Chalk Talks are a key component of faculty interviews and other informal presentations. But what does a Chalk Talk look like? We’ve curated some examples for you.
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Presentation & Speaking Skills Training & Workshops
For scientists and researchers who want to prepare, design and deliver better presentations
Learn to present your science, results, or ideas with clarity, confidence, and authenticity—engaging your audience every step of the way.
Effective presentations are essential to your scientific, research or academic career, but they involve much more than speaking: from setting goals and understanding your audience to crafting compelling visuals and delivering with impact, there’s a lot to master.
We offer tailored training and workshops for scientists, researchers and science communicators in academia, research organisations, industry and elsewhere to help you improve specific skills or build a complete presentation toolkit—from planning to the post-delivery Q&A.
We also offer 4 customisable learning formats, including:
Two-day Presentation Skills Workshop: The Natural Presenter
Our two-day, small group workshop can be delivered in-person to groups of 6-12 people. (Prefer online? We offer this workshop as an online programme delivered over multiple sessions.)
This is our standard offering for scientists, researchers, research groups, and teams who want to learn or refresh all aspects of presenting. The two-day workshop builds skills in planning and preparation, design and development, and delivery and engagement.
Interactive and hands-on, participants have meaningful time to work alone and in small groups, learn from short chunks of theory and each other, participate in large group discussions, give and receive feedback, and, of course, ask questions.
We tailor this workshop to the needs of the group in advance of the session, as well as during the session itself to ensure that participants get exactly what they need from the workshop.
Short, focused workshops (2-4 hours )
If you want to focus on building one skill or refining a particular aspect of presenting, we offer short, focused workshops in person and online. Group numbers vary depending on the skill and focus.
We offer deep dive sessions into all aspects of presenting and speaking, catering to the needs of scientists, researchers, and science communicators. From audience analysis to voice training, presentation design to moderating a panel, let us create a learning experience that’s all about you.
For more information, visit our brand new presentation and presence offering, Share Your Science →
Coaching for individuals and small groups
Hands-on, full of feedback and exercises to help you build on your strengths as a presenter, and space to work on areas where you need some improvement.
Working in a small group or one-to-one, online or in person, we’ll help you build your presentation skills through a process of presenting, feedback, improvisation, and practice. Unlike a one-off workshop or training programme, coaching involves multiple highly-flexible sessions over weeks or months that help you overcome challenges to communicate and present at your best.
We provide coaching in all aspects of scientific and research presentations, including those related to career-related presentations PhD defense presentations, and faculty interview presentations, Chalk Talks, and teaching presentations.
Areas we usually cover include:
1. Confidence and mindset:
- Develop your confidence in public speaking so you enjoy it more
- Learn strategies for overcoming nerves and removing the fight or flight response
2. Delivery style and impact
- Develop your delivery style through body language and voice techniques
- Build your gravitas and personal impact so you can present with authority
3. Designing and delivering high-impact presentations
- Increase the impact and memorability of your presentation through storytelling and rhetorical devices
- Learn and use audience interaction techniques
- Ensure your presentation has a powerful call to action
4. Impromptu speaking skills:
- Handling difficult Q&As
- Influencing and rapport-building skills
- Panel speaking
- Moderation
- Job interviews
- Podcast appearances
- Media interviews
- Facilitating meetings and workshops
If this sounds right for you, get in touch for a discovery call to see if we’re a good fit.
The BIG one: coaching you to deliver ONE impactful presentation
If you have an important presentation coming up and you want it to be a success, we offer coaching, feedback, and practical support to help you review it, refine it (or design it!) and deliver it confidently.
This process involves coaching, mentoring, feedback, cheerleading and sometimes, a gentle prod to keep you going. Typically, we work together in 7 areas, more or less intensively depending on your time, budget and needs:
1. We’ll go back to first principles to make sure that your message is crystal clear, that it aligns with your purpose and the audience, and that it weaves a thread through every aspect of your presentation.
2. We’ll help you tighten up your structure and content, work on your wording, explore how to use examples and storytelling for clarity and impact, and ensure that your written and oral content hits the mark.
3. We’ll go through your slides, figures, diagrams and other visual aids one by one, making sure that they build on best practice design principles and that they reinforce your key message without adding distraction.
4. We’ll work with you on your confidence and mindset, so that you come across as the professional that you are.
5. We’ll get you to deliver your presentation again and again, until you can remember the flow of your presentation effortlessly – without memorising it word for word! – and so to that each sentence, gesture, inflection, and pause is delivered naturally, clearly, and confidently.
6. We’ll help you get comfortable with audience interaction, managing the Q&A session, and dealing with questions from friendly and unfriendly audience members alike.
7. We’ll support you as you build a reflective mindset, challenging you to review yourself and your presentation critically and compassionately, celebrating your strengths and wins, acknowledging areas where you need to improve, and taking actionable steps to address challenges where needed.
If this sounds right for you, get in touch for a discovery call to see if we’re a good fit.
Looking for something a bit different? Build your own workshop.
We’ve created Share Your Science to offer modular approaches to presentation skills training for scientists, researchers and communicators. Take a look at our training modules here →
Learn more
Request more information or a quote, or book a discovery call – because sometimes, it’s easier to speak.
NEW in 2025: Take a peek at Share Your Science, our dedicated platform for mastering presentation skills, created specifically for scientists, researchers, and science communicators.
Request more information or ask us for a quote
We typically schedule workshops and training 6-12 months in advance, so if you have specific dates in mind for a future event or for training planning purposes, we recommend getting in touch as early as possible. Need something at short notice? Not to worry - we often have a few days available each month for unplanned sessions.
Ask a question or request a no-obligation offer for this workshop
Kind words
It was useful to think more strategically about elevator pitches and how I could create something generic for "everyday" use as well as something tailored for different situations like meetings. The opportunity to plan and share elevator pitches was good, as it gave me an idea of other styles and approaches. The detailed individual feedback was unexpected, but great.
This was a fascinating workshop! I learned so much about how I come across and how powerful it is to become more conscious about how I "show up", so that I can make the right impression. Loved the tips about reading other people's non-verbal cues, too. This has made me think twice about the best time to approach people with difficult subject. Thank you, Suzanne, for an inspiring morning!
This was a good refresher on best practice planning and design for posters. I particularly enjoyed the sessions on tools for choosing colour palettes, which I have since used in other communication materials, and the discussion about online and virtual conferences, which was an eye-opener for me during COVID. Thank you, Suzanne!
Have something different in mind?
Book a call with one of our training team and let’s explore what you are thinking about, what you need, and what we can do to help.