*for class presentations and seminars, like at conferences or meetings. Lecture notes for teaching are different, though some of these may still apply:
Tell a story. A story always has 3 parts: a beginning, a middle, and an end. Create a compelling narrative so the audience feels invested in knowing what’s next.
Know your audience, and adjust accordingly. Presenting to people with our same background (like students in our program) will differ from presenting to a broader audience like the general public, who may not care (or understand) nitty gritty detail.
Use large readable font. Especially on graphs and figures, and..
Limit text. A busy intimidating slide = a distracted/zoned out audience
Refrain from using pastel colors with a white background, or dark colors with a dark background. Projectors =/= your computer screen, and these colors may not have the same contrast during a presentation.
Also related, be considerate of the color-blind/visually impaired. Make figures accessible to them by not just relying on color but also patterns, shading, symbols, etc.
Show only what’s necessary. Try not to overwhelm an audience who’s seeing all this for the first time. Always remember: presentations are not data dumps; they’re stories. Simplify figures by remaking them if possible, or block out unimportant areas.
And walk the audience through complicated slides. We should never assume everyone in the audience knows exactly what we’re talking about. Use animations to show only one point or figure at a time if necessary.
Speaking of figures, use high-quality ones! None of the deep fried-jpegs please.
Also refrain from putting things that have no meaning. Examples include gratuitous eye candy (which are only acceptable in title and closing slides) or points that won’t be talked about. They’re just distracting.
Show interest when speaking. If the speaker sounds bored talking about their work, then I assume it’s boring and not worth my attention.
Refrain from going wild with that laser pointer. It’s there to bring attention to certain key points, not to continuously circle around the entire slide like we’re playing with cats. (If your hand holding the pointer is shaking, it helps to grab your wrist with your other free hand, or rest that arm on something (like the podium) to “root” it.)
Refrain from going wild with the animations/transitions also. Super cool in 4th grade; slightly nauseating at a national meeting. A simple “appear” animation will do just fine.
Rehearse rehearse rehearse. Being well-prepared can combat stage-fright, as it takes away the anxiety of “not knowing what to do next” or “mental freezes”. You may also find yourself editing a few things as you rehearse, because something that seemed ok while making the ppt may not flow so well when you actually get to talking about it. Also, pay attention to the usage of filler words (like “um”, “sorta”), and body language: are you leaning on the podium too much? pacing a lot? looking at the screen and not the audience?
Adopt a “power pose” to instantly feel more confident and relaxed. Stand up straight, chest out, shoulders back, uncross those arms, and smile. Hold yourself up like royalty, baby! Here’s a TedTalk on power poses.
students as months of the year
january: fresh journals, black and white notes, bullet journals filled with motivational quotes, cold brew coffee, loves writing letters, finishes everything on time, a daydreamer, seems laid back but really they’re stressed about everything
february: doodles in the margins of notes, the person who lends you their pens, sloppy handwriting, loves motivational speeches and classical music, finishes easy assignments early but writes their essay the night before its due,
march: straight A’s, study playlists, the teachers favorite, color coded notes, everyone thinks they’re naturally smart (but really they’re spending every night studying), forgets to eat sometimes, hasn’t slept for what feels like years
april: open windows, listening to the rain and thunder, tea pots full of earl grey, a functionally messy desk, fairy lights, always losing their pens, a huge nerd, afraid to raise their hand in class in case their answer is wrong
may: cramming for tests, lives in the library, highlighters and sticky notes everywhere, drinks espresso, would definitely consider bringing their coffee pot to school, messy desk, if an assignment is due at 9:00 they’ll submit it at 8:59
june: late nights, smoothies for breakfast, hanging out with friends, takes notes on their laptop, minimalist, organized, says they’re studying but they’re actually on studyblr, tries to study everything at once and gets distracted
july: staying up late to read, learning new languages, focuses on the learning and not the grade, watches documentaries for fun, loves the classics, owns a thousand pens, takes studyspo pictures, hundreds of unread emails,
august: stationery shopping, getting ahead in class, iced drinks, spending weekends with friends, takes very little notes but does well in class anyways, a relaxed personality, healthy snacks, the master of self care
september: a morning person, new pens and folders, a perfectionist, audio records classes and re-writes notes, over works themselves, loves the smell of new books, competitive, “i’m gonna fail!” but ends up getting A’s and B’s
october: chai lattes in travel mugs, will study for three days straight and then not study for a week, snacking in class, uses washi tape and stickers, sleeps for eight hours but is tired anyways, terrible at accepting compliments
november: gratitude journals, mental health days, the baristas at their local cafe know their name because they’re always studying there, study groups, loves to travel but never travels, cinnamon in their drinks, trouble sleeping, sweet smiles
december: hot chocolate, wrapped in a fluffy blanket, says they don’t care about grades but panics when they get less than a B, to-do lists, tutors their friends, watches movies in their free time, vanilla candles
Good Omens + German phrases (with no English equivalent)
Here are some monthly phone wallpapers with matching desktop wallpapers. I created versions starting on Monday and Sunday so you can pick the one you use more often!
