I may be quiet, but I love being the centre of attention. So when @EmmaJSumner asked me to give a Psychologist in the Pub talk I jumped (read: bounced very high) at the chance.
And then, a few months later, re-reading the above, and spotting the typo, I got very, very nervous. A quick look at the media (and responses to our recent news item) reveals a great strength of feeling among the public when it comes to peer victimization. And this is Oxford: heart of academia. And I was going to a pub to talk about research on group bullying…..Madness. I felt too small and insignificant to be doing it. I’d be laughed at.
So, of course, it wasn’t like that. The function room was apart from the rest of the pub, and nicely laid out. And it started off with just colleagues there, before the room filled up. And some of my non-psychology friends, and some of my Psychology students were there smiling at me. Started talking and went into autopilot to give the talk (slides linked below) (couldn’t tell you what I said) and then the talk was over, after what felt like no time at all.
Questions….gah questions. But – they were OK, too. Really engaging in fact. On the floor and via #pitpfriends. Loved the dialogue. Didn’t want to stop when @ninjacats said I’d answered enough questions. So I carried on with people individually afterwards. In the words of Julie Andrews (My Fair Lady), ‘I could have talked all night‘….
Great start & great gouup for @SianOxBrookes talk #pitpfriends pic.twitter.com/3l7jg2ojcB
— Ninja Cats (@Ninja__Cats) December 3, 2013
I did go home eventually. But I highly recommend taking your research to the pub. The nerves were worth it, and I loved it once I started speaking. Thank you so much to the BPS West Midlands branch for supporting it: never would have volunteered myself 🙂