Communication is imperative to being able to share scientific and biological ideas. A great way to do this is through oral communication. Throughout my time at Longwood, I have been given countless opportunities to demonstrate my speaking capabilities in and out of the classroom. It was nerve racking at first to stand in front of my peers. I was not able to convey my thoughts clearly and effectively even though I thought I had prepared well. I could feel myself not being confident. It is one of the worst feelings too. I decided to take public speaking where I learned how to remain calm. While this wasn’t a biology course, I strengthened the skills I learned there with every new biology presentation.
The best lesson I was ever taught was to be so comfortable with the information that you present that you can joke about it. I feel more comfortable and effortless when speaking if I have done enough to prepare for it. Practicing also helps a lot, so I am thankful that I have had so many opportunities to present. When we had a virtual Research and Inquiry day, I was able to record a presentation to post. I have a copy of it here. It was much different than I was used to but surprisingly really fun to put together. I like incorporating technology into presentations, and now I have a whole new way of doing just that.
A second example of my ability to communicate was through one of my biology 488 classes. We most recently completed a presentation where we had to teach the class about cells and cell signaling. My group member and I had to come up with a way to keep our classmates interested over a 25 minute presentation. We worked together super well and our class enjoyed the presentation. Here is a copy of the slides.
Talking to people is one of my favorite things to do, and when I remember that I like to communicate it makes presentations much easier. Sometimes you just have to get out of your own head to excel!