Expert Communicator Boot Camp

The Expert communicator bootcamp is a 2-day intensive where you will learn how to connect with, inform and influence non-expert audiences.

Academia is now a highly competitive profession. Researchers increasingly need to demonstrate the ‘impact’ of their research and share it with a wide range of audiences. The old rule of ‘publish or perish’ is being replaced by the need to ‘be visible or vanish’.

Communicating well is a constant challenge for researchers. You need to explain your research to a journalist in a different way than you would explain it to a colleague you meet at a conference. What you say to a stray billionaire in a lift will be different to what you say to the dean of your school when you are asking for a new piece of equipment, and different again to what you say about your research during a job interview.

Perversely, the better you know your research topic, the more difficult this communication challenge can become. All researchers develop the 'curse of knowledge' - we forget what it's like not to know.

In this two-day bootcamp we will fight the curse of knowledge! Your coaches will be Prof Inger Mewburn and Dr Derek Panchuk. Inger has been presenting to academic and non-academic audiences for over 30 years and has just completed a book about presenting for researchers through Routledge. Derek has a background in learning and high performance sport, supporting high achieving athletes and coaches as they aim to reach their potential. We are also drawing on talent in ANU media.

Day one 'performing on stage' we will tackle building effective presentations for live audiences. We will learn about how listeners process visual and verbal information and use these insights can help us reframe our messages so that they are more likely to STICK and PERSUADE.

Day two 'writing for non-expert audiences' will introduce you to strategies for writing non-academic, research informed pieces. This workshop will be run by ANU media and will help you develop skills to write things like opinion pieces, or even books for a general audience.

This bootcamp is open to all ANU researchers, but if you are a HDR candidate you must have completed your TPR.

Now listen carefully: this bootcamp is run over two separate days. Unlike other bootcamps, we do not require attendance at both days - you can pick one or both. Day two is online only, but you have the option of a face-to-face or an online session for day one.

Dates are as follows:

Day one: presenting on stage (face to face option) July 4, 11am - 3pm

Day one: presenting on stage (online option) July 26, 11am - 3pm

Day two: writing for non expert audiences (online only) August 10 9:30am - 4pm

Register your expression of interest here: https://anu.au1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bvZZg65VvaA2QFU
Expressions of interest will close on Friday the 24th of June.

You'll be notified if you have a place by the 27th of June.

Please note: places for the face to face session will be strictly limited. We will allocate on a first come, first served, basis. You will be offered the online option if you miss out.