Can you explain your

thesis in a nutshell?
Adapted from Griffith Universitys 2011 3MT Workshop
 Introductions & workshop overview
Competition rules and regulations

Summarising your research/communication skills

Winners from the 2014 Australasian 3MT Competition

What will happen on the day

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 The purpose of the competition
Every researcher should know how to present a clear,
concise, yet engaging description of their research
project.

The 3MT Competition is an exercise in developing

researchers communication skills.

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 Eligibility
Open to all Unitec Masters or PhD students who have
had their thesis proposal approved by their Programme
Committee.

Students whose thesis is under examination are eligible

to enter, but graduates are ineligible.

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 Rules
A single PowerPoint slide (no slide transitions).

No additional electronic media (e.g. sound or video)

or props (e.g. costumes, instruments, equipment).

Competitors exceeding 3 minutes will be disqualified.

The decision of the judges is final.

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 Judging criteria
1. Communication style

2. Comprehension

3. Engagement

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 Making your topic manageable
1. Write down what you want to say.

2. Read what you have written so far.

3. Underline the most important ideas or sections.

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 Making your topic manageable
4. Write a brief summary of each stage of thought.

5. Combine the information from the first four steps

into paragraphs.

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 Making your topic manageable
6. Write your rough draft that includes all of the
summaries/paragraphs.

7. Edit your version. Be concise

8. Compare your version to the original.

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 A guide to how many words to use
A comfortable speed to speak at is 400 words per five
minutes, so 80 words per minute.

You should be aiming for approximately 200 250

written words for your 3MT summary, depending on
how fast you speak.

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 Principles of good communication
1. Why youre doing it.

2. How youre doing it.

3. How it relates to the real world.

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 The presentation
1. State your main point first, including why your
research is important or necessary.

2. Use a lower level of technicality than you would in

your thesis.

3. Make your presentation clear and understandable to

someone who knows nothing of your topic.

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 The presentation
4. Use a simple organisation: main point, main results,
conclusions and/or recommendations.

5. Unless examples are essential, do not include them

in your presentation. If you do include them,
remember to explain them.

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 The presentation summarised
1. State the main point and importance of your
research first.

2. Emphasise the main stages of thought.

3. State your research conclusion and/or hypotheses.

4. Summarise your research.

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 10 hints
1. Tailor your talk to your audience (intelligent but non-
specialised).

2. Start by introducing your little pocket of research in

the grander scheme of things.

3. Think carefully about what you should include on

your PowerPoint slide.

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 10 hints
4. Keep any analogies simple.

5. Speak in an engaging manner.

6. Dont wear anything distracting.

7. Body language is important.

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 10 hints
8. Finish by summing up what you do in the greater
scheme of things.

9. Practice, practice, practice.

10. Use your time, but dont go over it.

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 Videos
2014 Trans-Tasman 3MT Competition

Runner Up & Peoples Choice

Rosanna Stevens (Australian National University)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pBJnm6_kYI

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 Videos
2014 Trans-Tasman 3MT Competition

Winner

Sarah Marley (Curtin University)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XznGGhyi59g

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 Successful characteristics
Didnt try to say too much and spoke relatively
slowly.

Used pauses to highlight important points as well as

rises, falls and stresses in tone.

Tried to communicate only one core idea.

Included a story, metaphor or emotional element.

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 Successful characteristics
Gave concrete examples.

Never used my research questions are

Told you enough to make you curious or told you

something unexpected.

Used all of their time, but did not go over 3 minutes.

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 Competition Details
Where: Lecture Theatre, Room 1016, Building 23,
Mt Albert Campus

When: Thursday, 8 October 2015 from 1.15 to

~2.10pm. Please report to the Lecture
Theatre at 1pm.

Prizegiving: at the close of the symposium at ~4pm

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 How to enter
Enter by filling out your details and submitting your
abstract online through the 3 Minute Thesis Competition
section of the Research Symposium website:
http://www.unitec.ac.nz/researchsymposium/

Entries close August 31, 2015

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 Before the Competition
A run sheet will be circulated ahead of the competition
detailing the order competitors will speak in.

Email your final slide by Wednesday, 30 September

2015*, preferably as a jpeg, to research@unitec.ac.nz
with the subject heading: 3MT Slide

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 What will happen on the day
Report to LT at 1pm for a 1.15pm start.

Opening from MC & introduction to the judging panel.

MC will introduce each competitor.

There will be a slight pause between competitors to

give the judges some time to deliberate.

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 Your presentation
Your slide will display on the screen behind you as
you are introduced.

Your time will start when you begin speaking.

I will be sitting up the front doing the timekeeping.

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 Your presentation
When you have 10 seconds to go I will hold up a
yellow card.

When your 3 minutes are up I will ding a little bell

and hold up a red card.

Once everyone has spoken, the judges will reconvene

to deliberate.

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 Prizegiving
The winner will receive $1000 and the winners
supervisor/s will be awarded $100.
The runner-up will receive $500.
The winner of the Peoples Choice award will receive
$500.
Prizes will be awarded at the conclusion of the
Research Symposium at ~4pm.

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 Questions?

Adapted from Griffith Universitys 2011 3MT Workshop