University Presenting With Impact
What is university presenting with impact?
Public speaking is a daunting task for most people. And it’s especially hard for students and those in academia who are accustomed to presenting to their peers and professors in a structured setting rather than to a broader and less predictable audience. To help address this issue, Hannover Biomedical Research School in Germany offers a one-day public speaking training course for their PhD students. Led by Eric Molin from Impact Presenting, the course was designed to help students improve their public speaking skills and become more confident when presenting to a variety of audiences.
Impact Presenting has been offered at HBRS for the past 7 years.
The university split the course into three separate one-day classes, each with 3 modules and a maximum of 11 students. These smaller group sizes allowed for a more personalized learning experience, with each student receiving individualized feedback and coaching throughout the day.
The 3 key modules:
The first module of the class focused on Step 1 of the Impact Presenting method: speaking anxiety. This is a much more common issue than people think. It affects most people (71%) when giving a presentation. So Eric taught techniques for managing anxiety such as how to visualize success and yoga breathing exercises.
During the second module, Eric focused on step 2 of the Impact Presenting program: brain friendly content and call-to-action. Here, Eric covered techniques for simplifying complex information and using visual aids (like PowerPoint) correctly He also covered alternatives to PowerPoint like multimedia (ie. video and photos), using the whiteboard, and checking in with your audience for better engagement throughout the talk. Additionally, he addressed common pitfalls that students face when presenting scientific information. One of the most common is overloading the audience with too much data. Another is relying too heavily on specialized terminology and jargon. Another common was expecting the audience understands everything.
In the third module Eric focused on understanding the difference between academic and business presentations. While both types of presentations require a certain level of expertise and technical knowledge, there are key differences in the way they are structured. For example, academic presentations often focus heavily on data and methodology, while business presentations focus on the impact of the research or project. Understanding these differences helped students tailor their presentations to their audience and improve their effectiveness.
Eric also taught strategies for building confidence and projecting a strong presence on stage. He also covered the impact of body language and how students can use non-verbal communication to enhance their message.
And there was more …
Throughout the day, Eric gave guidance on how to deal with impostor syndrome. If you are not familiar with the term, it means a feeling when someone doubts their own abilities and feels like a fraud, despite their achievements. This is particularly prevalent in academic environments, where high levels of expertise and competition creates a culture of self-doubt. The course provided students with strategies for recognizing and overcoming impostor syndrome. One of those is focusing on their achievements and reframing negative self-talk.
Another important topic Eric covered in the course was presenting “dry” subjects in a more interesting way. Many expert subject matter presentations can be dry and technical, which makes it hard to keep the audience’s attention. To help students overcome this, the class covered how to make technical information more accessible and engaging. Some of the methods to do that are using business storytelling, using analogies and comparisons, and relatable examples. Additionally Eric covered how to engage the audience. The 3rd step of the Impact Presenting system is “Dare to Engage”. Students learned how to do exactly that, how to pull their audiences into their talks.
In conclusion to 3 days of training
The one-day professional public speaking training course offered by Hannover Biomedical Research School in Germany was a valuable resource for students to improve their public speaking skills. The course was a success, with many students reporting back that they felt more confident and prepared for their future presentations. The smaller group sizes allowed for a more personalized and interactive learning experience, with students receiving individualized feedback and coaching throughout the day. Additionally, Eric provided everyone practical techniques and strategies that could immediately apply to their own presentations making it a valuable investment in their future careers.
If your university would like to know more, then get in touch with us for a consultation
