"A good presentation is important for conveying your research", says Ernst-Jan Geutjes, graduate student at the Netherlands Cancer Institute (NKI) in Amsterdam. "In the past, when I was attending masterclasses, there were professors who worked on interesting science topics but presented in such a way, that it totally didn't get across. That was a pity. It is currently even more important to present your research in an enthusiastic way. Otherwise you have a heavy handicap to deal with."

Theatre course

Geutjes is not a gifted speaker by disposition. To the contrary, as a child and teenager he found it difficult to give a speech or presentation. However, he was convinced of the relevance of good presentation skills for his career. Therefore, he decided to participate both in a debating club and a theatre course. His investments clearly yielded results. From the theatre course, Geutjes learned a lot about body expression, facial expression and the use of gestures, while the debating club taught him how to use his voice. With pleasure he gives some advice to other people: ?It is very inconvenient when a speaker only interacts with the central part of the audience throughout the talk, leaving the rest of the public ignored. It is better when you slowly shift your attention from left to right, throughout the whole room. Then it seems that you interact with everyone personally and people will feel more involved." Geutjes also emphasizes the importance of using your hands to accentuate certain points, and to pay attention to the way that you are standing. ?A solid posture reflects self-confidence", he says.

Redundant details

A week before the GRE2007 event, Geutjes and the six other finalists for the GRE Presentation Award were invited for a special training on presentation techniques, given by science journalist Hans van Maanen. During the training, they got many constructive comments. Geutjes tells: "I learned a lot during this training. The figures and fonts on my slides were too small for the people in the back of the room and the slides contained too much text. Finally, I left out all redundant details."

Own projects

Winning the GRE Presentation Award will be a further impulse for Geutjes? career as a scientist. At this moment he greatly enjoys his position as a graduate student at the NKI. He explains: "Our lab is quite unique, since our professor, René Bernards, gives us all the freedom to start our own research projects."
For Geutjes, this opportunity not only resulted in interesting scientific data, but also convinced him to aim for a career in science.
 

[Els van den Brink]