…and not a single soul was giddy. But really, you can be excited for 3MT® and still be terrified to compete. Which is why we’re devoting our usually happy-go-lucky Friday blog post to curating a collection of useful resources for you brave three-minute thesis proposers.

1. Be kind to the microphone, and the microphone shall be kind in return. That means giving the mic a little bit of space. That also means resisting the urge to make any wildly erratic modulations in your voice. As Austin Evans suggests, it’s best to know a little bit about your microphone, too.
2. Limit your hand talking. Researchers are beginning to assert that talking with your hands is natural. Even so, you don’t want your hand gestures (or any other movement) to be a distraction to your audience. Sarah Lloyd-Hughes has some great ideas of what gestures not to make during your presentation. Tip: don’t cross your arms. You should also check out the Thesis Whisperer blog and its “Presenting” section.
3. Speak in a language everyone can understand. That means no jargon, no technical terminology, no academic verbosity whatsoever. You could consult a jargon finder or a simple translator. You could also try the Up-Goer Five Text Editor to make sure you’re keeping things simple. Best of all, practice your presentation in front of an audience of outsiders – people with no knowledge of your research or your discipline – and ask for their feedback. That’s the type of audience you can expect the day of the competition.
4. Learn from the best. The best way to build a winning presentation is to look at other winning presentations. With that in mind, we present the following:
   1. Sharon Savage, 2013 Three Minute Thesis Winner from the University of New South Wales:
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfrUCg1S7vk
   2. Andrew Ming-Lum, 2011 Three Minute Thesis Winner from the University of British Columbia
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hADXDMUNy2w

It just doesn’t seem right to make Friday all business, so between those 3MT® presentations you’ll be YouTubing, make sure you take two mental health breaks: one to watch this mash up of Christopher Walken dances and another to watch Superman strap on a GoPro and do Superman stuff (while you watch).