This one day in person Media Workshop, led Media Players International, is for research students and early career researchers who want to publicise their work in the non-specialised media. Making the case for your research to the general public through the media has never been more important, and this course will give you invaluable lessons from two very experienced ex-BBC journalists, Tim Grout-Smith and Lily Poberezhska. The course, which we have given at 38 UK universities, and several DTPs, will also help you to build skills that may be crucial to getting research grants in the future. Even if you have no plans to talk to journalists, the these highly transferrable skills will help you to deal with difficult questions in vivas and at academic conferences, in converting research findings to business applications and in any situation when you need to talk about your research to non-specialists.

You will learn what makes a good story in media terms, how to spot one in your own work, and how to handle the tensions between scientific/academic and journalistic methods.

Then we help you to prepare yourself for a media encounter: dealing with the initial enquiry from journalists, developing your messages, answering difficult questions with confidence and using effective interview techniques for press and the electronic media.

In the afternoon you will get a chance to practise down-the line TV and radio interviews on your research subject to try out techniques learned earlier, and receive individual feedback from us on your strengths and areas for improvement.

We keep the whole day interactive, with exercises and interview practice, and we strive to make it enjoyable as well as practical. We do not believe in learning by humiliation, and seek always to build confidence, not throw you in at the deep end.

Every exercise is tailored to your individual research interest. That’s why it is really important that we get a summary of your research in non-specialist language (template provided) at least a week before the session. Please send it to the organiser, or direct to us at mediapie@gmail.com

Telling the World: Publicising Your Research through the Media (Belfast)