Journal Club: veni, vidi, vici!

I vividly remember the first time I performed on stage - the uncontrollable trembles, the forming sweat on my palms, and above all the intense pounding of my heart. I was five at the time and performing at my first piano recital. Despite my confidence in my ability to perform from memory my piece from endless hours of practice, I still felt wave after wave of nerves. 

 Now 15 years later - and many presentations, competitions, and other public speaking opportunities later -  I am still affected by stage fright. The most surprising part about preparing for my Journal Club presentation was the extensive time needed to not only only digest my research article, but find a way to convey the key findings in a story that is easy to follow for a reader. I realized that although the paper I chose has a rigid structure of conveying its results, my presentation gives me the opportunity to pick and choose what is truly the most important take away message.

Although I have not given my presentation yet, I can already anticipate the nerves that I will feel the few minutes leading up to it. Will I talk too fast? Did I fully understand the paper to the best of my ability? Will the reader be able to follow? Will I forget to mention something critical? However, despite these looming questions, I know that with a few deep calm breaths I will be able to present with confidence  and poise.

I believe that I will never truly overcome stage fright. In a way, I think that this rush of adrenaline drives me to mentally prepare myself and truly enjoy when I finally finish presenting. Hopefully after my presentation on Tuesday, I will come out of Journal Club feeling proud of the time and energy I have put into this presentation, and even more confident in my public speaking ability.

Update:

I finally gave my Journal Club presentation and looking back I can say that it went ok! Although I had a few stumbles, I was able to maintain my composure and present with confidence. Overall, I'm very happy I got to engage in my first Journal Club. I've learned how to prepare concise slides that tell a story in a way that the audience can understand, and how to present under time pressure.

Looking back, all I can say to Journal Club is veni, vidi, vici!

 - Margaret Zhang

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