Presenter Network Oxfordshire is back for 2022!

Calling all Oxfordshire presenters! If you love inspiring audiences in museums, discovery and visitor centres, science communication or the media, the Presenter Network is for you. Our Education Programme Officer, Ian Snell, dons his ‘Presenting-hat’ as leader of the Oxfordshire Hub, and invites regional influencers, movers and shakers to come along to the Presenting 101 session at the Science Oxford Centre in October. Get involved!

We caught up with Ian after the National Presenter Network Conference, held at the Royal Observatory Greenwich, London this September to find out more…

Presenting 101 workshop

 I’m looking forward to running a Presenting 101 session at the Science Oxford Centre, (19th October, 3pm-5.30pm) which is a great chance for anyone to flex their presenting muscles to perfect their style and adapt to different situations. There will be a facilitated workshop followed by a one-hour group discussion, then your chance to see our Centre and grounds, get hands-on in our Exploration Zone and have as much fun as the kids!

Sign up to become a member and book your free ticket now.

What is the Presenter Network?

The Presenter Network was set up in 2014 by Liz Avery at Royal Observatory Greenwich, for presenters to share best (and worst) practice and watch others in action to develop their presenting style. It’s free and open to presenters of all types and practices with an annual Conference, online courses and meet ups. While initially started in London, the network has expanded across the UK with a number of regional hubs getting together in venues all over the country. Sessions cover everything from using comedy effectively, working with challenging audience members, how to look after your voice and everything in between.

Presenter Network Annual conference 2022

Kicking the academic year in to gear, on 2^nd September, I attended the annual Presenter Network Conference in person, at The Royal Observatory Greenwich.  It was exciting to be back in London, as it has been a virtual event for the last two years, and this year there was a highly ambitious hybrid event planned. Inspired by the organisers’ enthusiasm, I booked a train ticket and took my bike with me, so early in the morning I cycled from Paddington Station across London to get there for the start.

It was worth the effort. The morning started off with the fantastic Grace Webb as keynote speaker, who told us how she managed to weave her love of motorsports and her skills as a teacher in to television presenting on CBeebies and beyond.  She was ably followed by a few short talks, an opportunity to witness, partake in and discuss some up close presenting, and watch the Planetarium show in their fantastic dome (also livestreamed). It was a great day, and an opportunity to get together and meet old and new friends and colleagues. The Presenter Network is a great opportunity for this last in particular, and it’s exciting to hold face-to-face sessions again in Oxford.

Thanks for another great conference. Once again, I’ve got another handful of extremely useful tips I intend to implement in to my practice as soon as possible.

The Oxfordshire hub

I’m busy planning our next workshop at the Science Oxford Centre in October. So far, the Oxford hub has seen some fantastic sessions, such as a tour of the JET fusion reactor in Culham, Presenting through Storytelling with the Story Museum, and Presenting to Special Educational Needs Audiences with the inspiring Dr Sarah Bearchell.  It’s always good to see others in action, talk about how to work with different audiences, try some alternate styles and give and receive feedback from peers.

The last couple of years have been difficult for everyone, and as Oxford regional hub leader, I have facilitated and run just a couple of online sessions. Geologise Theatre led an excellent Science, Story and Song workshop expertly reconfigured to an online version shortly after we were all locked down, which they also took to the Conference. This year, I’d like to see more sessions run locally, and would love to hear from anyone interested in getting involved – why not come along to the next Presenting 101 workshop and find out more!

It was great to meet so many other communicators as well, such a supportive and positive community.