The 6th of April was the day of the mini conferences of the MA Modernities and MA Medieval to Renaissance students. A great day, yes, but we were all looking forward to it with nerves as there was a general panic about speaking in front of everyone and not only because of that, but also because we had to present using the PechaKucha method. I still remember our bewildered faces when we found out what it consisted of: a presentation of 20 slides of 20 seconds each. Luckily, we had the help of the teaching staff, who were supporting us before and during the event.
The big day was a mixture of emotions: fear, nerves, excitement and above all it was full of camaraderie. From my perspective, everything worked very well as a group, both on a personal level (giving support) and on an academic level, all the time the chairs were in contact with their panellists, making sure that everything went according to plan. I must say that the nerves started to fade as I saw the dynamics of the event. In the end, there was nothing to be afraid of. Even though public speaking can be a challenge, we all knew exactly what we were talking about, we had the PechaKucha presentation under control and the Q&A was, after all, like a small talk and an exchange of ideas with the audience.
I would be lying if I didn’t say that I ended the day with a sense of satisfaction, because the day went very well, I was able to listen to the other presentations and see how well my colleagues were doing. They all seemed confident when they spoke, and you could tell they knew what they were talking about, and this kind of thing gets through to those who are listening. At the end we all congratulated and congratulated each other, as we had the feeling of having successfully accomplished a great mission.