As DPhil students, you’ve mastered the art of academic writing—but what happens when you need to explain your ground-breaking research to a journalist, present to industry partners, or simply have your voice heard in a departmental meeting?
This intensive workshop moves beyond traditional “communication skills” training to tackle some of the real challenges you face as emerging researchers. We’ll explore why that brilliant conference presentation fell flat, how to navigate difficult conversations with supervisors, and what actually makes people listen when you’re passionate about complex ideas.
Through interactive exercises, peer coaching, and practical models, you’ll discover your natural communication strengths while developing tools to handle everything from elevator pitches to contentious Q&A sessions. We’ll decode the unspoken rules of professional conversations, and practice techniques that work whether you’re speaking to fellow experts or complete outsiders.
This isn’t about becoming a polished presenter, it’s about finding your authentic voice and using it deliberately and strategically. You’ll leave with concrete strategies for making your research matter beyond the academy and confidence to communicate with impact in any professional setting.
You are required to bring with you a piece of communication (no longer than 3 minutes) and be prepared to revise, rehearse it in pairs and deliver it to the whole course at the end of the workshop for the purpose of practise, receiving feedback and being able to make decisions about what works what doesn’t.
The trainer's guidance notes on the piece of communication you should bring with you to the session:
'it’s very much not a ‘presentation’ but should be thought of as a pitch of some kind. How would you explain your research to a journalist? How would you engage a fellow academic in a related area at a conference? How might you assert the benefits of your research for the purpose of securing funding?'
Please take seriously the requirement to bring a piece of communication, as it is the content you will be working with for the day. You will not benefit from, or be able to participate in, the course without it. If you do not have such a piece already, it may require you preparing something specifically for this session.
Places are limited and priority will be given to DPhils in Yrs 3+
APPLY HERE
n.b. this session cannot be recorded because it is interactive and participatory; recording in this training context negatively affects participants' engagement within the session, and as a consequence, their meeting the intended learning outcomes of the session.
Our booking process
When your application is received, you will be emailed a link and then have 48 hours to complete a pre-workshop form requesting additional information. If you do not meet this deadline, your application will be cancelled.
See our full Terms and Conditions below
If you have specific circumstances which may affect your engagement with this event, or your meeting our Terms and Conditions, please continue with your booking and contact us by email to discuss how we can support you: researcherdevelopment@socsci.ox.ac.uk
