Thursday

Communicating your subject with the public can be a fantastic and thoroughly rewarding experience. However, it can also be incredibly daunting if you are new to the world of science communication and difficult to know how to get started. This is the very reason we set up a presenter network as outlined below.

The ‘Presenting 101’ session designed for those who have just started engaging with the public. It pulls together best and worst practice from the whole of our presenter network along with some engagement techniques for use when working with a variety of audiences. The session is prominently practical and has been created by presenters, for presenters. It meshes the ‘in theory’ advice and guidance with practical examples which is what our network say they find so useful.

We have been running a presenter network at the Royal Observatory Greenwich for a number of years. The purpose of it initially was to ensure all of our presenters had the skills they needed to deliver high quality sessions and have the opportunity to take part in events that would keep their skills fresh. The network went on to develop and grow as many other organisations felt the same and wanted to take advantage of any development opportunities for their presetners too. The network allows anyone working within the science communication sector to share best practice and learn from each other. It provides encouragement in a supportive environment where everyone is free to ask questions and get advice from others.