Published online 19 September 2007
Postdoc journal
Surviving public speaking
Maria Ocampo-Hafalla
Maria Thelma Ocampo-Hafalla is a research fellow at Cancer Research UK's London Research Institute.
Postdoc confronts stage 'flight-or-fight'.
I stood on the stage, stared at the sea of faces before me, and felt the strong urge to run away, or at least to hide behind the podium. My heart was pounding, my mouth was dry, my breathing was shallow, and I clutched the pointer tightly in my cold, shaking hand. They say that an animal, when threatened, will exhibit the fight-or-flight response. As I poised myself to give my first oral presentation as a postdoc, I was clearly exhibiting all the physical symptoms of acute stress. Fortunately, I had gone to the ladies' room before my talk. I was no longer a composed postdoc who was confident in her data. Alone in the spotlight, looking at the international audience full of leading scientists in my new field, I felt like helpless prey, surrounded by predators.
Public speaking has always been a nerve-racking affair for me. Since my elementary-school spelling competitions, I have had the same deer-in-the-headlights feeling in front of large audiences. I sometimes wonder why I don't just tick the 'poster presentation only' box. But ideas are the currency of the scientific market, and our ability to communicate the importance of our work — to colleagues as well as to the public — is a necessity and a responsibility. And so, yet again, I stand my ground and fight my fear of public speaking. After all, it's a jungle out there and it's important to develop the right skills for survival.
Postdoc Journal Keepers 2007
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Moira SheehanMoira Sheehan is a postdoc in plant breeding and genetics at Cornell University.
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Peter JordanPeter Jordan is a visiting fellow at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases in Bethesda, Maryland.
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Maria Ocampo-HafallaMaria Thelma Ocampo-Hafalla is a research fellow at Cancer Research UK's London Research Institute.
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Chris RowanChris Rowan is a postdoctoral student in the geology department at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa.