To download:
mobile: for the best quality, click on the link to the version you would like below, wait for it to load and then simply hold down on the image you would like, press ‘save image’, head to your settings, change wallpaper and select it from your photos.
forest monday / forest sunday
mountains monday / mountains sunday
water monday / water sunday
laptop: right click, save image, add image to a phone folder that syncs from your laptop to phone or use airdrop on iPhone.
I hope you enjoy using these and if so, I’d love to see them in action! Feel free to tag me #emmastudies in any photos you upload on Tumblr, Instagram or Twitter. If there are any problems or errors, please let me know via my inbox.
Disclaimer: These backgrounds are for personal use only.
Other downloads | Printables | Instagram | Youtube | Pinterest | Twitter | Etsy Printables Shop
although it’s not quite the end of january here is most of what i read this month. various essays, interviews, works of fiction, poetry etc.
In the Storm of Roses: Selected Poems, Ingeborg Bachmann
Yayoi Kusama: Infinity Mirror Room - Phalli’s Field
The Seeker & Other Poems, Nelly Sachs
Our Men Do Not Belong To Us, Warsan Shire
On Evil & Suffering in Modern Poetry, Anne Carson
Beloved, Toni Morrison
Bringing Together, Maxine Kumin
You But for the Body Fell Against, Nathalie Stephens
Conversation/s with Toni Morrison
War on a Lunchbreak, Ana Božičević
The Grownup, Gillian Flynn
Wade in the Water, Tracy K. Smith
I Watched You Disappear, Anya Krugovoy Silver
Veils, Hélène Cixous
An Interview with Audre Lorde (Adrienne Rich)
An Interview with Toni Morrison
The Passion According to G.H., Clarice Lispector
I Can’t Get That Monster Out of My Head, Joan Didion
Sister Outsider, Audre Lorde
Milk and Filth, Carmen Giménez Smith
Sharks in the Rivers & The Carrying, Ada Limón
The Moon is Always Female, Marge Piercy
Silver Water, Amy Bloom
Taking the Arrow Out of the Heart, Alice Walker
The Hour of the Star, Clarice Lispector
The Chronology of Water, Lidia Yuknavitch
hindi ko alam kung ako lang, pero palaging humihirap yung buhay-akademiko ko kapag wala ako sa mainit na yakap ng campus. tuwing umuuwi ako kapag weekend, o di kaya kapag naka-bakasyon, palaging akong nalulugmok sa ilalim ng kumot ng madilim kong kwarto. siguro dahil bumabawi pa rin ako sa dalawang taong pandemic pero dalawang taon na yung nagdaan pero litong-lito pa rin ako sa estado ng pag-aaral ko.
tanda ko 'tong kuha na ito, sembreak at wala gaanong tao sa campus. tanghaling tapat pero nakuha ko pang tumambay sa fpark at tumanaw ng mga high school students na nagpapractice. ako, maraming tambak na gawaing naiwan sa apartment. maraming backlogs, maraming hinahabol na INC. hindi ko alam kung bakit mas malungkot pa ko na hindi ko nakikita yung Carillon tower ngayon kesa don sa hindi ko nahabol na INC at gulo-gulo kong academic records. sana nasa elbi ako ngayon, sayang malilim pa naman.
oh wow i heart u all actually
day 1 | back to school challenge | 🎶winner - island
next semester is going to be my first year in university, so i’m super excited!! to stay focused this semester, here is my list of goals for fall 2017. (this is me talking to myself, so it’s gonna be in 2nd person)
goals for: school
make a study schedule
use google calendar to build a schedule w enough study time allotted to each class, as well as imp assignments and tests
and stick to it!
build self-discipline!
