As an undergraduate, it’s easy to see pieces of work as steps toward getting your degree; the researching, planning, writing, and editing processes become muscle memory and ticking the boxes of marking criteria often come above perfecting your own thesis and ideas. It’s not all as bleak and mechanical as that – sometimes you’ll come across a topic which fills you with excitement or find the perfect quote which compliments your conclusion entirely. My Let’s Talk About [X] experience taught me how to refine these research skills to an in-depth academic standard whilst reminding me that my research was as important and interesting as the historians I had been using for the past four years. Let’s Talk About [X] gave me an invaluable confidence boost in my final year of study as I cultivated a place for my research which existed independently of my degree work and received support, respect, and a genuine interest in my topic from everyone involved.

My topic for the conference was a portion of my dissertation. I was in the middle of editing a section that I’d been staring at for days when my supervisor forwarded me the email asking for submissions to Let’s Talk About [X], suggesting I applied. Writing the abstract helped me crystallise exactly what I was trying to get across with my research, something which I had struggled with in the past, and I went forwards in my degree with a renewed sense of what I wanted to achieve through my work. Learning how to balance clarity and conciseness with explaining and exploring ideas was the main takeaway of my Let’s Talk About [X] experience. Working with my PhD mentor helped me enhance the central focus of my research and come up with my elevator pitch whilst teaching me how to express myself in a way which can explain the importance of my research to someone not necessarily in the same academic field. After four years of English and History, I couldn’t hide behind over-complicated language and, instead had to actually explain what I meant. This turn towards communicating my ideas to a multidisciplinary audience helped me improve my research, writing skills, and also introduced me to topics I wouldn’t have normally encountered from other contributors.

I’m not a huge fan of public speaking so was half dreading the actual act of getting up and presenting in front of an audience. In the contributor meetings I had been amazed by the different topics being presented and began to feel that my research on the importance of a Prime Minister wearing trunks on holiday didn’t really belong at a research conference. I googled techniques to make you better at presenting, how to be less nervous on stage, and ran through my presentation constantly in my head. The thing which finally clicked and gave me the confidence to present my research wasn’t a miracle trick from the internet, but the support from the LEADS team and feeling like people were genuinely interested in me and my work. Once I was up on stage, I felt proud to be talking about my topic and proud to be there alongside the other outstanding undergraduate researchers and their work. During what can be quite a stressful and lonely time, Let’s Talk About [X] offers a sense of community and motivation to students at any stage in their studies.

My experience of Let’s Talk About [X] taught me practical lessons on researching, writing, and presenting, which have led to further research and publications. It expanded my knowledge of the University community and I really enjoyed getting to know the LEADS team, my PhD mentor, and other presenters at the conference. Most importantly, Let’s Talk About [X] showed me that there are paths into academia for young researchers. As I compiled my bibliography for my dissertation, I slowly realised that there were no female names in a list of 29 historians. Every opinion, argument, and statistic I had found and used to support my thesis came from a male historian as these are the leading voices in the debate over the 1960s; ironically a period which was characterised by female liberation and sexual revolution. I have always loved my subject but a career in academia felt like a distant dream rather than a tangible reality, due to factors such as age, experience, and gender. Let’s Talk About [X] provided a space in which I could realise my potential as a young researcher, share the importance of my work, and learn more about how I can progress into academia. It showed me that whatever stage you’re at, your research is just as important and interesting as those who came before you, and people do want to listen! I can’t recommend taking part in Let’s Talk About [X] enough.

Chloe has also contributed to our undergraduate research journal, [X]position, which you can find here: https://www.talkaboutx.net/xpositionvolume/5/Chloe-Morris

Written by Chloe Morris