Live Training

There are lots of times when we have to convey who we are and what we do; in job interviews, meetings, presentations or even just socially. Many of us undersell ourselves and our achievements, blend in to the crowd, or struggle to fit everything into one cohesive narrative.

Well, storytelling can help you create and convey your personal brand.

Personal branding is an exercise in finding your uniqueness, building a reputation on the things you want to be known for, and then allowing yourself to be known for them.

In this training, you’ll learn how to define your personal brand, and communicate that effectively through writing, presenting, images, websites and social media. You’ll do exercises which will help you see yourself from an outsider’s perspective, identify your strengths, and be given the tools to make you the hero of your own story.

You'll leave this workshop with the skeleton structure of your career story that can be used at job interviews, presentations and networking events, along with a handful of storytelling tools that can be applied to all sorts of writing and presenting in the future.

About your trainer

Dr Anna Ploszajski is an award-winning materials scientist, writer, presenter, podcaster, performer, trainer and storyteller based in London. She has produced and presented her podcast, Handmade, for five years, in which she interviews crafters, makers, movers and shakers about the world of materials and making. These conversations were the inspiration for her first book, Handmade: A Scientist’s Search for Meaning Through Making, published by Bloomsbury.

Anna is an industry specialist in helping scientists and researchers translate their technical content for the audio medium; she has sat on the panel for the British Podcast Awards’ Pulse Award and trains academics and students in planning and producing podcasts for science communication and public engagement. In her spare time, Anna plays the trumpet in a funk and soul covers band and is an ultra-endurance open water swimmer. Oh, and it’s pronounced “Por-shy-ski”.

Podcasting can be a powerful tool to engage with difficult-to-reach audiences, expand professional networks, and become established as an authority in your field. In this training, you'll learn about the tools you need to create compelling podcasts about research, to engage with different audiences, and increase your overall impact. As well as discussing the creation of an engaging narrative, this session will also teach you all the practicalities of audio production you need to get started on your own.

Curious about Public Engagement? This session provides a good foundation for beginners to develop public engagement skills or for those with a bit of experience.

By the end of the session, participants will be able to:

• Explain what public engagement is and why we do it

• Identify audiences they would like to engage

• Know how to tailor messages to different audiences

• Describe different formats public engagement can take

About your trainer

Sarah Cosgriff (she/they) is a multi-award winning science communicator with a background in equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI). They have worked in a number of settings, such as education, youth sector, and public engagement. Sarah is an experienced speaker, trainer and consultant and their clients have included businesses, charities, universities, festivals, schools and museums.

Please note that there will be breakout rooms during the training session for exercises and discussions. The first breakroom room will involve working in pairs, in which you will need a pen and paper for this exercise.

For those of us working and studying in universities - whatever our roles! We need to be able to stand up and talk about our work, to each other and also to non-experts. Good speakers talk with clarity and charisma. They’re engaging and they’re accessible, even when presenting complicated ideas.

For many of us this doesn’t come easy, but the good news is that presentation skills can be learned. Nerves can be tamed, audiences won round and content shaped into delicious story-sized bites.

In this interactive workshop, you’ll have the opportunity to create, practice and refine a short presentation. You’ll learn how to craft your message, ‘own the stage’, interact with the audience and enjoy your time in the limelight. You will leave more relaxed than you walked in, with the practical skills needed to go forth and tell the world about your work.