Workshop One: Creating a Compelling Presentation for a General Audience (Open to all interested graduate students)

Academics and professionals need to learn how to communicate their expert knowledge to non-specialist audiences, such as teammates, supervisors, collaborators, interviewers, and the general public. You can have the best ideas in the world, but if you cannot successfully communicate them, then your ideas lose much of their power. Without strong communication skills, you might not get the position, the funding, the invite, the platform, or the partnership.

In this interactive workshop, you will learn how to talk about complex research and creative topics in a way that is accessible, relatable, and compelling. You will examine successful three-minute presentations to learn messaging strategies by taking a turn in the judge’s seat to watch these strategies in action. After this presentation, you should brainstorm how you can limit jargon and what analogies will help you make your topic accessible to a general audience.

Dates and times:

• Session One: Tuesday, March 1st from 12:00 - 1:15 p.m. PST on Zoom. Zoom room opens at 11:50.

  • Signup link for session one.

• Session Two: Wednesday, March 2nd from 3:00 - 4:15 p.m. PST on Zoom. Zoom room opens at 2:50.

  • Signup link for session two.

Workshop Two: Crafting Your Three-Minute Presentation (Open to all semi-finalists)

Graduate research and creative projects are massive, spanning dozens of pages and multiple months. It takes a specialized approach to condense such large projects down into a three-minute form that is clear, concise, and compelling. Mastering this condensing skill will help you not only with academic presentations but also help you take on more leadership roles in your career and passion projects.

In this interactive workshop, you will learn how to distill the essence of your research topic and choose the perfect angle of approach to interest the audience in your topic. You will begin drafting your three-minute presentation after we analyze several successful presentations together. You will also explore different styles of slide design to enable you to envision the finished product for your presentation. After this presentation, you should finish creating your speech and choosing your slide design.

Dates and times:

• Session One: Tuesday, March 8th from 12:00 - 1:15 p.m. PST on Zoom. Zoom room opens at 11:50.

• Session Two: Wednesday, March 9th from 3:00 - 4:15 p.m. PST on Zoom. Zoom room opens at 2:50.

Signup links: Sent to semi-finalists when accepted.

Workshop Three: Mastering Vocal Delivery for Academic Presentations (Open to all semi-finalists)

Your voice is your first and most powerful tool to bring vitality to your presentation. We have all sat through classes and meetings with flat speakers where it's hard to pay attention. A flat, dry, or monotone delivery style can make it challenging for the audience to understand and be interested in a presentation. You greatly increase your audience’s interest and information retention when you practice strong vocal variety.

In this interactive workshop, you will learn to vocally deliver a confident presentation using the four tools of vocal variety: pitch, power, pace, and pause. You will see how these tools can be used to convey energy, build interest, and make complex information understandable. You will learn through giving short speeches on accessible topics in small groups and receiving feedback. The topics will be simple and won’t need any advance preparation, examples topics are "Why did you choose your program? or "What is a piece of advice you would give to a new graduate student?" After this presentation, you should begin practicing vocal variety in your speech as you learn your presentation.

Dates and times:

• Session One: Tuesday, March 15h from 12:00 - 1:15 p.m. PST on Zoom. Zoom room opens at 11:50.

• Session Two: Wednesday, March 16th from 3:00 - 4:15 p.m. PST on Zoom. Zoom room opens at 2:50.

Signup links: Sent to semi-finalists when accepted.

Workshop Four: Harnessing Physical Delivery for a Confident Stage Presence (Open to all semi-finalists)

You always have a stage. Any time you speak whether in front of a classroom, in a meeting, or on a zoom call you have a platform to share your ideas and make an impact. Your credibility as a speaker is intrinsically linked to how you look to the audience. Do you look comfortable and knowledgeable on stage? Do your gestures and body language help the audience understand your topic, or do they distract from your presentation?

In this interactive workshop, you will learn to physically deliver a confident presentation using gestures, body language, eye contact, and facial expressions. This competition has two kinds of stages: a digital one in the semi-finals and a physical stage on campus for the finals. For the semi-finals, we will discuss tips and tricks for camera setup and how to move your body on camera. For the finals, we will discuss how to deliver from a physical stage where you can walk. You will practice strong physical delivery through giving short speeches on accessible topics in small groups and receiving feedback.

After this presentation, you should begin synchronizing the physical and vocal delivery of your presentation. Start seeking feedback on your presentation, delivery, and slide design from friends, classmates, family, and other non-specialists audiences. Record yourself, so you can see your progress and make tweaks! You should finish learning your speech and updating your slide during Spring Break to be ready for the final one-on-one feedback sessions before you film your semi-final video entry.

Dates and times:

• Session One: Tuesday, March 22nd from 12:00 - 1:15 p.m. PST on Zoom. Zoom room opens at 11:50.

• Session Two: Wednesday, March 23rd from 3:00 - 4:15 p.m. PST on Zoom. Zoom room opens at 2:50.

Signup links: Sent to semi-finalists when accepted.