150 12 Beyond the Thesis
- Consider taking on other academic commitments, such as teaching, reviewing,
and mentoring. - Balance life and work commitments, paying particular attention to the demands
of partners and other family. - Anticipate that ‘life’ will seemingly get in the way at times, and learn to cope.
- Expect the write-up phase to be a committed, focused slog where you have elimi-
nated distractions.
Online resources. There are many excellent websites on how to give spoken aca-
demic presentations, including material on topics such as:
- Overall techniques for giving talks.
- Learning to speak with confidence, and overcoming stage fright.
- Effective data presentation.
- Good style in slide design (regardless of whether your preferred tool is Power-
Point, OpenOffice, Beamer, or whatever).