\u00bbNow, you might all have nightmares tonight.\u00ab This is how Eline Palm Meldgaard started her presentation in this year\u2019s PhD Cup, a competition in research dissemination for PhD students which was broadcast on national Danish TV in April.<\/p>\n
And it may well be that she was the cause of a nightmare or two. The parasitologist\u2019s PhD project is about how parasites, cunning worms that can be up to 40 centimetres long, can make the immune system in humans and pigs believe that they are not present in the body at all. In the meantime, they gorge themselves in the food that seeps down through the intestines.<\/p>\n
\u00bbI tried to set the stage and arouse interest from the start,\u00ab says Eline Palm Meldgaard. \u00bbIt’s good to put out a surprising teaser, which you can then return to.\u00ab<\/p>\n
At the same time, the opening line set up an atmosphere, a bit like what flashlights and campfires do on camping trips: What you are about to hear is a horror story.<\/p>\n
However, it was a thriller with an uplifting ending. Eline Palm Meldgaard explained in the end how her PhD project helped to fight the parasites and helped the animals and humans that are plagued by them.<\/p>\n
As one of the panel of referees, the Minister for Higher Education and Science Tommy Ahlers, said: \u00bbSure, the parasites fool the immune system, but you also fool the parasites!\u00ab<\/p>\n
\u00bbIt’s good to have a bit of relief at the end. As in ‘don’t worry, we\u2019ll take care of it ‘. I had actually considered saying that now you can sleep tight after all,\u00ab says Eline Palm Meldgaard.<\/p>\n
One thing is to capture the audience with a zinger of an opening line. It is something else to convince them that they should not doze off when the science turns up. This requires a response to the million dollar question: What does it matter to me?<\/p>\n
\u00bbYou have to start by marking out the field and explaining why the audience should listen to this. In my case, it is because it is a huge problem,\u00ab says Eline Palm Meldgaard.<\/p>\n
If the audience had any doubts that she was right, the parasitologist played her trump card in the middle of the presentation: \u00bbMore than one billion people are thought to be infected worldwide.\u00ab<\/p>\n
The sentence was also an example of a rhetorical intervention: When Eline Palm Meldgaard reached the one billion number, she slowed down and looked into the eyes of the front members of the audience.<\/p>\n
\u00bbAs they now had to understand that this also involved them. I think that precisely this was something that they should take home,\u00ab she says.<\/p>\n
Throughout the presentation, Meldgaard varied the tempo of her speaking. The central points were delivered with a clear, patient voice, but at other times she rammed up the pace, like when she mentioned the ultracentrifuge that she used in the laboratory:<\/p>\n
“The centrifuge runs very fast (30,000 revs a minute, ed.), so I started to talk fast. This is also a way that you can link it together,\u00ab says Eline Palm Meldgaard.<\/p>\n
When the material gets more complicated, she made sure she had plenty of time. And when she got to the word MicroRNA \u2013 the molecules that parasites apparently use to limit the host’s immune response \u2013 she almost chewed on the syllables as much she could, \u00bbwithout it sounding stupid.\u00ab<\/p>\n
\n
The newspaper Information<\/em> focuses on new research in its annual PhD Cup and selects the PhD student who is best at communicating his or her research. Five finalists have three minutes to communicate their research<\/strong> on the stage of the DR Concert Hall in the final show which was broadcast on DR2 TV channel on 26 April.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\u00bbDuring the process, I became aware of the difficult words I use. It’s good to say them out loud to non-specialists to see if there are any of them that only you understand.\u00ab<\/p>\n
The actor Nastja Arcel coached the PhD Cup finalists before they went on stage, and Eline Palm Meldgaard found out that it was only a few people who had encountered the concept of \u2018parasitism\u2019. First Arcel got her to pronounce the word \u2013 slooowly and with all the syllables still there. But in the end, she dropped it completely.<\/p>\n
\u00bbI still think it’s okay to use difficult words, however. You just need to pronounce them clearly, and you should not just fling them out there like you normally do.\u00ab<\/p>\n
6. Link up to the stuff that is familiar<\/h2>\n
\u00bbPeople in general should be able to relate to what I say,\u00ab says Eline Palm Meldgaard.<\/p>\n
Take the ultracentrifuge for example: It is a machine that is only in highly specialised laboratories and it separates particles that are not visible to the naked eye. How do you get people to relate to it? You can play on what is already familiar:<\/p>\n
\u00bbPeople have got no idea what a ultracentrifuge is. But if you say that it is a bit like a washing machine, but much, much, quicker, then they can understand. So I said it.\u00ab<\/p>\n
7. Practise with no inhibitions<\/h2>\n
When Eline Palm Meldgaard showed up in the studio on the day of the final, she really had the jitters. But her nerves calmed down as she moved around the stage and practised.<\/p>\n
\u00bbYou just have to pretend it is the real presentation. This makes you feel more confident afterwards, because you know it works. If someone is listening, you can also feel whether your jokes work, or whether they just sit there staring,\u00ab she says.<\/p>\n
8. Size up your audience…<\/h2>\n
When you then actually do the presentation, it is important that you don\u2019t just reel it off, says Eline Palm Meldgaard. You need to focus on, and be in contact with, the audience, so they don’t drift off.<\/p>\n
\u00bbIt’s hard to change what you’ve planned to say, but you can perhaps adjust the way you say it. I also think it’s okay to ask the audience whether they are with you, or whether you need to repeat a point,\u00ab says Eline Palm Meldgaard.<\/p>\n
