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30 CAREER ADVICE FOR LIFE SCIENTISTS

“And Our Next Speaker Is...”

Elizabeth J. Taparowsky

Purdue University

Y

ou have just received notice from the ASCB

Annual Meeting Program Committee and dis-

cover that your abstract has been selected for a

symposium presentation. Your initial reaction is one of

joy, followed rapidly by feelings of fear or even panic

as you envision yourself standing in front of several

hundred people and speaking. You have many weeks

to prepare, but your mind is racing — hoping that you

will be able to generate new data, wondering how large

the audience will be, and speculating on who may be in

attendance at the session. You lie awake at night going

over in your head what may happen — good scenarios

and bad. You feel inadequate since you are convinced

that public speaking comes naturally only to really

good scientists.

What you may not realize is that up to 80% of the

general population (and probably the vast majority of

speakers at the ASCB Annual Meeting) experience

nervousness, trepidation, and anxiety at the prospect of

speaking in front of an audience. Paradoxically, some

experts believe that controlled nervousness and tension

enhances public speaking performance. But, while you

may find comfort in knowing that the fear you are

experiencing is normal, it does not change the fact that

you will be expected to speak! Is it possible to imple-

ment some strategies now that will help you control

your nervousness and minimize the effect that this

Your initial reaction is one of joy,

followed rapidly by feelings of fear or

even panic as you envision yourself

standing in front of several hundred

people and speaking.