Become a Speaker

Math Bridge likes to keep our requirements very broad and non-restrictive to encourage a wide range of applicants. 

Here are some basic guidelines:

• Not sure what to talk about? Here are some ideas:

  • A powerful personal story, relating to transitioning between high school and university

  • Explaining unexpected academic or career paths of obtaining a math degree

  • A story of your journey of your academic path or in your career that would inspire high school students

• Talks connecting in some way to the transition between high school and university, overcoming academic challenges, or one's journey in a math/STEM field will be prioritized during the judging process. That being said, we are open to you auditioning with any talk, as long as you are passionate about it and believe it would be worthwhile for high school students to hear!

• All talks require visual aids. Canva slides  with animations both between and within slides are strongly encouraged. These aids should be professional and mostly used to display images and key words (paragraphs and long sentences should be avoided). Your talk should be fully memorized, and the visual aids should be used as prompts. A good rule of thumb is someone looking at just your visual aids shouldn't be able to get a full idea of what your presentation is.

• Talks should be less than 10 minutes (this time limit is strictly enforced)

• Share a personal story with a compelling hook. The more passionate you are about your talk, the more interesting it will be to listen to.

• Talks that connect in some way to the transition between high school and university, one's journey in a math/STEM field, or overcoming academic challenges will be prioritized.

• Make your talks conversational. It should look more like an engaging TED talk than a lecture being given. This also means that you should be passionate about what you are talking about.

• Engagement is key, utilize tools like asking questions or drawing on a whiteboard.

Speakers can and will be disqualified for the following reasons:

• If your talk during the audition exceeds 10 minutes. Speakers are expected to be very well-rehearsed so minimal time guidance during the auditions is given. You will only be notified when you have one minute left. You can't use your cell phone as a timer. You may use a stopwatch, but this is strongly discouraged as it can be distracting for both the presenter and the audience.

• If you fail to respond to emails that contain "Action Required" in the subject line. These emails will be sent from emitha@uwo.ca and not the Math Bridge email to prevent the emails from going to your spam folder; however, it is still your responsibility to check your spam folder.

• If you fail to show up to your scheduled audition.

• If you fail to submit your visual aids by the deadline (the night before your audition at 11:59pm). An email will be sent to you after your submit your application on how and when to submit your visual aids.

• We host a recruitment/coaching event at least once a year. Those interested in becoming speakers can come ask questions about the Math Bridge Speaker Program. If you already have a presentation or idea ready, feel free to come to the session to receive some feedback from executives. Follow us on Instagram to be notified when this event will be happening! (@math.bridge)

• Feel free to reach out to us on our Instagram (@math.bridge) or Erina, our founder, at emitha@uwo.ca with any and all questions you may have!