Description. This workshop will prepare students to effectively present their research at an academic conference or other public forum.  While students are often expected to present research at academic conferences, this workshop also will prepare students for a successful thesis or dissertation defense.  Students will learn practical strategies for dealing with stage fright as well as the best strategies for communicating information during an oral presentation.   Finally, we will briefly discuss the differences between an oral presentation and a poster presentation. Students will learn practical strategies for creating and presenting scientific posters and  also how to handle the author session for discussing their poster during an academic conference.

Learning Outcomes. As a result of this session, participants will be able to:

1. understand layout and design strategies for effective oral and poster presentations

2. gain basic strategies for dealing with stage fright

3. understand basic strategies for presenting statistical information (for the natural and social sciences)

4. learn strategies for successfully handling questions following an oral presentation.

Presenter(s). Kandi Walker, PhD is a Professor of Communication with the University of Louisville. For over 16 years she has explored the intersection between interpersonal communication and health looking at how people perceive the social world surrounding health, community, and personal issues. Specifically, her research has examined how people talk and behave when an illness is present, how people perceive well-being, and how people perceive and communicate about risky health behaviors. During Dr. Walker’s time at the University of Louisville (UofL) she studied communicative issues in the Appalachian region, employing both qualitative and quantitative methods. She examined individual and social definitions of well-being; has investigated perceptions of how young adults perceive health behaviors in the community; and has studied how social influences impact lifestyle choices. Dr. Walker's work has resulted in numerous conference presentations, book projects, and journal articles. She also regularly teaches undergraduate and graduate students in health communication and interpersonal communication courses.

Please register for this event here.