Sharing Your Knowledge
The Speakers' Corner Workshop Series
Researchers, scholars and scientists face ever-increasing demands to make their ideas accessible to the public. But that can be daunting when you’re not used to speaking and writing for general audiences.
Speakers' Corner is a group of PD workshops designed to help you present engagingly, write clearly, and reach audiences through traditional and non-traditional media.
These sessions may count toward your eight-hour professional development requirement. (Please note that all courses must be approved by your department.)
Series One | Presenting Confidently
IN PERSON | May 7, 2024 | 10:00 to 11:30 a.m
Are you uncomfortable speaking about your research to non-specialist audiences? Help is on the way. In this 90-minute conversation, a team of experienced research presenters tackles some of the most pressing questions facing public speakers.
These may include:
- How do I overcome nerves?
- How do I engage the audience in my topic?
- How do I keep things simple, clear and relatable?
- How do I handle unexpected questions?
- How do I leave my audience enthusiastic and curious to know more?
Join us for a lively and candid conversation that may just inspire you.
Moderator: Dr. Rob Desjardins
SELF-PACED | via eClass
Package Your Research to Build Your Brand is a remote course designed to help you think outside the box when promoting and presenting a talk for a wide range of different audiences. This includes branding yourself and your research expertise, and identifying unique ways of presenting your work based on an intended public group.
Upon completion of this two-hour, remote, asynchronous professional development session, you will receive a certificate of completion and the building blocks of an Edmonton Public Library presentation application. Work in this course can also be applied to grant writing, teaching and more.
Series Two | Writing Effectively
IN PERSON | May 8, 2024 | 10:00 to 11:30 a.m. | SAB 3-21
As we prepare to move out of the academy and into the work force, it's a good time to think critically about our writing style. Is it vague and ponderous? Can we make it more accessible for people in the office and on the job?
In this workshop, we share a few principles (and some back-pocket strategies) to help you balance clarity and professionalism in your business writing.
Presenter: Dr. Rob Desjardins
ONLINE (VIA ZOOM) | May 9, 2024 | 12:00 to 1:30 p.m.
Writing is one of the hardest and most important aspects of graduate studies. Do you feel anxious about your writing process? Do you think you ought to be more proficient than you are? Do you wonder what strong academic writing looks like? Do you feel isolated in your academic writing pursuits?
In this 90-minute workshop, acclaimed writing scholar Rachael Cayley explores strategies for building a new mindset around writing. She explains how common attitudes toward academic writing can be transformed into new attitudes that better support a healthy writing process.
Presenter: Dr. Rachael Cayley, University of Toronto
The Faculty of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies and the Writing Centre (Academic Success Centre) have partnered to offer a series of free workshops. The workshops are centered on helping students be compelling in their research communication and enhance their academic performance.
Upcoming workshops can be found under the Current Students section of the GPS site.
Did you know that several of the graduate workshops offered by the U of A's Writing Services unit are tailored to your professional development (and may count toward the PD requirement)?
Check out the options at the Writing Services Graduate Support page.
Series Three | Reaching Out
IN PERSON | May 27, 2024 | 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. | CAB 243 (Central Academic Building)
Do media requests make you nervous? Are you interested in knowledge translation but don't know how to get your research out to the community?
The University of Alberta’s Media Strategy team is here to help publicize your research, discoveries, and teaching innovations. This unique training opportunity outlines how the media works and provides critical tips and tricks when speaking to journalists
Presenter: Ross Neitz, Media Strategist, University of Alberta
Contact
Questions regarding Speakers' Corner workshops can be directed to:
Dr. Rob Desjardins
PD Instructional Designer
Faculty of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies
E-mail: grad.pd@ualberta.ca