Though I have no doubt that there are people who would be able to come up with an amazing journal club presentation in one night, I am definitely not capable of such a feat. With that in mind, I tried to start as early as possible so I would not have to scramble later. First I read the paper several times, scribbling all over it to highlight important pieces of information and message. From there, I chose a few subsections that together contributed to a meaningful conclusion, even without the other results sections.
To make sure that I had a clear storyline, I presented to a fellow from the BE Comm Lab. Overall it was very helpful as she gave helpful pointers on how best to organize my slides to create a cohesive presentation. She also gave me tips on what information to cut and I ended up scrapping a couple slides altogether. This cut a few minutes off of my presentation so I was able to finish with one second to spare.
The specifications of this presentation indicated that we should not assume we’re talking to an audience of experts. To make sure that my journal club presentation made sense to a non-Course 20 audience, I presented to some of my friends from my dorm who are Courses 2, 6, 8, and 9. Based on their questions I tweaked my slides one more time and then repeated my presentation over and over until I had every data point and transition memorized.
On the day of the presentation I was incredibly nervous. With each presentation before mine, my sense of impending doom only grew. By the time I started my presentation I was shaking. As I got to my later slides, I hit my stride and was able to finish the story of the role of the cohesin complex in mediating distant end joining. Looking back on my presentation, I know that there are several things that I can improve upon. Overall, I think that this assignment taught me a lot about how to create and organize a technical presentation and I will use these skills later in this class and in life.
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