The Office of Postdoctoral Affairs is excited to offer a dynamic workshop series designed to enhance your communication and presentation skills, facilitated by Danielle Hennis from “Make it Memorable.” Across four engaging sessions, you’ll learn how to craft impactful presentations, leverage PowerPoint like a pro, use storytelling to connect with your audience, and effectively visualize data for clarity and persuasion. Each session is packed with practical tips, hands-on exercises, and insights tailored to elevate your ability to communicate scientific ideas with confidence.

Bonus Pre-Series Session: Deconstructing Presentations

Deconstructing Presentations is now available as a two-week recording (expiring mid-October) and lays the foundation for subsequent sessions in the series by exploring the psychology of audience memory. If you’ve ever zoned out during a presentation, you know that without attention, there’s no retention. This session shows you how to use structure, visuals, and stories to transform your presentations into memorable and persuasive experiences. It explores why audiences so often disengage and how to prevent it, demonstrates the science behind why stories stick, and guides you in using outlines and storyboards to replace text-heavy slides with compelling visuals. By the end, you gain a step-by-step plan for creating presentations that truly influence and resonate with your audience.

Click Here to Access the Link for the Recording of Deconstructing Presentations

Session 1: Demystifying PowerPoint

Date: Friday October 3rd

Time: 12:00 – 1:30 pm

Registration: https://apps2.research.unc.edu/events/index.cfm?event=events.go&key=CA9C

You’ve learned the theory of creating better slides—now it’s time to put it into practice using advanced PowerPoint tools! In this hands-on PowerPoint lab, you’ll discover how to transform your slides into professional, visually engaging presentations. This session will guide you in applying key design principles, such as aligning objects to utilize the Proximity Effect, replacing ineffective images and icons, and emphasizing critical sections of charts and graphs. You’ll also learn to create infographics using PowerPoint tools, apply the Rule of Thirds to enhance image appeal, and direct your audience’s attention effectively. By the end of the workshop, you’ll have the skills and confidence to turn theory into practice and make your presentations stand out.

Session 2: Scientific Storytelling

Date: Friday October 24th

Time: 12:00 – 1:30 pm

Registration: https://apps2.research.unc.edu/events/index.cfm?event=events.go&key=CA9E

Discover how storytelling can elevate your scientific presentations in this engaging workshop. Science and stories both revolve around problem-solving, yet they often seem worlds apart. This session will explore the similarities between the two and demonstrate how storytelling can be used ethically and effectively in technical presentations. You’ll learn about common story structures, how to apply them to your research, and how to ideate and uncover the core message of your presentation. The workshop will also delve into using analogies and metaphors as alternatives to traditional stories, helping you connect with your audience on a deeper level. By the end, you’ll understand the power of storytelling and how to apply these principles to create compelling scientific presentations.

Session 3: Data Visualization

Date: Friday November 14th

Time: 12:00 – 1:30 pm

Registration: https://apps2.research.unc.edu/events/index.cfm?event=events.go&key=CA96

This session focuses on how to effectively use data visualization and storytelling in presentations to enhance comprehension and persuasion. It emphasizes the importance of avoiding overwhelming slides filled with data, as they can hinder the audience’s understanding. Instead, the session guides presenters on how to highlight key messages using clear, easy-to-process visuals while providing additional resources for those who want more details. Participants will learn which charts and graphs are most effective, how to analyze data for relevance, and how to eliminate unnecessary information. The session also covers the use of infographics and provides practical tips, tricks, and tools for incorporating data visualization in future presentations.