Coaching PhD students for a scientific pitch and facilitating a "Science Communication" workshop for the Association of Dual Health Degrees.
Coaching for Scientific Pitch Competition
Delighted to have supported three PhD students from Institut Curie in preparing for the EU-Life pitch competition. Their topic focused on intracellular drug transport for cancer treatment.
Our objective: integrate performance energy into a narrative that meets the requirements of a scientific pitch.
The stages of our work:
- Identify the key message – there can only be one! – and verify that all elements converge toward this objective.
- Organize each element within a narrative structure that engages the audience.
- Stage the presentation so that each aspect emerges naturally: intro/conclusion, scenography, handovers, music, slides...
The result is a presentation that is both rigorous in content and embodied in form, giving researchers the confidence needed to deliver their message.
Science Communication Workshop for ANDCS
Following this initial intervention, I am pleased to have been invited to the 13th national congress of the National Association of Dual Health Degrees to facilitate a workshop on scientific communication.
During this workshop, my objective was to present the narrative structure of stories and show how it could be used to generate interest and engagement during scientific or technical presentations.
The main points of my presentation:
- The essential objective of any intervention is to trigger action (securing funding, changing behavior, etc.) and not simply to share information.
- Truth alone does not trigger action. To create momentum, you must establish an emotional connection through a story that engages the audience.
- At its core, a story is a transformation. It tells the journey from an original state to a final situation. This is the simplest (and essential) structure for bringing information to life.
- A narrative structure can be made more subtle and convincing by adding key points that resonate with the audience's experience and allow the viewer to become involved in the subject.
- No story without a dragon. Certain negative aspects of a journey that we might want to "sweep under the carpet" are often essential for creating the emotional connection with the audience.
We looked at examples of scientific presentations that could integrate this narrative structure and then discussed its value in personal branding, particularly for researchers.