If you are interested in communication skills in any context, please get in touch. All workshops are designed around your needs and budget - no two organisations or trainings are the same. Once we have discussed what you are looking for and defined a working brief, I can draw up a detailed proposal and quotation for you.

My long and diverse client list means that I have experience of a broad range of situations and needs - so I should be able to form a good understanding of your situation, as well as draw upon the best ideas from fields outside your own.


 

Part of the professional work of any researcher is to increase the impact of their work through Knowledge Transfer (KT), the dissemination of methodology, findings, and their relevance to decision-making and practice. Researchers must learn to communicate complex topics concisely, compellingly and with academic rigour. Diverse audiences include specialists, non-specialist academics, funders, policy makers, seminars, conferences, and audiences beyond the academic arena.

Through such communication, researchers can stimulate dialogue, and gain feedback that can help the evolution of their own ideas and the work of their research team. When they publicise and promote their work, researchers also become ambassadors for their research unit or university; their dissemination activities have positive impact on any RAE, and can open up new funding possibilities.

In terms of personal impact on the researcher, presenting one’s work also plays a key role in developing career, employability and job security: enhancing one’s visibility and credibility, extending professional networks, capturing the attention of mentors and future collaborators, and building a track record and reputation.

Speaking about one’s research is a skill quite distinct from writing about it. A presentation is an auditory and visual – and, arguably, emotional - medium that in the audience impacts centres in the brain different from those reached by the written word. Researchers giving oral presentations must learn to convey a message concisely, convincingly and memorably, citing only a fraction of the supporting evidence or argument they might use in a written piece. This requires the ability to: a) focus the presentation on one core idea, b) support that idea with appropriate evidence, ’story’, argument, and sequencing, c) understand the needs and agenda of the particular audience, d) capture the imagination and commitment of listeners, and e) deliver the message in person, articulately, confidently and inspiringly.

Many presentation courses fall short because too much emphasis is placed on ‘performance skills’ while the real substance – the content - is neglected or taken for granted. A fundamental precept of this training is that confidence and fluency in delivery and performance are most likely to happen if (a-d) have been given thorough attention and only then, rehearsal. Knowing a topic does not necessarily mean you can reach your audience when speaking, and being confident in front of people does not guarantee that you will make your presentation clear, relevant or interesting.

Workshop Title: 'Who do I hear in your voice, and who do you hear in mine?'
or "Don't look at me in that tone of voice!"

"A real tool to assist in my work with clients. I've recognised for the first time the importance of listening to my voice and really valuing it." Trainee therapist, Guildford College of Further Education

"I have only high praise for Alexander Massey. He led a workshop at our Annual Conference and sensitively worked with our theme "Living at the Edge: Borders and Borderlands", engaging with a wide age group and within a very short time we were all fully involved in the process he took us through. We were left deeply refreshed and wanting more. His attention to who we were and our needs, was most impressive.”
Bracha Newman, Chair, The Guild of Pastoral Psychology