Three Minute Theatre: Principles and practice for scripting and performing Three Minute Thesis presentations

The aim of this paper is to help higher degree by research (HDR) students understand the intrinsic nature of a Three Minute Thesis (3MT) presentation as a pitch and how this differs from normal academic discourse, and to present a suite of principles and practices with which they can develop the quality and impact of their presentations.

The paper is based on a three-year University of Canberra (UC) research project involving three phases: distillation and analysis, with reference to theories and practice of dramatic narrative and performance, of key components of successful past 3MT presentations; establishment from this analysis of a suite of principles and practices to help students develop the quality and impact of their 3MT pitches; and trial, evaluation and refinement of these principles and practices via workshops with around 40 UC competitors.

Presentations are framed firstly as an exercise in pitching and consequently as a type of dramatic monologue performance. Preparing such a presentation requires scripting a research narrative as a story with emotional as well as intellectual impact, developing a vocal and physical performance presence to connect with an audience and planning the use of the presentation space and constraints for best effect. Evaluations by workshop participants, reinforced by their success in the UC tournaments relative to non-participants, suggest that advantages of this approach to research pitching by these students apply not only for 3MT contests but also for clarifying and crystallising their research ideas, and for enhancing the quality of their presentation skills more generally.

The research methodology is a qualitative participant-observer action research study over three years. Although in part a kind of intervention study because it makes some comparison of 3MT success rates of study participants with non-participants, it is not a randomised control trial, as this would be inequitable by arbitrarily excluding subjects who might wish to take part. The primary value of the research is its adaptation to the research communications sphere of well-established modes of dramatic and business communication, and the value placed on these by participants.

The principles and practices presented here make explicit for 3MT contestants knowledge that they are likely to possess already implicitly, and provide practical, achievable methods for developing and honing their presentations so as to maximise their impact on their audiences.

The paper makes a case for the legitimacy of emotionally connected storytelling within the array of acceptable academic discourse.

The paper draws on theory and practice from the literary and performing arts to synthesise emotionally connected storytelling with traditional academic thinking and writing conventions of detached, dispassionate, reasoned argument based on quantifiable evidence.