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Building Engaging Presentations

By Charuni Pathmeswaran

Last month, 19 female PhD researchers from different backgrounds came together for a workshop on building engaging presentations. We all had one thing in common: an interest in inspiring young girls to pursue careers in STEM. It had been a year since I had attended an in-person workshop. Needless to say, just being in a room full of enthusiastic young women was a great experience for me! 

The session was facilitated by Jo O’Reilly, one of Australia’s leading communication and presentation skills trainer. Jo has a Bachelor of Arts/ Bachelor of Social Studies from the University of Sydney and studied for a diploma of Operatic Art at the NSW Conservatorium of Music. The energy she radiated throughout the workshop was contagious to say the least. She was so engaging that it left us wanting more.

Jo encourages us to radiate positive vibes among ourselves. This was just one of many mini exercises we did during the workshop 🙂

The workshop involved a lot of self-reflection. We were asked to reflect on the types of visibility that make us comfortable and those which make us feel uncomfortable. Jo pointed out that visibility is not about you but instead is about what the audience sees. This was a new perspective for me.  

We also discussed about how we felt moments before addressing an audience. The consensus in the room was that we all feel anxious in the moments leading up to giving a talk. Jo pointed out that nerves are a sign that you care and that gives you an extra push to perform better. She also reminded us to be kind to ourselves and to not let the inner critique get in the way of our performance.  

Jo also spoke about preparing for impactful delivery. For maximum impact, there must be congruence between content, physicality, and voice. We also discussed different communication styles and the importance of maintaining meaningful eye contact.

Getting to know each other during the lunch break: We talked about our research, what we like to do for fun, and navigating our PhDs during a pandemic 🙂

To conclude the workshop, we did a storytelling exercise. Each of us was asked to narrate a story and link it to the message we would like to convey to young girls. Jo emphasized the importance of talking about not just what you are doing but also why you are doing it. Some of the messages conveyed included stepping out of one’s comfort zone, being okay with not knowing what you want to do, taking time to find what you love, and not being afraid of change.  It was so inspiring to hear what the other women in the room had to say. It was only fitting to end the workshop leaving us inspired by each other and feeling motivated to inspire a generation of young women. 

Science, sustainability & salsa-dancing: meet Negin Sarmadi

By Allegra Angeloni

Negin Sarmadi is a PhD student at the UNSW Centre for Sustainable Materials Research and Technology (SMaRT@UNSW) specialising in waste management and recovery. Negin is one of the talented Women in Maths and Science Champions and is currently working on innovative environmental solutions to the world’s biggest waste challenges.

Negin completed her undergraduate and Masters degrees in mining engineering at the University of Tehran in her home country Iran. It was here she discovered just how essential waste management is to countless industries. She moved to Australia to commence her PhD at UNSW where she works on Green Steel, a green manufacturing project developed at SMaRT@UNSW. Her project focuses on utilising carbon and hydrogen from waste rubber tires, plastic and coffee grounds as an alternative to coke and coal in steel production.  

Sustainability is certainly topical, as more individuals and industries make a conscious effort to incorporate eco-friendly practices into everyday life. When I asked Negin to explain what exactly draws her to this research, she responded: “We lose a million tonnes of valuable material every year as a result of the weaknesses at mineral processing technologies at mines, so working on mine’s waste recycling and recovery section opened my eyes to the bigger world of waste deposits which was everywhere. If we continue as we have in the past few decades to produce waste with no outlook of recycling, we will face a severe problem in the near future.  

“This is only one side of waste management’s coin; the other side is money. This is one of the most profitable fields that only needs attention and nobility. If you do not care about the earth and the environment, at least you can care about making money. To be honest, both sides are essential to me.” 

Outside her work in waste management, Negin loves to cook. In fact, she is well-known for the delicious homemade cakes she bakes. She describes cooking dinner after a long day at uni as “meditation” and “me-time”. She also enjoys salsa-dancing, which helps her de-stress following a jam-packed day at work. 

I ended the interview asking Negin if she could share some inspiring words of advice for young women interested in pursuing a career in STEM. Her response did not disappoint: “Self-confidence is attractive as hell, and it comes from independence, knowledge, and hard work. No matter what your field is, the only important thing is choosing your area of interest and putting the courage to pursue your goals. Be focused, be determined, and be empowered; there is no limit to what we, as scientist women, can accomplish.”