Explaining to non-experts

Can you explain your research to someone with no background, in three minutes? It's one of the most valuable skills a researcher can have, for funding, public trust and your own clarity.

Three Minute Thesis

The Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition began at the University of Queensland in 2008 and now runs in hundreds of universities around the world. PhD students present their whole thesis in three minutes, with one static slide, to a general audience. It's an excellent training format even if you never compete.

Techniques that work

• Start with why it matters to people, not with the field's history.
• Use analogies: "Data augmentation is like showing a child the same leaf in morning light and evening light, so they recognise it either way."
• Replace jargon with everyday words, or explain each term the first time.
• One number, made vivid: "about one in three photos" beats "a 34.2% error rate".
• A person or a place: a farmer, a patient, a town.
• Say what you don't know yet. It makes the rest more believable.

Stay accurate

Simplifying is not exaggerating. Keep the limits; don't promise cures or revolutions. The habits from "Not overclaiming" apply even more strongly to public audiences.

Practise

Explain your work to a family member, then ask them to explain it back. Where their version goes wrong shows where yours was unclear.

RememberLead with why it matters, use an analogy, drop the jargon, make one number vivid, and keep it honest.