Making Your Presentation Memorable:
Audience, Message, & Delivery

Presenting at professional meetings eventually becomes routine for academic researchers, but when was the last time you saw a truly great presentation? Being clear and comfortable is the first step. But how can you make your talk more lively, interesting, and memorable? How should you tailor a talk for different audiences?

This workshop will help you hone your personal presentation skills and have a stronger impact on your audience - whether you are headed to an academic interview, a donor meeting, or a Congressional hearing. Participants will learn techniques to develop a compelling, clear message and use voice variation, body language, and visuals to get their messages to resonate. Practicing with their own material, participants will be video-taped and receive individual feedback to help them improve specific presentations.

Planning Strategic Communication & Outreach

Communication and outreach efforts by researchers are often an afterthought - a tag-on to meet a requirement in a grant proposal, a quick trip to a local classroom, or a public lecture. But could fulfilling an outreach requirement in a grant actually help you achieve your research goals? Ensure that a key policy-maker is aware of your work? Get findings or innovations into the hands of people who can apply them on the ground? This workshop will examine how other sectors use strategic communication planning and discuss how researchers can tailor these techniques to get more out of their outreach efforts. Individual sessions will help researchers put together their own plans to guide and sequence communications efforts.

Interacting with the Media

Frustrated with media coverage of your research? Too nervous to call that reporter back in a timely fashion? This workshop helps break down barriers that often keep researchers from successfully interacting with the press. Discussions with journalists about how they find, develop, and publish stories provide insight into the world of journalism. New tools and practice interview sessions help you hone your ability to describe your work in ways that will resonate with public audiences.

Writing Op-Eds

Have an idea that you would like to write about in the newspaper or online? "Op-Ed" pieces are an important way to reach public audiences, especially when your research findings are relevant to recent news events. This workshop will cover the basics of how to successfully write and submit op-eds, as well as techniques to increase the chances of being selected for publication. Participants will develop and receive feedback on their own op-ed pieces, focusing on how to tailor their writing for public audiences, target specific media venues, and develop messages that will resonate with editors and readers.

New Media: Trends and Opportunities for Academic Outreach

What is new media, who is using it, and how can it help researchers connect with new audiences? In the seemingly endless world of blogs, wikis, online games, podcasts, and social networks, how can researchers ensure that their information isn't just lost in the shuffle? This workshop includes a small panel discussion with examples of creative ways that researchers are using new media to get the word out about their work.

Individual Video Taping and Interview Practice for Faculty

Have an upcoming press conference or big paper coming out in Science, Nature, or another high-profile journal? Meet with Woods Institute staff to help develop effective key points and practice delivering your information in a lively and engaging way that will resonate with you audience.

Making Your Research Relevant in the Policy World

As recognized experts, academic researchers are increasingly called upon to provide recommendations in the policy arena. But, despite calls for the "best available science", research findings are frequently misconstrued or fail to affect outcomes in policy debates. As a result, many researchers choose not to engage in policy discussions, and those who do participate often find themselves frustrated with the results. This disconnect between research and policy often stems from a lack of clear and powerful communication from researchers about their own work. Environmental decisions are based on a wide variety of factors, and environmental research can play an important role in informing and improving these policies - but only if it is communicated effectively.

How can scientists, engineers, and other researchers engage in policy discussions without having their work misunderstood? What are the lines between providing scientific input and advocating for a particular policy? During this interactive workshop, participants will probe the risks and benefits of engaging with policy processes and learn new skills for effectively communicating research in a policy setting. The workshop can be tailored to focus on engaging with State or Federal policy-makers, and/or focus on a particular issue area (e.g. oceans, forestry, etc.).

Giving Testimony in a Policy Setting

This interactive workshop focuses on how to write and deliver testimony in a policy setting. Hear from policy-makers about how they decide to have hearings on specific topics and what they are looking for in expert testimony. Practice delivering powerful testimony in high-pressure situations with short time constraints and difficult questions.

Connecting Environmental Research with Business

What role can environmental research - and researchers themselves - play in motivating business action on sustainability issues? How can academic research inform business decisions and what opportunities do academics have to contribute to environmental efforts in the business world? This workshop brings in a small panel of experts working at the interface of business and environment to discuss new trends and outreach opportunities in the field of sustainable business.

• Getting the Most Out of Your Meeting: Facilitation & Leadership Skills
• Engaging with Stakeholders
• Time Management Strategies
• Leading Teams & Harnessing Collective Intelligence
• Negotiation Skills