some change to buy the speakers a drink.

Since the first time I attended the event as a listener, I realise how useful this experience can be as a speaker, giving you the opportunity to improve your ability to effectively communicate your research. This is the perfect environment to test your knowledge in your own research project and explain it to a room full of strangers with a very different expertise from yours. So you have to develop or improve your communication skills to be able to effectively transmit your message in a language that anybody can understand with limited resources and time. This can also be a very good chance to practice a conference talk, poster presentation, group meeting talks, VIVAS and so, helping you to organize your ideas and get some feedback from the questions and comments from the audience.

After attending a few events as part of the audience, I decided to volunteer as a speaker and choose the date closest to my first year VIVA. During my talk I was feeling confident and relaxed due to the friendly environment (a pint of beer in your hand helps to counteract nervousness), but a little bit of excitement and a rush of adrenaline were present as well. The best part was to see how carefully everybody was listening to what I was saying and the very thoughtful questions people made even when quantum physics is not a common knowledge topic. This experience also really helped me toclarify my ideas during the writing of my first year report and gave me confidence to present my first year VIVA.If you would like to attend as part of the audience or give it a go as a speaker, visit their Facebook and Twitter pages for info about next dates and venues or drop them an email. The events are aimed for students and staff from UoM, MMU, Salford University or any Higher education institution in Greater Manchester.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/PubhD.Manchester/?fref=ts @PubhDManchester

pubhdmanchester@gmail.com.