Clear as a Bell Communication Workshops

Let's communicate!

Communication skills are widely acknowledged as cornerstones for a successful research career, both within and beyond academia. Whether you're aiming for a research grant, your dream job or simply to impress family and friends, being able to clearly communicate what you do and why is crucial.

The  Melbourne Medical School (MMS) and Melbourne Dental School (MDS) are collaborating to deliver Clear as a Bell; a series of hybrid-format workshops to help you as a graduate researcher develop and refine your communication skills. Each workshop is centred on a specific communication skillset, allowing attendees to focus on their area of interest. Graduate researchers will develop and build on skills in audience communication, creating engaging research pitches and communicating their research story in an engaging and compelling way for a variety of purposes.

The series is designed as stand-alone modules to cater to all interests, with online and onsite options at the Parkville campus and selected hospital sites available.

Topics and skills covered will help prepare you for the 'No-Bell' Prize competition in May. Pitch your research to our panel and you could be in the running for some great prizes.

We can't wait to talk research with you!

Your workshop team

Amy Coe, Karla Fallon, Associate Professor Cathy Quinlan (Melbourne Medical School)
Dr Rita Hardiman, Bree Jones, Bridget Nelthropp, Dr Mihiri Silva (Melbourne Dental School)

MMS and MDS acknowledge the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences (MDHS) for supporting these events via a 2022 Graduate Research Development Grant.

Clear as a Bell Workshop Series

With a focus on clear communication for a variety of audiences, join us for some targeted advice and opportunities to put your new skills into practice in a small group setting. Each workshop focuses on a stand-alone topic featuring a variety of expert presenters. You can attend as many as you like.

Workshops will be held in 'watch party' style', with the workshop facilitators presenting on Zoom and participants either joining from a shared room in one of our health precincts or a shared Zoom breakout room. Registrants will be asked to nominate the preferred mode and location at the time of registration. A recording of the presentations will be made available to registered participants following the session.

For more information on the individual workshops, see below.

No-Bell Prize

Members of the Melbourne Dental School (MDS) and Melbourne Medical School (MMS) are invited to attend the No-Bell Prize, a fun and interactive opportunity for graduate researchers to practice the pitching skills we've developed through the workshop series.

During the afternoon, up to ten graduate researchers will pitch their research to our audience and panel of judges using clear and accessible language to compete for the 2023 MDS/MMS No-Bell Prize.

There will also be a People's Choice Award, door prizes and networking opportunities.

Presenting at the Event

Graduate researchers submit a short video to apply to speak at the event with up to ten researchers being selected to present. Selected researchers will present for 1 minute, followed by 3 minutes of questions from the host and 1 minute of questions from the audience to make up a total of 5 minutes.

During the 5 minute presentation, our panel will ring a bell each time they hear jargon such as language which is too technical or acronyms that are not widely understood. An official will keep the time and count the number of bells per speaker.

The researcher with the least bells recorded during their presentation will be the winner. There will also be a People's Choice Award voted by the audience on the night.

How to apply

No-Bell Prize applications will be required to submit a brief video application. Applications will open in April 2023. Stay tuned for more information or contact us.

We acknowledge the Monash University's Central Clinical School 'No-Bell Prize' website and Melbourne Neuroscience Institute (University of Melbourne) 2013 Festival of Ideas event as the basis of this event.

Contact us

For any further assistance, please contact the workshop team:

Melbourne Medical School: mms-research@unimelb.edu.au

Melbourne Dental School: mds-researchsupport@unimelb.edu.au