Week 1.9: Dress Rehearsal#
Many researchers and students are asked to “make a poster” and “give a presentation” with little guidance about how to do that. As with many things these are skills which can be taught and then practiced and improved. This week, will be dedicated to these skills. We will start with a workshop on developing page layouts using a design software. This technical skill will make your posters look excellent. The second workshop will be focused on the presentation skills, you will learn strategies for handling difficult questions and overcome stage fright. You willpractice these skills during a small theatre improvisation.
Monday:
Science Spotlight
Workshop: Poster Design
Wednesday:
Friday:
Friday Symposium
Workshop: Poster Design#
Posters are important tools in academia/research. They represent a compact way of presenting information visually. Every discipline and subspeciality has research gatherings where scientists gather to exchange ideas and information. They often consist of talks and lots of opportunities for networking. They will also typically have some poster reception event especially for researchers to present their projects as a way to see a lot of different projects very quickly. Similar events happen in many professional fields as well.
You will take the theory of what you have learned from constructing narratives and visualization workshops to design an effective poster you can use to explain and promote your idea.
Relevant Learning Goals#
Students should be able to design a poster using design software
Workshop: Presenting – Improv, Handling Questions and Stage Fright#
Delivery, or the actio as ancient Roman and Greek orators put it, is the final step of giving a presentation. Once the curtains have opened and you meet your audience, you want to keep them engaged to get your message and get the narrative across . This means that you need to effectively use your body posture, gestures, voice and facial expression to deliver your talk. This workshop focuses on the effective delivery of a presentation. We will practice using body language and voice with improvisation exercises. Students gain insight into their own ‘actio’ strengths and pitfalls. Special attention will be given to nerves: what can you do if they get the better of you? Furthermore, we will practice handling questions – a part of presenting that can only be prepared to a certain extent and that often involves some improvisation. We will touch upon guidelines for structuring answers and dealing with challenging audiences and questions.
Key Concepts#
Delivery of a presentation: body language, voice and movement
Handling (challenging) questions
Coping with nerves
Relevant Learning Goals#
Students know about advice for effectively delivering a presentation
Students practice with engaging delivery skills
Students gain insight into their personal presentation delivery style, strengths and points for improvement
Students apply guidelines for handing (challenging) questions
Students know guidelines for dealing with nerves prior or during a presentation
Group Activity of the Week#
Turn in final grant application to supervisor
Design poster and send for printing
Discussion Questions#
Do you feel ready for the presentations next week? What do you feel confident about? What do you feel least confident about? Think of a way to prepare and lessen the worry.
What are you proud of in the work you’ve done this quarter?
What was your favourite thing to learn?
Weekly Submitted Assigments#
Group#
Submit your poster (A0 format)
Submit your final proposal
Individual#
What makes for a good presentation? How will you prepare for that? (½ page)
References#
TU Present (see Brightspace) – Delivery module