Design and Deliver Grad Studio

Audience applauding a presenter
Design and Deliver Grad Studio

Whether you are giving a conference presentation, a job talk, or defending your dissertation, as a graduate student you need to be able to speak with authority and knowledge about your research area, respond to questions, and engage in scholarly debate.

Design and Deliver Grad Studio is designed to help Master's and PhD students develop their voices as independent scholars and give effective academic presentations with confidence.听


What is Design and Deliver Grad Studio?

Welcome to Design & Deliver Grad studio, a workshop series that takes you through the process of planning and designing a spoken academic presentation. If you鈥檙e working on a specific presentation, we encourage you to attend all three: start by organizing your ideas in 鈥淧lanning for and preparing presentations,鈥 learn how to create engaging slides in 鈥淪lide Design,鈥 and practice strategies for confidently answering questions in 鈥淒efending and Answering Questions.鈥澨

Each workshop will take place over 2.5 hours (with breaks) to build on each other and cover different elements of an effective academic presentation: planning out your messages, supporting your messages with engaging visual support, and answering questions about your work clearly and concisely. You are welcome to attend any workshop you feel is most relevant to you, but we encourage you to attend all three workshops so that you can learn about and plan for all three elements. 听

In all three workshops, you鈥檒l be expected to brainstorm, plan, and discuss your own presentation, so it鈥檚 best to come with a specific presentation you're working on. If you don鈥檛 have a presentation coming up, come prepared to work on an academic presentation (such as a conference presentation or thesis defence) you鈥檙e likely to deliver.听听

  • Thursday, April 24, 2025 - Planning for and preparing presentations听

  • Thursday, May 8, 2025 - Slide design听

  • Thursday, May 22, 2025 - Defending and Answering Questions听

Register for one or all three on . If you aren鈥檛 able to attend but would still like to learn some concrete strategies for academic presentations, check out our asynchronous workshops, Design & Deliver I and II. Self-register for WCC Workshops on LEARN by following these instructions [/writing-and-communication-centre/writing-and-communication-centre-workshops闭.听听

Learn more about each workshop below:听

Workshop Descriptions

Part 1: Plan your Presentation

In this workshop, we鈥檒l discuss what makes an effective presentation, help you organize the ideas in your presentation, and give you concrete strategies for delivering that information with confidence. This workshop works best if you have a specific presentation you鈥檙e planning, whether that鈥檚 a conference presentation, an oral defence, or a lab talk/seminar! Throughout this workshop, we'll ask you to brainstorm, outline, and practice short portions of your presentation with your peers.听听

If you鈥檙e just starting to think about an upcoming presentation or need to revise a presentation that just isn鈥檛 doing what you need it to do, take this workshop!听听

Part 2: Designing Slides

In this workshop, we鈥檒l cover the basics of designing slides for academic presentations, introduce you to the Assertion-Evidence model, and give you some concrete strategies to help you make your slides engaging and useful for your audience. This workshop works best if you have slides you want to make or revise for a specific presentation and if you attended the first workshop, Plan your Presentation. Throughout this workshop, we鈥檒l ask you to assess different slide design choices, sketch out some drafts of your own slides, and revise an existing slide to make it more engaging.听
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Take this workshop if you鈥檇 like to improve your slide design skills, so that you can create a slide deck that supports your presentation & keeps your audience engaged.听

Part 3: Defending and Answering Questions

In this workshop, we鈥檒l discuss the purpose of Q&As and defences, teach you how to prepare for questions from your audience and share strategies to ask and answer questions clearly. This workshop works best if you鈥檙e preparing for a presentation with a significant Q&A portion (like a defence). Throughout this workshop, we鈥檒l ask you to think about your department鈥檚 defence culture, anticipate questions about your research, and practice asking and answering questions with your peers.听
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If you dread the Q&A portion of a presentation or defence, this workshop will help you feel more confident about giving your answers.听

2024 - 2025 Dates

Design and Deliver Grad Studio workshops will take place on the following dates:

  • Thursday, April 24, 2025 - Planning for and preparing presentations
  • Thursday, May 8, 2025 - Slide design
  • Thursday, May 22, 2025 - Defending and Answering Questions

Register on Portal!