\u00bbIt is important that people understand me, because it is not for my own sake that I am standing there. Fortunately, my grandmum said that she understood everything.\u00ab<\/p>\n
9 … But don’t underestimate them<\/h2>\n
Eline Palm Meldgaard ended up not using the word parasitism, but she kept ‘MicroRNA’, even though the number of audience members who had heard this word before could probably be counted on one hand \u2013 or perhaps just one finger.<\/p>\n
This is crucial in research communication: You do have to express yourself so most people can understand it, but you must also challenge your audience.<\/p>\n
\u00bbInsist that they can understand your central ideas. It is not a show for kids, but for adults, and you should not talk down to them. They are not stupid,\u00ab she says.<\/p>\n
“It is also important to keep the scientific part of the presentation and make sure that you do not just tell a story. It\u2019s about finding the right balance.\u00ab<\/p>\n
10. Be yourself \u2013 and don’t hide your enthusiasm<\/h2>\n
Both the coach and the referees commented on the enthusiasm of Eline Palm Meldgaard for her topic:<\/p>\n
\u00bbIt might be absurd that I find it fun to mess around in the guts of pigs, but many people have told me that they liked my enthusiasm. I never thought there would be a risk that people would not take me seriously. And I don’t really care. That is their business,\u00ab she says.
\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Eline Palm Meldgaard from the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences won the PhD Cup 2019 for her project on parasites. To inspire other researchers and students, she explains here what it was that worked for her in the communication competition.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67,"featured_media":86700,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-90415","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-science","expression-feature_article"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Research communication tips from a winner<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Eline Palm Meldgaard from the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences won the PhD Cup 2019 for her project on parasites. To inspire other researchers and students, she explains here what it was that worked for her in the communication competition.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/research-communication-tips-from-a-winner\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Research communication tips from a winner\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Eline Palm Meldgaard from the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences won the PhD Cup 2019 for her project on parasites. To inspire other researchers and students, she explains here what it was that worked for her in the communication competition.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/research-communication-tips-from-a-winner\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"University Post\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uniavis\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-08-05T05:34:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-08-05T07:45:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/elinepalm1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1855\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1015\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Rasmus Friis\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Uniavisen\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Uniavisen\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Rasmus Friis\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/research-communication-tips-from-a-winner\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/research-communication-tips-from-a-winner\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Rasmus Friis\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e02d6b9868f21687575cf05cd4f8d010\"},\"headline\":\"Research communication tips from a winner\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-08-05T05:34:41+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-08-05T07:45:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/research-communication-tips-from-a-winner\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1299,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/research-communication-tips-from-a-winner\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/05\\\/elinepalm1.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Science\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/research-communication-tips-from-a-winner\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/research-communication-tips-from-a-winner\\\/\",\"name\":\"Research communication tips from a winner\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/research-communication-tips-from-a-winner\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/research-communication-tips-from-a-winner\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/05\\\/elinepalm1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-08-05T05:34:41+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-08-05T07:45:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e02d6b9868f21687575cf05cd4f8d010\"},\"description\":\"Eline Palm Meldgaard from the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences won the PhD Cup 2019 for her project on parasites. To inspire other researchers and students, she explains here what it was that worked for her in the communication competition.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/research-communication-tips-from-a-winner\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/research-communication-tips-from-a-winner\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/research-communication-tips-from-a-winner\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/05\\\/elinepalm1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/05\\\/elinepalm1.jpg\",\"width\":1855,\"height\":1015,\"caption\":\"eline palm\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/research-communication-tips-from-a-winner\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Research communication tips from a winner\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/\",\"name\":\"University Post\",\"description\":\"Independent of management\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e02d6b9868f21687575cf05cd4f8d010\",\"name\":\"Rasmus Friis\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/5e63c8484da290a4fdf7a435d972fda1c53e6da4cc7cd9a6e440cb0f28061d48?