Sprouting Minds skills workshop: presentations and zine-making

On Saturday 11 May, members of Sprouting Minds and the programme management team met in London for a skills workshop hosted by science communicators Sarah Cosgriff and Hana Ayoob. In this cheerful and collaborative session, the Sprouts had the opportunity to develop their presentation skills through storytelling and communicate their knowledge and interests through zine-making.

To start us off, Hana and Sarah asked us to consider: what are you most proud of this week? From making progress at college and university, to committing to decisions, to making it out of bed and to the workshop, things that seem small can have a huge impact.

Presenting in front of others can make anyone nervous, but this anxiety doesn’t need to be a negative experience. The group shared some of their experiences of speaking in front of others, including school presentations, podcasting, hosting and speaking at events, and performing comedy. Some of their fears when presenting include being nervous or running out of time while speaking. However, one of the most important things about being a good presenter is to try new things and find out what tools work for you. Sarah and Hana asked us to keep in mind a key question: what is the most important thing you want people to take away from your talk?

We turned to TikTok for some examples of different presentation styles, including a factual video response to a commentor’s question and a history lesson disguised as a “get ready with me” makeup video. The Sprouts discussed what they liked and didn’t like about the videos, what made them engaging or interesting, and what kinds of presenting styles they enjoyed.

Hana and Sarah then led us in a storytelling activity. While all were prompted with the same object (a rainbow pencil case), and lines for the beginning, middle, and end, each person’s story was unique. We heard stories that were funny, curious, whimsical, and scary, but every story hooked the audience in: we all left wanting to hear more. Sarah and Hana showed how storytelling is part of presenting. Engaging your audience with a good story makes your presentation both memorable and enjoyable.

I think the Sprouts event was very insightful and informative. I had a very good time learning new ways to story tell and present information in a captivating manner. Emmanuel, a member of Sprouting Minds

To end the day, Hana and Sarah shared their vast library of zines, which are small booklets, often self-published and on topics the authors are passionate about. The Sprouts learned how to fold a zine from a sheet of A4 paper, then got to work designing and decorating a zine of their own. Topics ranged from creative ponderings on curiosity, to sharing the results of dissertation research on digital activity, to an introduction to what Sprouting Minds is all about.

If you would like to find out more about Sprouting Minds and the Digital Youth Programme, or you are interested in getting involved, please visit our website www.digitalyouth.ac.uk or email hello@digitalyouth.ac.uk