I am giving a talk on my PhD research at Harvard in a few hours. I couldn’t focus on finishing my slides, nor could I go to bed. I ended up having a philosophical discussion about life and research talks with a wise friend in India.
Creating Values for My Talk (Work)
My problem with this talk is that I am so eager to give an impressive talk for this audience since many of them are working in my area and many are well-respected big shots scientists. From my conversation with my friend, it struck me that I have not grasped the true meaning of giving a good talk despite having presented my research over multiple continents in the past few years!
I’ve always focused on the techniques of giving a talk, e.g., how to use more visuals in place of words, how to make it more succinct and have a story line, etc. I do know that I can only convince my audience as much as I believe in the value of my research. But I missed the point that I need to create the value. Obviously I don’t create the data, but I am the one who gives meaning to my research. I missed the point that I need to provide the context for my audience to appreciate the value of my work! For some reason, I always have the thought that I just need to give an introduction of the subject based on existing studies, present my data, and my results and the audience will connect all the dots and see the value of my work. I did not acknowledge that I am the person who needs to create the value for my work and my findings!
It’s such a trvial concept. Yet, I had missed it all these years! Or at least not been able to identify it explicitly until now. After realizing this, I was much more comfortable at finishing my slides (and go to bed)!