The Research Presentation as Storytelling: A Two-Day Virtual Workshop with Josef Woldense

August 26 & 27 | 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM | Central Standard Time

Note: Attendees, please be sure to check your spam folder as the workshop approaches. Your email filter may flag my announcements as spam especially if you are not affiliated with the University of Minnesota.

Overview

The Challenge:
The research presentation is the art of shifting from one mode of communication to another; from the quiet, reflective world of written research to the interactive, dynamic world of oral delivery. But therein lies the challenge. For the audience, reading and listening are two distinct activities. What may have worked on the page — dense with data and technical jargon — is all but guaranteed to confuse the audience in a presentation setting. Oral communication has its own logic that is different from the written word. The challenge of crafting a research presentation, then, is this: How do I distill complex ideas and deliver them in a way that suits the spoken word. This is exactly what the workshop aims to achieve and it proposes storytelling as the key method for transforming research into an engaging oral narrative.

Workshop Purpose:
The goal is to help participants see research presentations not as a monologue of facts but as a compelling narrative. The exploration begins with the fundamentals: What is storytelling? What makes storytelling so compelling? How can this ancient art be incorporated into research presentations? Alongside answering these fundamental questions, the workshop also walks through a portion of an actual presentation to demonstrate the principles of storytelling when applied to research. Lastly, participants will have the opportunity to start crafting their own research presentation in the form of storytelling.

Intended Audience:
While this workshop is primarily geared toward participants who work on their research projects, it can also benefit those who want to learn more about storytelling and hone their presentation and oral communication skills.

Questions about the workshop

• Who is the audience for this workshop? Anyone interested in learning more about giving research presentations is welcome to join. My immediate goal, however, is to offer this to PhD students about to enter the academic job market — hence the title of the workshop.

• How will we meet? We will use Zoom as our virtual meeting platform (New to Zoom? Check out this video). You will receive the link to join the meeting after you register. Be sure to check your spam folder if you do not see an email from me with the Zoom information.

• Is this workshop mostly lecture based? The workshop will consist of two modes, one where I will be the primary speaker and the other where you will be engaged in small group work. Especially Day 2 of the workshop will be mostly small group work. Please come ready to participate.

• What is expected of participants? From the humanities to the social and natural sciences, the workshop tends to attract people from various academic disciplines. This diversity is great! It makes for rich and insightful conversations. To avoid misunderstandings, however, it does mean that participants need to be a bit more mindful, patient and empathetic. After all, you will be sharing the same space with someone who does not share your disciplinary norms.

• Can participants attend just one day of the workshop? Sure. But if you do, I strongly recommend you attend Day 1 of the workshop. Day 2 will draw heavily on the things introduced in the previous day. Although it is not impossible to follow along, there will be significant knowledge gaps between you and your workshop peers. This is especially so because Day 2 consist mostly of small group discussions.

• Will the workshop be recorded? The workshop will not be recorded.