Course Public Speaking: Creating a talk worth listening to

The course N/T 609/02 Public Speaking: Creating a talk worth listening to is offered by the Graduate School of Natural Sciences/GSNS and Graduate School of Technical Sciences/GSTS, Aarhus University, fall 2026.

Course parameters: 
No. of contact hours/hours in total incl. preparation, assignment(s) or the like: 12/18
Capacity limits: 15

Objectives of the course: This is a crash course in presentation skills. In the 4 workshops, we will cover ways to grab and keep your audience’s attention, structure content to clearly and effectively convey your message, and confidently deliver your talk. We will cover building a talk for the audience, selecting content, storytelling and visual aids, and finally delivery. Students will be asked to write and deliver a talk twice, once in a draft form with feedback and a final form adjusted to the feedback. Skills learned here will be applicable to both scientific and non-scientific talks.

• Understand the basic approaches to writing and structuring a talk
• Outline and develop a talk for a specific audience
• Receive feedback and integrate into a new draft

Learning outcomes and competences:
Student should be able to:

• Develop a talk worth listening to, by content and visual aids
• Approach public speaking with their own personality, but with a set of tools to help guide them towards a talk worth listening to
• Have more confidence in public speaking

Compulsory programme:
4 x 3hr workshops, 2 presentation days (rehearsal and final), and 1 assignment (prepare a talk)

Course contents:
Lectures will be styled as workshops to give hands-on training in building and delivery of a presentation. Day 5 will be a rehearsal with feedback and Day 6 will be presenting the final version of the talk.

Prerequisites:
Ideally, students will have research or a topic they are to deliver in oral form.

Name of lecturer:
Ashley Pearcy Buitenwerf

Type of course/teaching methods:
4 x 3hr workshops, 2 presentation days (rehearsal and final) 

Course homepage:
Will be managed through correspondence with the lecturer

Course assessment:
Participation in exercises, execution of feedback, final presentation.

Place:
Aarhus University

No-show fee/late-cancellation fee:
Course participants on our transferable skills courses, who do not show up at the course or cancel their course participation after the course cancellation deadline, will be required to pay a no-show fee/late-cancellation fee. Exceptions may apply in certain cases, such as reported illness to the course administrator/course team. In case of late cancellation due to illness, we may require a doctor’s note from you.

The no-show fee/late-cancellation fee is DKK 1,200 (the price of one ECTS). The fee has been introduced due to many late cancellations, thus preventing people from the waiting lists to have a seat at the courses.

Registration: 

• Participation in the course is without cost for PhD students from Aarhus University

Due to an Agreement between Danish Universities that came into force as of 1 January 2011, participants from other universities than Aarhus University will have to pay DKK 1,200 per ECTS. In principle this also applies to external parties, but exemption can be granted under specific circumstances. Please note that you will be required to provide payment details in the course registration module. Your registration will not be considered valid if this information is missing or incorrect.

Please be aware that your registration for the course not necessarily equals your admission for the course. You will receive an e-mail after the registration deadline regarding whether you are admitted for the course or if you are registered on the waiting list. Please note that seats are allocated on a first-come-first-served basis.

Course dates:

• 17 August 2026 09:00 - 12:00
• 18 August 2026 09:00 - 12:00
• 19 August 2026 09:00 - 12:00
• 24 August 2026 09:00 - 12:00
• 25 August 2026 09:00 - 12:00
• 26 August 2026 09:00 - 12:00