Overview of the workshop programme
Communication & presentation in the academic context
How to be confident and persuasive
MPSP Autumn School 2026
Max Planck School of Photonics
22 September 2026 [9.00 – 17.00] and 23 September 2026 [9.00 – 16.00]
Venue: Q-Quadro City Hotel, Karlsruhe
Format: In-person workshop
Trainer: Orlando Schenk, golin wissenschaftsmanagement, Berlin
Whether small talk or academic subject presentation – the ability to present oneself adequately and to communicate one’s concerns effectively is a deciding factor of career related success in academia.
A few fundamental strategies for communication and presentation techniques are the basis for illustrating complex data in a context relevant way, convincing others, winning supporters and thus reaching the respectively set goals. With a little practice it is also possible to have a well-trained and strong voice with clear diction and modulation.
The workshop is specifically designed for academics. In the workshop the participants engage with their personal communication strategies. A second focus is on effective use of voice and clear and convincing speech. Through exercises and role-plays they familiarise themselves with established presentation techniques and train their communicative competencies. The workshop contents are:
>> Communication basics: Good communication presumes set goals
>> Presentation basics: Preparation is key
>> Basics of voice & language: Appearing confident and effective
>> An important partnership: Voice and body
>> Nerves, difficult questions and stressful situations: Tips & tricks
>> Role-play: Presentation situations in practice
>> Minima rhetorica: Tips & tricks on the art of oratory
>> Communication & presentation: My next steps
Orlando Schenk, Nothweiler, studied singing and speech at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, Speech Science at Regensburg University, is a speaker and speech trainer at the Akademie für gesprochenes Wort in Stuttgart. He has worked for over twenty years as a communication and rhetoric trainer in various institutions both in Germany and the UK, in particular in universites and research institutes. His areas of expertise include speech and voice training, non-verbal communication, assertiveness and improvisation.