Improving Your Presentation Skills
7th October 2022
9 am - 1 pm
Once conclusive results are in, the time comes for young researchers to begin to present their findings to the scientific community. Presenting that information in public effectively and confidently in a second language can lead to establishing a wider network of potential collaborators and better recognition within the community. Without strong public speaking skills, however, even the best ideas remain stuck at the starting gate, lost before they gain any momentum. This course is designed for PhD students to present their ideas in English more effectively in front of an audience, to ensure that their message gets across.
Aim of the course:
To teach participants how to plan a presentation effectively, engaging an audience through strong delivery and avoiding common pitfalls for non-native speakers, aided by an interactive discussion on the main skills to be acquired.
By the end of the course, the participants should be able to:
- make critical choices regarding the focus and scope of their presentation
- improve their own slideshow-making approach
- come up with ideas for stronger conclusions and introductions
- develop key delivery skills, including eye contact and appropriate body language
- apply strategies for a more dynamic presentation
- avoid common (language and presentation) mistakes for better professionalism
- adapt these tips to an online-only (Zoom-style) presentation
Target group: PhD candidates in the beginning of their PhD trajectory, group is limited to 15 participants
Prerequisites: This workshop has no prerequisites other than working knowledge of English.
Duration of the course: 4 hours
Location: Leon Frédéricq Auditorium (GIGA B34, +5)
Workload:
±4h for attending and participating in the one-day course + 30min preparation before attending the course by selecting and posting some of their own slides so that we may answer questions and practical concerns to be addressed in the Q&A session: https://padlet.com/islv_uliege/GIGA2022
Educators:
Ellen Harry and Clara Brereton, English (ESP) Language Lecturers at the ISLV (ULiège)
The course schedule:
9:00 – 10:15 Effective presentation styles and PowerPoint slideshows, followed by practical advice on Engaging Your Audience. Practical examples will be given in video format with an opportunity for participants to assess basic dos and don’ts.
10:30 – 11:50 Planning Effectively (including anticipation of worst-case scenarios), followed by Avoiding Common Pitfalls (including, but not limited to, common language errors).
12:00 – 13:00 Informal Question and Answer session with the lecturers based on practical (language or presentation-related) questions they have followed by volunteer mini presentations.
