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 October 2012, the Esteve Foundation organized at the Fundació Docència i Recerca Mútua Terrassa the third edition of the Training Seminar How to improve your scientific presentations, 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 Brian McCarthy. Of Irish origin, he 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.

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 16 participants who attended the third 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.