Impactful presentations: Script Development [St Lucia]
All researchers need the ability to speak publicly with impact and confidence, however these skills come naturally to very few. This interactive and highly practical workshop will help you to speak publicly at conferences, 3MT or with a range of external audiences - whenever you need to present your research in a persuasive and impactful manner.
In 2026, Impactful Presentations will be delivered as two immersive 4-hour workshops:
- the first focuses on: crafting high‑impact scripts, with a focus on structure, message clarity, and purposeful development.
- the second on: building the physical presentation skills required to bring powerful scripts to life—using vocal range, natural movement, and intentional variety. These capabilities don’t come naturally for most presenters, yet they are essential for maintaining audience engagement and delivering messages with confidence and impact.
Note that each workshop stands alone. For a complete learning experience, you should complete both, but if this is not possible, you will gain significant improvement from each workshop individually.
In the script focused workshop, you will discover how to:
- Craft a powerful script (from technical information) in less than 20 minutes
- Adjust your messaging to appeal to specific audiences
- Create and describe the value proposition for your research
- Develop a business case (pitch) guaranteed to have impact
- Avoid PowerPoint mistakes and adopt visual techniques that maintain audience attention
Feedback from participants includes:
“Best presentation I have been to. Easy deliverable content which kept being applied through examples.”
“This was a brilliant session full of practical tips, especially Barry’s 4 step template and suggestions for analysing your audience.”
“I think this is one of the most practical, useful CDF sessions I’ve attended.”
“As a student, I give numerous presentations. This training was exactly what I needed.”
“I'll definitely be putting Barry’s tips into practice for my next presentation, and many more to come.”
This course was formerly known as Impactful Presentations: Delivering with Confidence and Advanced Presentation Skills.
About the presenter: Barry O'Sullivan of Sustainable Change was with KPMG for 34 years and spent 22 years as a partner. In his second career, he has over 25 years of leadership coaching experience and has delivered hundreds of face to face workshops.
About Communication
Learning to communicate effectively is critical to your ability to transfer your knowledge and research, build relationships, and gain employment. As you progress in your career these skills will become more important. The ability to master verbal, non-verbal, interpersonal, and written communication will allow you to communicate with clarity and influence. ‘Effective communication’ also appears in almost every job advertisement as a skill required by employers.
Useful links
- Linked In courses (access via UQ Library login)
- Effective Communication, Better Science blog
- The Good Presentation Video: This video aims to help doctoral students (and others) improve their presentation skills. Good presentation skills are essential for students while undertaking a PhD, and in their future careers, whether in academia or elsewhere.