R.E.D. Seminar Series

As part of a multi-year collaboration, the Center for Immunology (CFI) and the Masonic Cancer Center (MCC) are committed to providing trainees the opportunity to hone their oral presentation skills.

To achieve this goal they have partnered with Narrative Pros Coaching Agency, an organization of communication experts and coaches.

The Relational Experience Development (R.E.D.) Seminar Series involves monthly sessions:

Prepared practice presentations by trainees
Guided reflection and discussion to drive alignment between the speaker’s goals and the audience’s understanding
Instruction on communication best practices: focused message support, clear slide content/design, genuine & effective delivery
Opportunities for trainees to implement improvements in final presentations, including individualized metric analysis

The sessions take place on the first Monday of the month
(unless otherwise noted)
9:00 - 10:00 a.m. in room 1-125 CCRB

Below is a complete list of the meeting dates for 2023-24:

December 11: Practice presentations, reflection & feedback
January 8: Practice presentations, reflection & feedback
February 5: Lecture - Authenticity in Delivery, Simplifying Complexity
March 4: Lecture - Design Principles for Clarity, Understanding Audience Needs
April 1: Lecture - Crafting a Call-to-Action; interactive peer-to-peer feedback
May 6: Final presentations, reflection & feedback, summary

This opportunity is open to CFI and MCC graduate students, postdocs, researchers, and faculty.
Trainees who present at both the beginning and end of the program and attend regularly throughout can earn a completion certificate.

All are welcome to attend as lively audience engagement and participation are beneficial to all!

Meet the Coach

Chris Carlson

Chris is a highly experienced professional actor, writer, and attorney who aims to support presenters as they create engaging and meaningful connections with diverse audiences and stakeholders

Testimonials

“These lectures opened my eyes to methods that I now routinely use to better organize and deliver oral presentations. There is no question in my mind that [these] methods have allowed me to deliver my message in a much more engaging and convincing manner than I did before.” - Marc K. Jenkins, Ph.D., Distinguished McKnight Professor, University of Minnesota, Medical School, Director of CFI

“The coaching and feedback we receive is extremely valuable, sensitive to vulnerable egos, and perfectly balanced in critique and praise. They can work with speakers at any skill level and make a difference for all.” - Alex Khoruts, MD, Professor of Medicine, University of Minnesota, Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition

Questions?

If you have more questions about the series please contact the following:

CFI: Daria Kolganova (kolg0001@umn.edu)
MCC: Cathleen Drilling (cdrillin@umn.edu)

R.E.D. Seminar Series

Relational Experience Development Seminar Series