Effective Oral Presentations

communication skills
live training

Effective Oral Presentations

Target Audience:
VIB PhD Student
VIB Postdoc
VIB Staff Scientist
Location:

UGent-VIB Research Building Locus

General context

Due to the increasing number of Corona infections, the second day of the theoretical part (29 Nov) will be organized online. 

Top-notch scientists who strive to publish, patent and ultimately translate their scientific findings from the laboratory bench to the patient’s bedside/plant, must be very talented in a wide variety of life science disciplines. Though, more than being a superb scientist, they also need to be skilled to put their findings in the picture at events such as lab meetings, seminars, workshops, etc. The simple reason therefore is that in fact any scientific breakthrough or technical achievement is only as good as the scientists’ ability to clearly and concisely explain and/or present its content to others in language they can understand (and relate to).

In modern life sciences, it is thus a prerequisite for embarking scientists to impress their colleagues, their boss, granting bodies and eventually the entire research community via spoken and/or written communications dealing with their research findings in such a way that the take home messages hit the scientific minds! Sounds easy, but in fact it is challenging to bring a scientific story in such a way that some years later the essence is still remembered for the good, instead of the bad reasons.

VIB is aware of the myriad of skills required to do so successfully and offers doctoral researchers and postdoctoral researchers the ability to participate in a four days training program that will give them concrete insights and guided practice to develop expert communication and presentation skills. 

Objectives

Ultimately, the ambition of the current training session is to give doctoral researchers and postdoctoral researchers the privilege to develop a persuasive edge that will enable them to upgrade their communication and presentation skills to those of a capable, credible and captivating lecturer, which means that he/she is appreciated by its audience as someone who can be followed, understood, trusted and believed, and for whom it is worth to keep awake.

Participants will be trained on aspects such as:

  • how to design, construct and use slides,
  • how to handle and respond to simple and challenging questions,
  • how to choose ‘the right graph’ to present the data,
  • how to draw attention to specific data points, and
  • how to develop techniques for delivering scientific information to groups of any size.

Further, the training program pays attention to so-called soft skills such as,

  • how to deal with performance anxiety,
  • how to develop a comfortable natural style,
  • how to make eye contact with the audience, and
  • how to build a stronger communication impact through the ideal interplay between words, voice and body language.

So, for everyone who hesitates whether or not to participate, we finally can say that, if you do, you will be grateful on occasions such as when you are standing behind a lectern looking at the faces of hundreds of renowned scientists as you are about to present your latest scientific paper.

Approach

The combination of highly interactive theoretical lectures and practical sessions prepares you to get your message across.

Extra information
  • This training is free for VIB participants.
  • The course is not open for non-VIB participants.
  • Note that upon no show without valid justification a fee of € 100 will be charged and you will be blacklisted for the VIB training program for 1 year. Click here for more information.
  • The trainer has signed a Confidential Disclosure Agreement with VIB.
Testimonials
testimonials

I particularly appreciated the enthusiasm of the instructor, all of the anecdotes, the humor, the very personal and applicable tips and feedback, the combination of courses and practical sessions.

Participant edition 2020

Trainers

Principiae

An engineer from the Louvain School of Engineering and a PhD in applied physics from Stanford University, Jean-luc Doumont is the lead instructor for most of the training projects at Principiae: he enjoys nothing more than standing in front of a group of grad students or professionals, challenging everything they thought they knew, provoking or facilitating a discussion, structuring their thoughts, sharpening their skills, and, importantly, arousing enthusiasm.

An articulate, entertaining, and thought-provoking presenter, Jean-luc is a popular instructor and invited speaker worldwide. Over the years, he has given hundreds of talks and workshops, in English, French, Dutch, and Spanish, at an array of companies, top-ranked universities, research laboratories, and conferences.

Program

This course consists of 2 full days of theory & 2x half a day of practice:

  • Fundamentals: 16 November 2021 - AM
  • Speaking - concepts 1: 16 November 2021 - PM
  • Speaking - concepts 2: 29 November 2021 - AM
  • Speaking - concepts 3 (graphs): 29 November 2021 - PM
  • Practice 1: 23, 24 or 26 November 2021
  • Practice 2: 13, 14 or 16 December 2021

 The location and dates for the practical sessions are to be chosen by the participants in consultation with the lecturer.

Practical info

Location & Venue

16 November 2021 - 29 November 2021

Ghent - VIB/UGent FSVM II

Technologiepark 75
9052 Zwijnaarde
Belgium

Public transport

16 November 2021 - 29 November 2021

Ghent - VIB/UGent FSVM II
Public transport

From Ghent Sint-Pieters station, you can take bus 49, 50 or 70 to Technologiepark. Please check Routeplanner De Lijn for schedules.

Route description

16 November 2021 - 29 November 2021

Ghent - VIB/UGent FSVM II
Parking

Route description

There is only one entrance to Technologiepark. At the entrance, please take a ticket and have it validated at the reception desk of the FSVM building. Parking will only be allowed in regular parking spots (for instance in front of the building) and in the new parking tower. Parking alongside the roads or in other places where there is no regular parking is prohibited and after initial warnings, fines will be issued (€ 50).

Venue contact

16 November 2021 - 29 November 2021

Ghent - VIB/UGent FSVM II
Extra information

Room L4

The second day of the theoretical part (29 Nov) will be online!