Leanne Jackson, Lecturer in Psychology, shares her experience of taking part in this year's Pint of Science Festival. Pint of Science is a worldwide science communication festival which happens every May - researchers from across the University share their exciting work via short talks held at pubs across the Liverpool and the Wirral.
Since starting my PhD in 2017, I’ve eagerly looked forward to the annual Pint of Science events. After presenting a 3 minute Shot of Science talk back in 2019, I was keen to get more involved. Fast forward to the release of Squid Game Season two: while watching the players grapple with their torment, I started to notice some parallels between their moral struggles and the core theories of moral decision-making which I am familiar with from my own field of research around perinatal mental health. In a lightbulb moment, I pitched this idea to the Public Engagement Team, who (luckily!) shared my excitement and agreed it would make an intriguing topic for Pint of Science 2025 (especially with the third and final season releasing in June…though I’ll resist the urge to fangirl... for now).
I presented my talk, Squid Game: The Cost of Survival, on 19th May at The Bridewell, Liverpool, as part of the Stranger Than Fiction event. In this blog, I’d love to share my experience of preparing for and delivering the talk. Let the games begin. Outside of work, I am a huge theatre fanatic: I deeply admire the craftsmanship and dedication which underpins an engaging live performance. The training day for this event gave me the rare opportunity to take off my academic hat. In my usual work, at conferences and the like, I tend to deliver information in a fairly one-directional way. Stepping into the world of performance, a world which I’ve always been drawn to but have felt somewhat distanced from, felt like a breath of fresh air. This event set my creativity alight and allowed me to harmonise two very different, but equally important, parts of myself.
Training and support
One moment which really stood out to me came from Dr Steve Cross, a science communicator and comedian, who delivered a one-day training workshop ahead of this event, “The audience are not paying for you to give them 15 minutes of information. They have paid to see YOU, because they think your talk will be entertaining.” That statement unlocked me: it gave me permission to play with humour and to let my personality take centre stage (mind the pun).
Being surrounded by like-minded people who share a passion for public engagement and science felt like coming home. A key part of the workshop involved planning and delivering the first two minutes of our talk to the rest of the group. This served two valuable purposes for me. Firstly, it showed me just how short two minutes is for capturing the audience’s attention, and secondly, reminded me of how crucial it is to make sure that every word counts in a public-facing talk. Overall, receiving feedback from the group was incredibly rewarding. It helped me to ensure that the content was pitched at the right level, and it also bolstered my confidence in the more interactive aspects of my talk.
The big night...
On the night, there was a fascinating mix of talks, both from the other speakers and from the shots of science contributors. For me personally, having the chance to hear from researchers in fields I wouldn’t usually encounter was particularly inspiring. I mean, who wouldn’t be completely transfixed by talks on dinosaurs and zombie brains?! This experience allowed me to break free from my customary approaches to research and sparked new and innovative ideas for cross-department collaboration and dissemination. The audience were warm, engaged, and asked thought-provoking questions, which was infectious and revitalised my own inquisitive nature. The atmosphere was relaxed, with a fun quiz and plenty of time to mingle and chat all things science between talks. Overall, a very well-paced and enjoyable evening.
I genuinely can’t recommend taking part in Pint of Science more highly. It was the most personally rewarding experience of my career to date. It helped me to build confidence in the idea that my personal interests are shared by many others, introduced me to a community of brilliant scientists, and gave me a platform to share my passions. Also, if TED Talks are reading this, then call me – I’m ready for my big break!