An Expo Recap: Lessons in communication

By Danniah Daher

On Thursday, February 20, 2019, graduate students of all disciplines gathered in the Great Hall at Tangeman University Center for one special occasion. The annual Graduate Student Expo, a prestigious event consisting of three competitions, gives students the opportunity to share their research and receive constructive feedback. The Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition, perhaps the star of the event, asks graduate students to present and summarize their studies to a large audience in a mere three minutes. The Poster Forum acts as a way students can visually present their research in concise and comprehensible language, and The Creative Arts Gallery allows students to showcase their artistic works.

Organizers say that too often students fall into the trap of assuming everyone understands their subject area, bringing about presentations that miss the mark. The Graduate Student Expo helps them refine their communication skills and perfect the ways in which they convey their graduate work. Adekunle Adebisi, a PhD student in civil engineering who won an award in the Physical Sciences & Engineering category of the Poster Forum, says the competition “was an opportunity to get an in-house critique before having to present it to a larger audience."

"I wanted to know what people think and how they feel I could improve on what I am doing," says Adebisi. "Presentation, especially poster presentation, is more of an art than science. I've always known that to communicate your research to an audience, you need to use 'clear and simple terms'. It doesn't matter how technical the work is, you need to find a way of communicating it in a simple way to the audience.”

Zach Sterner, a biological sciences PhD student whose poster won an award in the Life Sciences and Medicine category of the Poster Forum, realizes the communicative value of the Expo.

“As with any research, we work on such specific and often unknown things, so having a chance to inform someone that does not work in our field about the importance of our research is incredibly exciting,” he says. “The real reward is having people understand the work that I am doing and being able to realize how important it is. Seeing that lightbulb go off in their head gives me joy and solidifies my belief that I chose the right career path."

The Grad Expo also requires public speaking. Most students found that while the public speaking aspect of the Expo was what initially intimidated them the most, they felt better as the competition started rolling.

Anna Hutchinson, who won an award in the Social & Behavioral Sciences category of the Poster Forum, says that improving her public speaking skills was her main reason for entering the Expo. “As my confidence increased during the competition, I had no intention to win, as my goal was to strengthen my presentation skills,” she says.

Kaitlin Hart came in second place in the Three Minute Thesis for her presentation called “Understanding Anti-Mullerian Hormone” — the hormone involved in polycystic ovarian syndrome. “It was incredibly nerve wracking to present in front of so many people," says Hart. "Public speaking makes me so nervous, but watching audience members nod their heads and connect with my words makes the presentation worth it.”