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/5e63c8484da290a4fdf7a435d972fda1c53e6da4cc7cd9a6e440cb0f28061d48?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/5e63c8484da290a4fdf7a435d972fda1c53e6da4cc7cd9a6e440cb0f28061d48?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Rasmus Friis\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/author\\\/rasmus\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Research communication tips from a winner","description":"Eline Palm Meldgaard from the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences won the PhD Cup 2019 for her project on parasites. To inspire other researchers and students, she explains here what it was that worked for her in the communication competition.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/research-communication-tips-from-a-winner\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Research communication tips from a winner","og_description":"Eline Palm Meldgaard from the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences won the PhD Cup 2019 for her project on parasites. To inspire other researchers and students, she explains here what it was that worked for her in the communication competition.","og_url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/research-communication-tips-from-a-winner\/","og_site_name":"University Post","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uniavis","article_published_time":"2019-08-05T05:34:41+00:00","article_modified_time":"2019-08-05T07:45:00+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1855,"height":1015,"url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/elinepalm1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Rasmus Friis","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@Uniavisen","twitter_site":"@Uniavisen","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Rasmus Friis","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/research-communication-tips-from-a-winner\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/research-communication-tips-from-a-winner\/"},"author":{"name":"Rasmus Friis","@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/#\/schema\/person\/e02d6b9868f21687575cf05cd4f8d010"},"headline":"Research communication tips from a winner","datePublished":"2019-08-05T05:34:41+00:00","dateModified":"2019-08-05T07:45:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/research-communication-tips-from-a-winner\/"},"wordCount":1299,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/research-communication-tips-from-a-winner\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/elinepalm1.jpg","articleSection":["Science"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/research-communication-tips-from-a-winner\/","url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/research-communication-tips-from-a-winner\/","name":"Research communication tips from a winner","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/research-communication-tips-from-a-winner\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/research-communication-tips-from-a-winner\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/elinepalm1.jpg","datePublished":"2019-08-05T05:34:41+00:00","dateModified":"2019-08-05T07:45:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/#\/schema\/person\/e02d6b9868f21687575cf05cd4f8d010"},"description":"Eline Palm Meldgaard from the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences won the PhD Cup 2019 for her project on parasites. To inspire other researchers and students, she explains here what it was that worked for her in the communication competition.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/research-communication-tips-from-a-winner\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/research-communication-tips-from-a-winner\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/research-communication-tips-from-a-winner\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/elinepalm1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/elinepalm1.jpg","width":1855,"height":1015,"caption":"eline palm"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/research-communication-tips-from-a-winner\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Research communication tips from a winner"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/#website","url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/","name":"University Post","description":"Independent of management","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/#\/schema\/person\/e02d6b9868f21687575cf05cd4f8d010","name":"Rasmus Friis","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5e63c8484da290a4fdf7a435d972fda1c53e6da4cc7cd9a6e440cb0f28061d48?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5e63c8484da290a4fdf7a435d972fda1c53e6da4cc7cd9a6e440cb0f28061d48?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5e63c8484da290a4fdf7a435d972fda1c53e6da4cc7cd9a6e440cb0f28061d48?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"Rasmus Friis"},"url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/author\/rasmus\/"}]}},"advancedCustomFields":{"layout_group":[{"acf_fc_layout":"Headline","use_post_title":true,"headline":"","style":"slim","highlighted_words":"","text_size":"small"},{"acf_fc_layout":"Image","image":{"ID":86700,"id":86700,"title":"eline palm1","filename":"elinepalm1.jpg","filesize":86533,"url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/elinepalm1.jpg","link":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/en-vinders-ti-tips-til-forskningsformidling\/eline-palm1\/","alt":"eline palm","author":"67","description":"","caption":"","name":"eline-palm1","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":86695,"date":"2019-05-28 08:02:44","modified":"2019-05-28 08:10:52","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1855,"height":1015,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/elinepalm1-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/elinepalm1-480x263.jpg","medium-width":480,"medium-height":263,"medium_large":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/elinepalm1-768x420.