Interviews with Past Grad Slam Winners:

Interviewer: Why did you decide to participate in Grad Slam?

Holt: I decided to participate in the Grad Slam because I knew it would be a great way to practice my communication skills. Becoming a better speaker is one of my top goals, and I figured this competition would help me get closer to that goal.

Interviewer: How has Grad Slam benefited you academically and/or professionally?

Holt: Grad Slam has already benefited me professionally. At the same time I was practicing for Grad Slam, I was training at KSBW to be the fill in weatherman. The skills I developed preparing for Grad Slam directly translated to my work in the news and gave me increased confidence during my first ever live TV weather forecast.

Interviewer: What are the top 3 most helpful things you learned from the Public Speaking Trainings?

Holt: The importance of understanding that you are speaking to an audience. The idea that communication is the way you give life and momentum to your ideas. How to break down a complex topic, so that anyone can understand. The importance of telling a story.

Interviewer: What advice would you give to a grad student thinking about joining Grad Slam?

Holt: If you decide to do Grad Slam, understand that it is really just a competition against yourself. There is a version of you that is underprepared and is stressed out on the day of your speech, and there is a version of you that goes into the presentation not worried about the outcome because you know you did everything you could to prepare for that moment. It's up to you to decide who wins.

Interviewer: Why did you decide to participate in Grad Slam?

Remie: I first heard of Grad Slam my first semester as a grad student when a grad student from my lab won the 2019 Audience Choice Award. I thought the competition would be a great opportunity to challenge myself and practice my communication skills. When the 2021 Grad Slam application opened up, I immediately jumped on the opportunity and I am so glad that I applied.

Interviewer: How has Grad Slam benefited you academically and/or professionally?

Remie: The Grad Slam competition challenged me to describe my own research in a non-scientific way without using scientific jargon. This was definitely a challenge, but now, I can explain my research to family, colleagues outside of school, and friends. Professionally, I am more confident speaking in public and leading a presentation.

Interviewer: What are the top 3 most helpful things you learned from the Public Speaking Trainings?

Remie: First the workshops helped me organize the content of my speech (i.e. three parts, ensuring that my introduction is relatable to people and that my message is heard and memorable). Second the workshops helped me with finding the right gestures to include in my speech, adding more "punch" to my message, and changing my tone to emphasize certain keywords in my speech. Finally the pre-filming feedback helped me organize my slide to help support my message. Prior to this feedback session, my slide was too busy and contained a lot of scientific jargon that would only confuse the audience is.

Interviewer: What advice would you give to a grad student thinking about joining Grad Slam?

Remie: Show your passion and enthusiasm for your research in those three minutes! The public speaking workshops will help you organize your speech, make you more prepared, and will help you stand out. The training is so helpful not only for the competition but also outside of academia. You can apply what you learned in the workshops during interviews, thesis defenses, and any public speaking events.

Interviewer: Why did you decide to participate in Grad Slam?

Lupe: I decided to participate in the Grad Slam after my thesis advisor suggested it. She said it would be a great opportunity to gain further experience presenting my scholarly research, as well as an overall fun opportunity to take my work and essentially create an elevator pitch for it. After gaining a better understanding of the event from a Grad Slam informational meeting, I decided to apply as I was particularly intrigued by the opportunity to gain public speaking training from Amy Russo, which would be highly critical in my future endeavors.

Interviewer: How has Grad Slam benefited you academically and/or professionally?

Lupe: The knowledge and skill set I developed leading up to the Grad Slam have helped me both academically and professionally. I knew that I wanted to improve and strengthen my public speaking ability, and this opportunity allowed me to not only attain this goal, but it allowed me to feel more confident about my ability to effectively communicate my research to various audiences.

Interviewer: What are the top 3 most helpful things you learned from the Public Speaking Trainings?

Lupe: The most helpful thing I gained from the public speaking training was the ability to restructure and condense my research into a three-minute elevator pitch. For example, in my research I utilized multiple methods and had many results, I learned how to narrow down my scope and only include the most critical details. The second most helpful thing that I learned was presenting my research and learning new skills on how to engage an audience. It was really helpful to practice voice variation and body language to portray my story, which was a new skill that I learned during the 1:1 feedback session and I hope to bring into future presentations.

The last thing was applying the feedback that was provided in feedback sessions and applying those into the next presentations which helped me succeed in this competition. After the training sessions, I personally saw a lot of improvement in my presentation style, and this was confirmed by those that were mentoring me through the preparation process leading up to the CSU Grad Slam. Lastly, the support from the Grad Slam staff was incredible and their willingness to provide me one-on-one support in every stage of the process made me feel supported, especially as a first-generation student with limited folks to go to for support for occasions like this.

Interviewer: What advice would you give to a grad student thinking about joining Grad Slam?

Lupe: I think every graduate student at SJSU is doing amazing and important work, the Grad Slam gives you the opportunity to show off your work to a wider audience beyond your department. The workshops and training are much more helpful than you think! You get the opportunity to view past winners presentations, learn best practices and tips for your own presentations, as well as have the opportunity to both practice and gain feedback in a one-on-one setting. If I did not attend these trainings, I do not believe I would have been as successful as I was. These training sessions allowed me to have my concerns and anxieties eased, as well as gave me the opportunity to gain confidence in my public speaking abilities and in myself as a scholar and presenter. Lastly, have fun! Find a buddy that is interested in also entering the competition and practice together. That made this experience a lot more fun for myself as I had someone to go through this process with.