Loud and clear (and preferably red)

Yesterday saw a large number of the NGS staff from all over the country and NGS users meet up at STFC RAL for a days workshop on Communicating Science. This was the first non-grid training event organised by the NGS and it was great to see so many people there.

The event was presented by Myc Riggulsford who has had many jobs including a BBC radio presenter and press officer. He was a very entertaining and affable speaker who certainly held our attention for the day with interesting anecdotes and tales from his past employment.

Many topics were covered including presentation techniques, how to write for the press, the use of images and how to present yourself. Highlights were definitely the "press conference" where Myc played the role of a scientist involved in the first pig - human organ transplant. After the press conference, the audience was divided up into groups and each group had to write a story for the newspaper of their choice. Needless to say there were several very interesting "Frankenstein" type tabloid stories!

A special mention must go to David Wallom (NGS technical director) and John Kewley (NGS helpdesk manager) for being brave enough to stand up and give a presentation to be critiqued. John did especially well as the slides were not his and he had only seen them about 30 mins before the presentation!

At the end of the day, the wrap up session involved putting together a list of the top tips from that day according to the participants. This list is available on the event website on the NGS website.

We have already recieved some excellent feedback on the event and would be delighted to receive more from anyone who attended!