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":420,"large":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/elinepalm1-1280x700.jpg","large-width":1280,"large-height":700,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/elinepalm1.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":840,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/elinepalm1.jpg","2048x2048-width":1855,"2048x2048-height":1015,"featured-soft":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/elinepalm1-290x159.jpg","featured-soft-width":290,"featured-soft-height":159,"featured-hard":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/elinepalm1-290x180.jpg","featured-hard-width":290,"featured-hard-height":180,"narrow":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/elinepalm1-700x383.jpg","narrow-width":700,"narrow-height":383,"extended":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/elinepalm1-990x542.jpg","extended-width":990,"extended-height":542}},"style":"extended","text_placement":"metadata-below","image_link_url":"","image_link_title":"","caption_prefix":"","enable_alternative_caption":true,"alternative_caption":"Screen shot from video at Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen"},{"acf_fc_layout":"Standfirst","subject":"Research communication","text":"This is a story about what will follow","use_post_excerpt":true},{"acf_fc_layout":"Byline","is_author":true,"contributors":false},{"acf_fc_layout":"Content","content":"<h2>1. Start catchy<\/h2>\n<p>\u00bbNow, you might all have nightmares tonight.\u00ab This is how Eline Palm Meldgaard started her presentation in this year\u2019s PhD Cup, a competition in research dissemination for PhD students which was broadcast on national Danish TV in April.<\/p>\n<p>And it may well be that she was the cause of a nightmare or two. The parasitologist\u2019s PhD project is about how parasites, cunning worms that can be up to 40 centimetres long, can make the immune system in humans and pigs believe that they are not present in the body at all. In the meantime, they gorge themselves in the food that seeps down through the intestines.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbI tried to set the stage and arouse interest from the start,\u00ab says Eline Palm Meldgaard. \u00bbIt’s good to put out a surprising teaser, which you can then return to.\u00ab<\/p>\n<h2>2. Set up an evocative narrative<\/h2>\n<p>At the same time, the opening line set up an atmosphere, a bit like what flashlights and campfires do on camping trips: What you are about to hear is a horror story.<\/p>\n<p>However, it was a thriller with an uplifting ending. Eline Palm Meldgaard explained in the end how her PhD project helped to fight the parasites and helped the animals and humans that are plagued by them.<\/p>\n<p>As one of the panel of referees, the Minister for Higher Education and Science Tommy Ahlers, said: \u00bbSure, the parasites fool the immune system, but you also fool the parasites!\u00ab<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbIt’s good to have a bit of relief at the end. As in ‘don’t worry, we\u2019ll take care of it ‘. I had actually considered saying that now you can sleep tight after all,\u00ab says Eline Palm Meldgaard.<\/p>\n<h2>3. Be specific about the significance of your research<\/h2>\n<p>One thing is to capture the audience with a zinger of an opening line. It is something else to convince them that they should not doze off when the science turns up. This requires a response to the million dollar question: What does it matter to me?<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbYou have to start by marking out the field and explaining why the audience should listen to this. In my case, it is because it is a huge problem,\u00ab says Eline Palm Meldgaard.<\/p>\n<p>If the audience had any doubts that she was right, the parasitologist played her trump card in the middle of the presentation: \u00bbMore than one billion people are thought to be infected worldwide.\u00ab<\/p>\n<h2>4. Vary the speed of delivery<\/h2>\n<p>The sentence was also an example of a rhetorical intervention: When Eline Palm Meldgaard reached the one billion number, she slowed down and looked into the eyes of the front members of the audience.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbAs they now had to understand that this also involved them. I think that precisely this was something that they should take home,\u00ab she says.<\/p>\n<p>Throughout the presentation, Meldgaard varied the tempo of her speaking. The central points were delivered with a clear, patient voice, but at other times she rammed up the pace, like when she mentioned the ultracentrifuge that she used in the laboratory:<\/p>\n<p>“The centrifuge runs very fast (30,000 revs a minute, ed.), so I started to talk fast. This is also a way that you can link it together,\u00ab says Eline Palm Meldgaard.<\/p>\n<h2>5. Think about the difficult words \u2013 and say them out loud<\/h2>\n<p>When the material gets more complicated, she made sure she had plenty of time. And when she got to the word MicroRNA \u2013 the molecules that parasites apparently use to limit the host’s immune response \u2013 she almost chewed on the syllables as much she could, \u00bbwithout it sounding stupid.\u00ab<\/p>\n<div class=\"factbox\">\n<p class=\"factbox-header feature-color\">PhD Cup 2019<\/p>\n<p>The newspaper<em> Information<\/em> focuses on new research in its annual PhD Cup and selects the PhD student who is best at communicating his or her research. <strong>Five finalists have three minutes to communicate their research<\/strong> on the stage of the DR Concert Hall in the final show which was broadcast on DR2 TV channel on 26 April.