Professional Development Webinars
Professional Development Webinars provide exercises and tips for scientists to enhance their oral and poster presentation skills and effectively communicate their research in formal and informal settings.
Using Spoken English in Presentations
Avoid communication obstacles when discussing your scientific research by providing listeners with the specific sounds and cultural cues they need to follow your presentation. By learning a few simple techniques, speakers can easily incorporate these "unspoken rules" and improve their English in both formal and informal settings. This recorded webinar helps both lifelong and more recent English speakers to improve their professional communication, and includes exercises that anyone can begin using immediately. You will learn:
- The most important words in English — and how to "stretch" them.
- The two critical letters that English speakers are listening for.
- How to use sentence length to clearly convey even the most complex ideas.
- How to compose and deliver effective "elevator speeches," lab updates, and poster presentations.
Powerful Poster Sessions: Design and Presentation Plus Case Studies
Your poster presentation is an excellent opportunity to network with fellow researchers and share critical information. Learn how to design a poster that earns the attention your research deserves and helps you communicate with your colleagues clearly and effectively. Includes special case studies demonstrating how posters presented at the 2011 NIDA International Forum were developed. You will learn to:
- Select information that attracts viewers to your poster.
- Organize the contents for maximum clarity.
- Use text and illustrations to enhance your presentation.
- Make professional connections at a poster session.
Click here for the same presentation, featuring a different case study.
Using Spoken English in Conversation
Avoid communication problems in informal conversations with professional colleagues or neighbors by learning the "unspoken rules" of English: simple techniques that incorporate helpful sounds and cultural cues into casual conversations. Both lifelong and more recent English speakers can improve their conversational clarity by using these simple exercises. You will learn to:
- Find ideal sentence length and clarity.
- Make every important word easy to understand.
- Use "filler" words to engage your listeners.
- Participate easily in any social conversation.
- Meet cultural expectations during a conversation.
Scientifically Speaking: How to Prepare an Effective Talk
Presenting your work clearly and concisely is a vital professional skill. Learning how to describe complex processes and present data effectively within the limits of a brief presentation is a challenge—especially when adapting the talk to fit the knowledge base of each new audience. Join this webinar to learn the strategies and tools necessary to prepare a clear presentation on even the most complicated topic. You will learn to:
- Prepare the presentation in less time—and with less stress.
- Structure the talk (no matter how brief) for maximum clarity.
- Select and use images effectively.
- Engage any audience from the beginning of the talk.
Presenter: Barrett Whitener, M.F.A., M.A., IQ Solutions, Inc., Rockville, Maryland, USA
For more than 15 years, Mr. Whitener has trained professionals in science, health care, and public policy to become effective communicators. He has led workshops on presentation skills for postdoctoral fellows, senior researchers, and administrators throughout the National Institutes of Health and for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Cornell University, Gates Millennium Scholars, Compact for Faculty Diversity, Center for Strategic and International Studies, World Resources Institute, and many others. He is co-author of the book, Speaking About Science: A Manual for Creating Clear Presentations (Cambridge University Press, 2006).
To view the webinars, you will need the Adobe Flash Player. If you experience problems viewing the recording, please try upgrading to the latest version of Adobe Flash Player, which is available for free at http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/
Important Dates
NIDA International Forum
June 14–17, 2013
Online Registration Deadline:
May 6, 2013
FELLOWSHIPS
IAS/NIDA Fellowships
Application Deadline:
February 10, 2013
NIDA International Program Fellowships
Application Deadline:
April 1, 2013
Global Health Program for Fellows and Scholars
Application Deadlines: Vary
GRANTS
Brain Disorders in the Developing World: Research Across the Lifespan
(Non-AIDS)
R01 PAR-11-030and R21 PAR-11-031
Application deadline:
February 14, 2013
MEETINGS
American Association for the Advancement of Science
February 14–18, 2013
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
International Drug Abuse Research Society (IDARS)
April 15–19, 2013
Mexico City, Mexico
2013 International Conference on Global Health: Prevention and Treatment of Substance Abuse and HIV
April 17–19, 2013
Taipei, Taiwan
Yih-Ing Hser, Ph.D.