Archaeology master’s student, Yuxin Cao: Introvert on Stage—How I Survived (and Loved) the 3MT

The night before my 3MT faculty heat, I dreamed that I messed up my script and came last. Was it a bad sign? I was so nervous when I arrived at the competition that my legs were shaking! 

I forgot that I already had wisdom about dreams that I should have remembered from my Chinese folklore: dreams are the opposite of reality. That understanding happened to be true. I won the faculty heat and didn’t let my ancestors down after all. 

I believe my nervousness (like many others’) comes from a combination of not having previous public speaking experience as well as being an introvert. I thought, “I don’t talk a lot in real life; how can I talk well on a stage, in front of an audience?”. 

I learned there is one thing that matters more than public speaking skills or extroversion: using my genuine passion for my research project to make a great story. I want people to find my research as interesting as I do. 

I used the following tips to help calm my nerves:

• “Talking to strangers” sounded scary. I thought about “talking about my work” instead. (I found people love hearing about my work.) I told myself to forget about the faces and judgements and immerse myself in the words instead.

• Repeated practice was essential to memorize my script. I found it particularly helpful practicing my script, over and over again, alone in the woods of the Burnaby Mountain. The fresh air kept me energetic, and the quietness helped me focus.

• I asked my supervisors and peers to act as the audience. I asked them to tell me if my script was too jargony or too boring, or if I’m being articulate and engaging. They acted as mirrors that reflected both the fallacies and merits that I couldn’t see myself.
  

Finally, 3MT is for everyone, whether or not you have experience with public speaking. After participating, I'm no longer scared of public speaking. With a shifted mindset, a lot of practice, and support from peers, any graduate student can particpate.

This is something that I once thought I could not do, but have the confidence to do so now.