How to Give an Inspiring Talk

How to give an Inspiring Talk in Mathematics

Each talk is hosted in a course at some university or college and the topic should be arranged with professor of the class but also accessible to math majors who may view the video on youtube.Try not to assume more knowledge than vector calc and linear algebra at most.

The speaker is responsible for making the video and posting it on youtube a week before the date of the talk and then we will link to it.

I know it can be tricky speaking without an audience so click here for a link with photos of some of the Lehman College students that attended prior talks before the shutdown of classes in Spring 2020.

We ask that each talk begin facing the camera with a plain background introducing yourself a little bit (your full name and when you got your doctorate and a little about your mathematics), then give the talk which might be done as a screen capture (you choose how to give this part of the talk), and then end with a segment facing the camera again answering student questions. It may be easiest to make a series of short videos and splice them together before posting. We do not expect a video of high caliber professional quality as these talks are being made at home. The mathematics is of course professional quality!

Please answer the following questions at the end of your talk:

(1) What do you love most about mathematics?

(2) What was your favorite math topic as an undergraduate?

(3) How did you prepare for graduate school?

(4) What was the most challenging part of grad school and how did you handle it?

(5) Do you have any general advice for students considering pursuing the doctorate?

Please close the talk with an invitation to students to send you an email if they have further questions or to post the questions in comments on your youtube video (your choice which).

Once the videos are created you can post them on youtube, create a playlist, and send the link to us.

sormanic@gmail.com

We also ask the speaker to arrange with the professor to meet with the students either through an online discussion forum or just sharing an email with the class inviting them to contact you with questions.