1. Preparing your 3MT® Presentation Or, how to make BIG ideas clear, accessible, and engaging Ada Sharpe January 2013

2. Basic info on the 3MT® at Laurier https://www.wlu.ca/page.php?grp_id=36&p= 22924 O Introductory overview of the competition provided in the document “Getting Ready for the 3MT”

3. Objectives of this workshop O Provide an overview O Examine the criteria O Suggest 5 steps to help get you started O Study the 7 rhetorical moves of a winning 3MT® O Look at specific examples O Connect you to resources

4. Your challenge... 1. To present complex research material in an engaging, compelling way and in a very short period of time 2. To articulate the significance of your research to a broad and non-specialist audience 3. To stimulate your listeners’ interest with your oratory energy and skill

5. 3MT® Rules One single static PowerPoint slide is permitted (no transitions, animations or movement of any kind) No additional electronic media or props of any kind shall be used (i.e. no sound and video files, no costumes or music) Presentations shall be no longer than 3 minutes and competitors exceeding this limit will be disqualified Decisions of the adjudicating panel are final

6. What does a winning 3MT® presentation look like?

7. Judging Criteria O A panel of five judges, drawn from across the Laurier community, will evaluate the 3MT® orations according to a rubric of criteria O Each category of evaluation is weighted equally O As the presenter, you need to give each category equal consideration

8. Comprehension means... O A clear explanation of the research project O Stating the method and objectives of the research and addressing the evidence O Clearly articulating the significance of the research in accessible terms O Organizing your ideas

9. Engagement means... O Stimulating audience interest in the research O Presenting the research as significant and purposeful and not trivializing or ‘dumbing down’ content O Demonstrating enthusiasm O Capturing and engaging audience attention throughout

10. Communication means... O Explaining the research in jargon-free language appropriate to a non-specialist audience O Defining key terms and providing background information O Speaking at an even pace and giving yourself sufficient time O Speaking audibly and clearly, and appearing comfortable and confident

11. Preparing yourself 1. Look at examples of your own writing in which you have developed and expressed the main ideas of your research O Dissertation/thesis proposals, chapter drafts, abstracts, scholarship applications, term papers, brainstorming notes

12. Take your writing apart 2. Distill the main problems, issues, and questions addressed by the research O Highlight and underline key words O Cut out everything but the most central ideas and evidence O Ask yourself, why is what I’m saying significant?

13. Look at the broader picture 3. Step back and observe the broader scholarly conversation on this topic 4. Consider what you are saying in response to this conversation and how your ideas depart from or revise existing research O Review the most recent contributions to the field O They say/I say O How does your research fit in with what is out there?

14. Why does this matter? 5. Reflect on the significance of your intervention O Push every idea by forcing yourself to complete the phrase, “and this is significant because...”

15. The Structure of a 3MT® Presentation 7 Rhetorical Moves

16. 1. Hook O Invite your audience into your topic O Offer a point of entry: a common experience, perception or assumption, a familiar problem, a personal anecdote or human interest story O Begin with an image or a metaphor for people to latch on to Many people are familiar with... The person on my slide is... I used to think that....Imagine you are standing... When I was a child,...We have all experienced...

17. 2. Context O What is the broader conversation? O Set out what scholars have said about this topic O What do we already know, understand, assume? O What are current solutions or approaches to this problem? Scholars understand that... Much current research focuses on the idea that... Research into [this] has laid the groundwork for my thesis that... Groundbreaking contributions have revealed that... We know that...We have tended to assume that...

18. 3. Inspiration O Your contribution: respond to existing ideas and research O State the problem, gap, or oversight that needs to be addressed O Clarify what you seek to understand through your research and how this addresses the problem, gap, or oversight I take the approach that... This has led me to ask... But what about... ? How do we address the remaining problem that...? Still, I was left to wonder...

19. 4. Originality O Explain the original contribution you are making to address the problem or question O Contrast existing methods with your innovative approach O Highlight what is different and innovative about your approach While many scholars have focused on [this], I examine... I suggest that we adopt another perspective... My research has revealed evidence otherwise But current research overlooks the fact that...

20. 5. Process/Method O Elucidate how you will go about implementing your original approach O Point to your evidence O Name the actual and theoretical tools you will use to interpret this evidence O Summarize what you hope to learn or have learned from the process I begin by... I do this by... Comparing [this] and [this] lets me see... I apply...I use...

21. 6. Complication O Address the challenges you have faced in your research O Have you faced a major obstacle? O Consider opposing points of view and biases: what are other ways of approaching this problem? We still, however, need to think about... The problem […] remains unanswered... Some might argue at this point that... But what about...? This has posed a challenge in that...

22. 7. Application O At the broadest level, what does your research help us understand? O What will change in light of the original knowledge you are forging? My research lays the basis for... My research complicates the common belief that... My research offers solutions to... My research has application not only in [this] but in the related areas of... My research overturns age-old ideas about... My research demands that we see this from another perspective...

23. Winning Examples Spot the rhetorical moves

24. Expressing yourself O What strengths do these presentations share? O Jargon-free language O Speaking clearly O Getting to the point O Being expressive and creative O Neither over-stating or under- stating the case O Emphasizing the problem and the need for a solution

25. Writing Support From February 4 to March 6, 2013: Benefit from a one-on-one tutoring session with an experienced writing tutor at Laurier’s Writing Centre to hone your writing and oral presentation skills To book an appointment: sign up at the January workshops or call or visit the Writing Centre