5-minute rule: if you don’t want to do it, just do it for 5 minutes. just 5
no zero days. a day shouldn’t go by, that you did nothing for your dreams and aspirations
there’s no way around the hard work! if you wanna graduate early, buckle up and get to work
obliterate procrastination!
set early deadlines, and convince yourself they’re as imp as the real deadlines
when you don’t feel like it, remember the snowball effect. leave it now, and it will become a bigger problem later
tell your friends that you’re gonna do something, and you’re for sure gonna have it done by a certain time
block tumblr and youtube. forreal
classes & academics
learn who sits beside you and make friends with them
read the entire syllabus!!
join at least two student groups
practice making small talk. they’re midwest people, they’re gonna be nice, they won’t bite, don’t worry,
participate in class! answer questions! make sure the prof/ta knows you!
talk to the prof/ta if you’re struggling. don’t try to do it all alone all the time
goals for: self
mental health
don’t be too hard on yourself
follow advice from people who have gone thru uni w/ mental health issues
build self-confidence in yourself
stop apologizing. you are enough
go to counseling/therapy when it gets bad, there’s counseling that won’t cost you
explain to friends / tell them i’m not ignoring them, just, my brain is kinda not working well sometimes
daily routines
fix your sleep schedule. please. go to sleep: 10-11. wake up: 5-6
set up a schedule for skincare routine and stick to it. get some better moisturizer asap and stick! to! the! routine!
make a fitness schedule as well. aim for a certain amount of physical time per day, and neck/arm/back excercises for everyday
diet: increase fruit/veg intake slowly; one fruit/veg/smoothie a day. drink water when you want sugar
even tho this post turned out super long and specific, feel free to use any of these if you would like!!
-ria
do you have any non-fiction book recommendations?
i know why the caged bird sings - maya angelou
maya angelou puts the same amount of care into her words in this book as she does with her poems
i do remember the first couple of chapters being hard to get thru bc i was easily bored, but also, i was in the height of my laziness during the summer + this was for an assignment lol
when breath becomes air - paul kalanithi
beautiful prose, will make you cry
guns, germs, and steel - jared diamond
a rly spicy take on history that was rly enjoyable
also watched the documentary version of this in whap
outliers: the story of success - malcolm gladwell
even spicier than mr diamond’s book lol
discusses success from a different perspective
definitely interesting to read through, although i’m not sure if i agree with all of his conclusions
malcolm gladwell also has a podcast called “revisionist history” that’s rly interesting and does a similar thing with this book where he examines things from a different angle
five days at memorial - sheri fink
an account of what happened at a hospital struck by hurricane katrina
i feel like some perspectives should have been afforded a bit more leeway and more description compared to others, but it was still a decent read
hope and other luxuries: a mother’s life with a daughter’s anorexia - clare dunkle
i find that all the books i’ve read on anorexia so far have been personal accounts, so it was interesting to read about it from the mother’s perspective
i used this book as a basis for my junior research paper actually
the immortal life of henrietta lacks - rebecca skloot
i just think the case of henrietta lacks is fascinating
on writing - stephen king
a hybrid between an autobiography and a manual on how to write
an interesting read, although i’m fairly sure that stephen king would kill me for how many adverbs i use on a day to day basis
there were a couple others, but i don’t rly remember them very well :( hope this helps!!
“My heart’s not yours to hold. You hear me? Not. Yours.”
“I think you should consider it a miracle I’ve stuck around this long. It’s so creepy here.”
“Chasing the adventure is only half the fun. Look at all the friends we’ve made.”
“We might have to lower our expectations.”
“Fantastic, you’ve enchanted the bones to life. Dare I ask what’s next?”
“Dare I even try to ask for forgiveness? Do I deserve it?”
when you find an academic source that’s perfect for your paper but it’s behind a pay wall