WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION. Is it possible to explain your research in a way that even a general audience can understand and appreciate—and in just a few minutes if necessary? You may already realize how challenging it is to captivate an audience if you have watched others make the attempt or done so yourself. Writing, designing, and delivering an effective oral presentation, especially one focused on academic research, requires careful planning and a lot of practice. This 90-minute workshop will help! The script-planning portion of the workshop, which will be the primary focus, will target a story-based approach to presenting that works with virtually any research topic or discipline. While this approach is adaptable for nearly any audience, purpose, and time frame, we will focus most of our attention on shorter presentations for general (non-specialist) audiences, with UCSB’s upcoming Grad Slam Competition in mind. We will follow a step-by-step perspective, including some hands-on experience, for crafting your next presentation. You will leave the workshop with a solid foundation upon which to build. The remainder of the workshop will discuss related issues including visual support, delivery style, and Q & A handling. Additional time will be available after the workshop for anyone needing individual help related to an upcoming presentation.

Please bring paper and a pen—and a presentation topic if you have one.


ABOUT THE FACILITATOR. Jeffrey Hanson has been teaching various forms of written and oral communication, including presentation design, to grads and undergrads at UCSB and universities abroad for the past 28 years. He recommends an engaging approach that draws upon key elements of effective communication going back thousands of years. His mentors include contemporary pathfinders like Nancy Duarte (Resonate), Garr Reynolds (Presentation Zen), and Jean-luc Doumont (Trees, Maps, and Theorems). He cites these folks and others often during his teaching and training.

Please sign up below for one of TWO IDENTICAL SESSIONS:

SESSION 1
Wednesday, March 14
1-2:30pm
McCune Conference Room (HSSB 6020)

SESSION 2
Tuesday, April 3
10-11:30am
Engineering Science Building Room 1001

For more information on this workshop or other questions about Grad Slam, please contact Shawn Warner-Garcia <shawn.warner-garcia@graddiv.ucsb.edu>.