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Utrecht University offers doctoral students the opportunity to give a so-called layman's talk prior to the defense of their dissertation. A layman's talk is a short presentation in which the PhD student explains in accessible language what the dissertation is about. This allows the audience to better understand why the research is interesting and important.

Training

The Centre for Science and Culture offers a training for PhD students at Utrecht University who will be giving a layman's talk prior to their defense within four months from the training. During this training you will gain insights and learn storytelling skills, specifically focused on translating a scientific story to a wider audience. The following topics will be covered:

• Translating your research to your audience’s frame of reference
• Zooming out to the bigger picture
• Storyline with a clear narrative arc
• Analogies and comparisons
• Engaging presentation using your voice, body language, and visuals

About the trainer

I am dr. Liza Cornet, science communicator with a passion for making complex information understandable. I gained my doctoral degree in neurocriminology at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in 2016. Since 2021, I have been helping researchers present their work understandably and engagingly to a wide audience. During this workshop, we will work on your layman's talk - I will share all my tips and tricks to communicate your research clearly and convincingly.