The Susquehanna Valley Undergraduate Research Symposium is asking all presenters to record and submit a 3-minute voiceover of their poster this year. They have some technical guidance on their site (scroll to the area below Speaker Bios and Registration), but here are some tips on how to create an engaging voiceover:
- Write yourself a script and practice several times before recording. Your script should not be longer than one page typed; depending on your speaking speed, a word count of 300 - 450 words will equal about three minutes.
- Remember that for audience understanding, you should speak slowly and clearly. You should pace yourself when speaking; don't try to deliver your three minute talk without taking a breath! Time yourself when practicing and cut material from your script if you are over time. The SVURS organizers note that they will ask you to resubmit if your video is over three minutes long.
- Record yourself in a quiet space so that background noise does not distract from your video. Do a test recording (15-30 seconds is good) to make sure the audio recording is clear and audible.
- What can you talk about in three minutes?!?
- Briefly introduce yourself -- name, institution, some students mention their research mentor(s)
- Provide context for your research project -- the WHY of what you are studying
- Talk about WHAT you are doing or HOW you are studying this topic
- Summarize your findings and/or conclusions