Science: Becoming the Messenger Workshop a Huge Success

Dr. Scott Miller meets with workshop mentor Dan Agan to discuss his mock presentation

Last week, Wyoming EPSCoR and the National Science Foundation hosted the “Science: Becoming the Messenger” workshop. The workshop taught participants valuable communication skills, including interview techniques, social media tools, and presentation tips.

The workshop emphasized the importance of effective communication across a wide variety of platforms, including Twitter, blogs, and presentations.
“No matter what we do, we want to know where communication comes from, how it is used, and how it lets us do what we value,” said Elizabeth Traver, SSHL Manager.
For the participants, learning how to better their communication skills was a major benefit.
“The workshop was fantastic,” said Dr. Steve Holbrook. “Even for those of us who might have thought we were already pretty good communicators.”


Members of the WyCEHG and CI-WATER teams prepare for their presentations

The workshop took place over two days at the Wildcatter Suites in War Memorial Stadium at the University of Wyoming. During day one, participants received an intensive course in interview etiquette, what and what not to do during presentations, and the power of effective communication. The smaller group of participants in day two had the chance to use the skills they gained in day one to create and deliver mock presentations, practice interviews with journalists, and focus on developing strong communication foundations.




By Robin E. Rasmussen
Photos by Kali S. McCrackin

"Science: Becoming the Messenger" Workshop Happening September 11th and 12th

Tomorrow, September 11th, researchers, teachers, students, and other citizens from around the state of Wyoming will travel to Laramie for the National Science Foundation’s “Science: Becoming the Messenger” workshop.

 

This workshop is intended to help scientists learn how to effectively communicate their research to broad audiences.

 

Updates from the workshop will be posted to the Wyoming EPSCoR Facebook page and to the Wyoming EPSCoR Twitter feed. Please stay tuned to these social media sites for updates and more information!

For more information about this workshop, please visit our blog.


 

 By Robin Rasmussen

"Science: Becoming the Messenger" workshop to be hosted at the University of Wyoming

Turning complicated research into information a broad audience can understand is nothing short of a challenge. Research can contain scientific terminology and complex processes second nature to a scientist, but convoluted to someone outside that scientific field.

To address the difficulty of presenting research to a broad audience, the National Science Foundation will host a workshop called “Science: Becoming the Messenger” on September 11^th and 12^th at the University of Wyoming. The workshop will feature presentations on social media, video, interviews, and more. The goal of this workshop is to help scientists develop the skills necessary for communicating one’s research to a general audience.

According to the National Science Foundation website, day one of the workshop “equips attendees with the fundamental skills needed to plan, create, and execute effective communications,” and day two “focuses on applying the skills and knowledge gained on day one.”

The workshop will take place at the University of Wyoming in the Wildcatter Suites and is open to UW faculty, researchers, students across the state of Wyoming, and scientific partners. Although the workshop is free, participants must register online through the National Science Foundation.

If you have any questions regarding this workshop, please contact Beth Cable at (307) 766-3544 or bcable@uwyo.edu.  

By Robin E. Rasmussen