When things get controversial:
Expert communication strategies!
Thursday June 3rd and Friday June 4th, 9am-noon PDT.
For individuals interested in honing their communication skills more broadly, we now have Module 5! This module is focussed on the theory and practice of communication when things have the potential to get tense. What if you are invited to serve on a public panel where there is express interest in hearing experts hammer out their disagreements? Or perhaps you need to respond to someone else’s misconstruction of your work? In this module we will learn from three experts in communication who will each tackle a different aspect of interpersonal communication from theoretical and practical perspectives.
Agenda
Day One:
Robert Danisch: Interpersonal Communication (1 hour)
This workshop will focus on best practices for interpersonal communication in professional settings. We can all contribute to making a productive, collaborative, and harmonious workplace by paying attention to our specific habits of interacting with others. We’ll have a chance to learn how to engage in important practices like active listening and active support, and we’ll have a chance to try these practices out with one another. The goal will be to get find practical ways to improve your ability to relate with others.
Bert Baumgaertner: Perspectives on Disagreement – When to dig in and when to compromise? (2 hours)
Often, when there is a disagreement, the two people arguing think they’re arguing about one thing, but really the disagreement is over something very different. In this workshop, we will learn about different kinds of disagreement, and how the choice to dig in or compromise can influence the outcome. The workshop will include hands-on activities to explore the ideas presented, and gain experience in identifying exactly what is the basis of disagreement. We will also see how these behaviours affect the dynamics of opinions at the population level, creating structures such as echo chambers.
Day Two:
Joanna Cockerline: Optimizing Written Communications Workshop (1.5 hours)
This workshop will share strategies for writing to engage with targeted audiences, as well as approaches to writing in challenging situations and writing to persuade. Participants will have the opportunity to discuss challenging communications situations they have faced or will face, while also gaining tips on cultivating effective style, tone, and ways to optimize their written communications to best connect with their audience.
Chris Budd: Chaos, Climate and Covid (1.5 hours)
Talking applied mathematics in public
ECSAM 