Yesterday I did a talk for the Science in Reading group; a bit last-minute as their planned speaker pulled out on Monday, so there was a panicked tweet sent out asking for any female speakers available on Wednesday. Initially I didn’t think I could because I’d need a babysitter; but I managed to make it work so I agreed to help out.
I had most of the content I needed anyway so it only took a couple of hours to put together a talk, and in the end I think it went really well. I enjoyed it anyway, even though I had to use a microphone for the first time!
Next week is Biology Week and I’m doing my usual Skype sessions with schools via ZSL. I really enjoy these; much like science group talks I never know what questions are coming up, and I like having to think on my feet and trying to answer clearly. It’s a very different skill to talking to an academic, but equally valuable.