a day in the life...

Students are an unusual bunch and today I'm working at Imperial College, in London, with a bunch of engineering PhD students to help them explain their work to other people. I’d travelled down the day before and stayed the night with my Sister-in-Law, but even so it’s an early start and I never quite get myself ready for the London rush hour by tube, no matter how often I do it! 

Despite the best attempts of Transport for London and their tube trains I arrive in time.  As a Recovering Academic it's great to get into an environment where everyone is soooo passionate about what they do. But that's where the good news ends.

Like all passionate people - particularly experts! - there's a problem getting people to cut, cut, CUT. PhD students have been working illegal hours for months on one single presentation, so they don't want to cut out anything. Sadly, I tell them, it's not about what you can say - it's about what your audience can absorb.

I've got my work cut out encouraging people to "not tell people things". Less is more. After an hour or so we end up chanting it, laughing at ourselves and each other - using it as a mantra. Then one of the students spots an unnecessary word on one of my slides and the room erupts into fits of giggles.

By coffee-time everyone's on board and it's a question of how to do it, not what to do.

Engineers, almost be definition, are “detail people” and so I have to use a variety of ‘games’ to get them thinking in terms of the ‘big pictures’. Then I have a moment of inspiration and remember I’ve got Einstein on my side - I have a slide of him lecturing, with his famous quote: “Everything should be made as simple as possible but no simpler”.

If it’s good enough for Einstein, it’s good enough for them!

Lunch is grabbed, then back to the room I’m working in, because I’ve promised I’ll be there for one-to-one. Just as well I do, because a few students turn up – with some really sharp questions!

The afternoon is spent watching and commenting on dummy-run presentations. Things are so much better than I expected them to be this morning it’s heartening – a couple even get spontaneous applause at the end!

We’ve all had enough by 4:30 so I handle some private questions and we go separate ways. I stay to chat to an observer who’s been watching the course: he was supposed to stay only until coffee-time but got so engaged that he cancelled his meetings to be able to stay. Very encouraging.

I have an hour spare before my next appointment, so I “do” a gallery of the Science Museum….. a fascinating piece of digital art called “Listening Post”

I grab a snack as I face the Tube once more and head to King’s Cross. My train doesn’t leave until 7:00, so I’ve arranged to meet a friend of mine there – an opera singer from Scotland who’s rehearsing in London. We spend a few minutes catching up on mutual friends and she offers me input on a project next year. That’s next March booked!

We’ve got so excited by the new project that I nearly miss my train. Three hours to eat a meal and send emails – quite a few enquiries about our public presentations courses (Telling People), including two from WIN members, which is nice. Other emails are more run-of-the-mill.

A quick phone call at Durham and my wonderful wife agrees to meet me at the station in Newcastle. As I pass the Angel I can feel myself calming down – I’m home. Time to pack the laptop up and relax… it’ll be midnight before I’m in bed, and tomorrow starts at 5:45. Ugh!