Special Topic Workshops

A Master Plan for Preparing an Engaging Presentation (55+ min)

Have you ever wished you had a checklist that reminded you of all the ideas you wanted to apply to your presentation? Do I have enough audience engagement exercises? Do I have an evaluation form? Are my slides balanced with text and images? In this workshop, we discuss how to design, build, deliver, and evaluate an engaging presentation with this checklist of over 30 strategic and technical ideas. This is applicable to in-person and online presentations.

Slaying Scientific Jargon (75+ min)

How many times has someone told you “don’t use jargon”? And you think to yourself “I’m a scientist. How do I not use jargon?” After years of teaching chemists, biologists, computer scientists, and many other “-ists”,  I have developed a checklist for knowing when you are using jargon. In this session, you will learn how to know when you are using jargon, and even better, how to fix it.

Writing in Plain Language (55+ min)

As academics, we are often encouraged and arguably required to write according to disciplinary-specific norms. This often includes long sentences with obscure language. The gift of writing in plain language allows your reader to enjoy and absorb your writing without interrupting their thoughts to check the dictionary. If you need or want to share your research with diverse, non-expert audiences, this workshop will help you do so.