It is a known fact that networking is the key to a successful research career. Still is surprisingly true that a lot of people shy away from talking about their work in public. If you a budding researcher you must develop the skill to be able to talk about your work in a public and highlight its key points. Have you ever thought about preparing and rehearsing on this? Here are some clue points:
Ways to talk about your research: it is not easy to reduce down a complete thesis or doctoral research into a small conversation. Easy it may not be but it is surely essential to do it. You have to be able to distil out the key pints of your research so that you can grab the interest of other people and not sound draggy. It is surely worth it to sit and think about the ways you could present your research in a catch, appealing and accurate way.
Select your words: You surely have the database comprising a lot of words. You are the master of your research. But the audience is not. You got to make them listen to you and have interest in your research. Remember that eventually it is going to be beneficial to you only. Do not go in the depth of the chapters. Bring out wider arguments and the constructive implications of your research. Do not jump into the details right in the beginning. Start with the gist of your research and graduate towards more technical detail on a personal level rather than bringing them out for everyone irrespective of their interest and intellectual capability.
Mould your research: You need to know how to tailor your content according to the type of audience you are dealing with. Your research will not change but the type of audience you are dealing with will determine how you are going to present it. If your research is such that it touches multiple interest areas, you could create a lot of inroads with diversified audience. Just work around and rehearse on creating that ability in yourself so that your work gets appealed to the audience you are dealing with.
I really hope these key steps would help you to keep the conversations going and market your research in an effective manner. The way in which you will introduce your research will give the lead for making contacts and pave the path for more meaningful conversations later. You may even find opportunities for project work, assignments, teaching modules or multiple other opportunities arising from this situation.