As much as I hate public speaking it's clear that it's incredibly important in science.
I think that oral communication is the easiest way to communicate an idea to the largest number of people. This means that presentations are becoming fundamental to the spread of knowledge within scientific communities and to the general public.
TED talks are a really good example of how science is made more consumable by oral presentation; they are an accessible, understandable and interesting ways for scientists to present information to anyone who wants to hear it. Articles and other scientific papers are important but oral presentation is a more effective way to get a point across. Speech allows more control over how the information comes across; the presenter can more easily emphasize the important points and use other techniques to draw attention to the core points rather than leaving it up to the interpretation of the reader.
People learn in different ways but it's common for people to learn better by listening to people. This is why lectures are so important in uni papers. I take in more information from reading and writing notes but I still find lectures helpful. I know I struggle a little bit more in papers that have no oral communication and rely on just reading a textbook.
I'm terrible at public speaking. I considered doing the question about past experiences in public speaking but I realized that it would just be a short list of occasions when I made a complete idiot of myself. Because of this I haven't actually done any public speaking for years; I managed to dodge any assignments involving it throughout most of high school and haven't had to face it at university yet. So while this upcoming assignment makes me nervous I'm somewhat looking forward to seeing if I can do any better than I did in those past experiences. It will be good to know where I'm at because I know how important oral communication is in science and I want it to be a skill that I develop so I can effectively communicate my ideas to an audience. Not having any ability to present information in this way would likely be a major hindrance in my future.
4 comments:
Hi Alicia
You are so right about oral communication being the easiest way to communicate an idea to the largest number of people. I love TED talks, I’ve watched a lot of them mostly pertaining to psychology. They really are exciting when you have a great speaker and you can feel their passion for their topic. You can get engrossed in everything they say.
I doubt you would have made a complete idiot of yourself although I do empathise as I would feel the same way as you. I think doing this assignment would be good for us as, while you have to speak, you don’t actually have people watching you present.
Well that’s what I’m telling myself anyway. I feel slightly better knowing that I’m not standing up in front of a crowd or a board of markers. I’m still that little bit anonymous.
Thanks Marina
Hi Alicia,
I agree with you that TED talks are fantastic examples of oral communication in science that really hits the mark. This paper has taught me how important the skill of oral communication is for scientists to develop, which is somewhat intimidating for me too but I think this assignment will give us a good way to start building those skills.
Cheers,
Michelle
Thanks Alicia, yep TED talks are great, for all topics and subjects of inquiry. I have seen amazing TED talks from NGO organisations to statistics on world inequality, just does not have the same effect reading a book or journal article.
In a really good presentation the speaker seems to bring the data to life and make it really understandable to their audiences so it is accessible and not over anyone's head.
I think you did great with your speaking on the prezi and yep public speaking is scary, but like they say I guess practice makes perfect, although I have only very rarely seen a perfect public speaker as no one is perfect.
I hope you approach any further public speaking or presenting with full confidence and i'm sure you will grow and develop at it over your life (you're only young) as you have every capability.
Thanks for being a great team mate.
Jess
Hi Alicia,
I'm with you. Can't stand public speaking, never have and am in no rush to get better. And I want to be a teacher.... Go figure.
Good on you for going into this assignment with an open mind on speaking. I've only just come to realise the power of forcing yourself to do things outside your comfort zone. You'll be amazed at how much you grow as a person when you immerse yourself in these things. Apparently toastmasters can do great things for your confidence as a speaker :)
TED talks are awesome, sometimes our family will just pick a random one and give it a go. The people are so passionate, that it's hard to not find whatever they're talking about interesting.
I think you're right about the importance oral teaching as well.. It does play a very important part in learning (for most people). Although, I struggle to learn from verbal instruction or written instruction alone. If the two are paired, I'm fine! Probably very needy of me to want a book in front of me as well as someone reading the words too. This is one of the reasons I'm looking forward to internal study in semester 2 this year.
Anyway, bit of a shame to end on a fairly negative blog post.. But it's been a great semester working with you! You're incredibly mature and hard working and have done a huge service for the team. I hope to hear about your success during the rest of your study.
Floyd
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