If standing up and speaking in front of an audience is a source of anxiety, the stress is heightened even more when the official language of the conference, meeting or congress is English. On the 4th and 5th of April 2011, the Esteve Foundation added a new course to its training program with the first edition of Presentations in English for Scientists, which offers numerous techniques and practical tips for improving scientists presentations in English.
During two intensive days, participants immerse themselves in the international language under the guidance of two native speakers with extensive experience in the field of communication. Brian McCarthy, of Irish origin, is a writer, translator and instructor of several courses. He has also translated and edited dozens of articles on pharmacology, psychology and education. Before moving to Spain in 2005, he was a professional theater director and acting coach.
JoAnn Lauterbach, has more than fifteen years of experience in training managers. Since 2004 she has lived in Germany and later in Spain, where she has been helping various professionals gain confidence in their oral presentations. In 2010, they founded BeyondPresentations and began giving workshops aimed at helping people to make more impactful presentations in English.
Designed with a blend of theory and practice, this new course not only covers basic skills in public speaking but also looks at shaping your message, strucuturing your content and polishing your delivery in order to have a greater impact on your audience. Defining a message, having a central objective, establishing a narrative, imposing a structure and attractive design of slides are some of the keys to capturing and holding public attention.
For the 28 participants who attended the first edition of the course, the training did not finish once the two days were over. All presentations and speaking exercises were recorded on video and made available with further written feedback to students in a private web 2.0 reosurce only open to participants. Included on this webspace is all the support material, along with much more, so that participants have everything they need to help them make their future oral presentation in English.