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u00bbDuring the process, I became aware of the difficult words I use. It’s good to say them out loud to non-specialists to see if there are any of them that only you understand.\u00ab<\/p>\n<p>The actor Nastja Arcel coached the PhD Cup finalists before they went on stage, and Eline Palm Meldgaard found out that it was only a few people who had encountered the concept of \u2018parasitism\u2019. First Arcel got her to pronounce the word \u2013 slooowly and with all the syllables still there. But in the end, she dropped it completely.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbI still think it’s okay to use difficult words, however. You just need to pronounce them clearly, and you should not just fling them out there like you normally do.\u00ab<\/p>\n<h2>6. Link up to the stuff that is familiar<\/h2>\n<p>\u00bbPeople in general should be able to relate to what I say,\u00ab says Eline Palm Meldgaard.<\/p>\n<p>Take the ultracentrifuge for example: It is a machine that is only in highly specialised laboratories and it separates particles that are not visible to the naked eye. How do you get people to relate to it? You can play on what is already familiar:<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbPeople have got no idea what a ultracentrifuge is. But if you say that it is a bit like a washing machine, but much, much, quicker, then they can understand. So I said it.\u00ab<\/p>\n<h2>7. Practise with no inhibitions<\/h2>\n<p>When Eline Palm Meldgaard showed up in the studio on the day of the final, she really had the jitters. But her nerves calmed down as she moved around the stage and practised.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbYou just have to pretend it is the real presentation. This makes you feel more confident afterwards, because you know it works. If someone is listening, you can also feel whether your jokes work, or whether they just sit there staring,\u00ab she says.<\/p>\n<h2>8. Size up your audience…<\/h2>\n<p>When you then actually do the presentation, it is important that you don\u2019t just reel it off, says Eline Palm Meldgaard. You need to focus on, and be in contact with, the audience, so they don’t drift off.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbIt’s hard to change what you’ve planned to say, but you can perhaps adjust the way you say it. I also think it’s okay to ask the audience whether they are with you, or whether you need to repeat a point,\u00ab says Eline Palm Meldgaard.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbIt is important that people understand me, because it is not for my own sake that I am standing there. Fortunately, my grandmum said that she understood everything.\u00ab<\/p>\n<h2>9 … But don’t underestimate them<\/h2>\n<p>Eline Palm Meldgaard ended up not using the word parasitism, but she kept ‘MicroRNA’, even though the number of audience members who had heard this word before could probably be counted on one hand \u2013 or perhaps just one finger.<\/p>\n<p>This is crucial in research communication: You do have to express yourself so most people can understand it, but you must also challenge your audience.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbInsist that they can understand your central ideas. It is not a show for kids, but for adults, and you should not talk down to them. They are not stupid,\u00ab she says.<\/p>\n<p>“It is also important to keep the scientific part of the presentation and make sure that you do not just tell a story. It\u2019s about finding the right balance.\u00ab<\/p>\n<h2>10. Be yourself \u2013 and don’t hide your enthusiasm<\/h2>\n<p>Both the coach and the referees commented on the enthusiasm of Eline Palm Meldgaard for her topic:<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbIt might be absurd that I find it fun to mess around in the guts of pigs, but many people have told me that they liked my enthusiasm. I never thought there would be a risk that people would not take me seriously. And I don’t really care. That is their business,\u00ab she says.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"ArticleEnd"},{"acf_fc_layout":"Newsletter","lang_select":"Dansk","identifier":"Newsletter","headline":"Receive a weekly newsletter in your inbox","button_text":"Tilmeld nu","class":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"OtherStories","headline":"","hand_picked_posts":false,"references":false,"category":false,"theme":false,"number_of_posts":"4","style":"default"}],"feature_color":"#40e023","align_content":"alignleft","enable_comments":true,"expression":{"term_id":18,"name":"Feature Article","slug":"feature_article","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":18,"taxonomy":"expression","description":"","parent":0,"count":1200,"filter":"raw"}},"taxonomyData":{"category":[{"term_id":46,"name":"Science","slug":"science","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":46,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":831,"filter":"raw"}],"post_tag":[],"post_format":[],"expression":[{"term_id":18,"name":"Feature Article","slug":"feature_article","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":18,"taxonomy":"expression","description":"","parent":0,"count":1200,"filter":"raw"}],"translation_priority":[]},"featured_media_url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/elinepalm1-1280x700.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90415","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/67"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=90415"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90415\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":90423,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90415\/revisions\/90423"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/86700"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=90415"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=90415"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=90415"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}