I would be slightly worried if anyone signed up for these courses believing
that the media "is a powerful, readily available vehicle for scientists to
reach a wide audience".
Apart from arguing over pluralities, I feel convinced that the excellent
people who put on these courses would be wary of describing the media as
"readily available".
This is raising expectations that the course cannot hope to fulfil. They can
show how to increase your chances, and how to behave when you get your
chance. They cannot, I fear, make the pages of the newspapers readily
available.
Every day, I receive 00s of press releases. I read, or scan, dozens of
papers. The success rate for any one of these in reaching the printed page,
or its electronic equivalent, is very low.
MK
_______________________________________________________________________
Michael Kenward OBE / Phone: +44 (0)1444 400568 Fax: 401064
/
Science Writer & Stuff / My other computer is a slide rule
-----Original Message-----
From: psci-com: on the public understanding of science
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of White, Suzi
Sent: 20 March 2003 15:32
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [PSCI-COM] Royal Society - Media and Communication Skills Training
List members may be interested in the following courses offered by the Royal
Society....
Course profiles
Media Training Course (1 day course) - 7 April, 15 April and 23 June 2003
Tutors - Stephen White and Peter Evans The media - print and broadcast - is
a powerful, readily available vehicle for scientists to reach a wide
audience. This is an excellent introduction to working with the media with
lots of information and practical sessions built in. Participants will enjoy
being a reporter for an hour, find out what makes news "news", write and
review their own press release and learn and practice interview techniques
with a BBC broadcast journalist. The course builds both knowledge of the
media and confidence in interacting with it.
Communication Skills Training (2 day course) - 9 and 10 April, 22 and 23 May
and 19 and 20 June 2003 Tutors - Bernard Dixon and Peter Evans Good
communication - to other scientists as well as to the lay audience - is an
essential professional competence. This is a course to sharpen writing and
editing skills and to polish presentation techniques. Day one of the course
will focus on written communication with many practical sessions built in.
Participants will find out what constitutes "good writing" and common
pitfalls when writing about science. There will be an opportunity to draft
written pieces for differing audiences ranging from a woman's magazine to a
feature for a national daily newspaper as well as an introduction to
editing. Day two will concentrate on spoken communication: how to structure
a talk, why the visual aspects of communication are so important and how to
prepare visual aids. Much of the second day will be devoted to coaching
participants in presentation skills - with the emphasis on adequate
rehearsal, clear, jargon free delivery and a telling performance.
Cost of courses
The courses cost £200 for the one-day Media Training course and £500 for the
two-day Communication Skills training course.
Registration
To register for these courses first check availability by contacting
Katherine Hardaker, [log in to unmask] You will then need to
fill in the online form at <http://www.royalsoc.ac.uk/funding/>.
Suzi White
Events Officer
Tel: +44 (0)20 7451 2581
Fax: +44 (0)20 7451 2693
The Royal Society
6-9 Carlton House Terrace
London SW1Y 5AG
www.royalsoc.ac.uk
Registered Charity No 207043
The Royal Society - excellence in science
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