Enhance Your Public Appearance & Performance

Become a Confident Leader in Science

For up to 8 young investigators (postdoctoral researchers, group leaders, research fellows, assistant professors, and junior professors), in English or German

2 onsite meetings: 2 + 1 days, 4-8 weeks in between

Trainer-Tandem: Michaela Benn & Dr. Matthias Mayer

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Your Benefit

Join us for an exclusive opportunity to refine and master your public appearance and performance as a young investigator. This intensive, hands-on training is designed to empower you with the self-awareness and skills necessary to excel in various communicative contexts, including team interactions, stakeholder engagements, presentations, and conflict resolution.

This program is uniquely structured with two onsite meetings, spaced 4-8 weeks apart, to provide you with time to apply and deepen your learning between sessions. Led by two experienced trainers, Michaela Benn and Dr. Matthias Mayer, the course offers a blend of plenary sessions, small group activities, and personalized feedback.

Goals

  • Improve verbal and non-verbal communication for leadership
  • Develop effective conflict resolution and team interaction strategies
  • Enhance public speaking and presentation skills
  • Build self-confidence through refined voice modulation and body language

What you will learn

  • You will enhance your public performance: Assess and improve your appearance and public speaking skills.
  • You will learn effective communication: Communicate effectively in diverse contexts, such as team meetings, stakeholder engagements, presentations, and conflict situations.
  • You engage in self-reflection: Gain insights into your current habits and behaviors, with a focus on self-improvement.
  • You master body language & voice modulation: Receive guidance on non-verbal communication and voice control to improve your public presence.
  • You participate in interactive exercises: Engage in hands-on activities designed to deepen your understanding and skills.
  • You will apply & reflect: Practice what you've learned between sessions, with a follow-up meeting to discuss and refine your experiences.
  • You receive personalized feedback: Benefit from tailored guidance and feedback from two seasoned trainers.
  • You learn from video analysis: Use video recordings to further refine your presentation and performance skills.
  • You work on customized scenarios: Focus on personalized scenarios that reflect your specific aspirations and professional goals.

Methods

Through a series of engaging exercises and video analysis, you’ll gain invaluable insights into your behavior and performance. We encourage you to bring your specific goals and scenarios, enabling us to tailor the training to your individual needs. As a prerequisite, please prepare a brief self-presentation video to share with us in advance, which will help us better understand your unique style and objectives.

Your Trainers

Michaela Benn
Michaela Benn

Michaela Benn is an actress with extensive stage experience and a professional coach for leaders in science, business, and politics. She has developed practical exercises based on the principles of speech training and voice coaching, as well as her experience as a speech trainer in the German Bundestag. Michaela combines this knowledge with the specific demands of leaders in the academic field, offering tailored rhetoric training for scientists and leaders.

Dr. Matthias Mayer

Matthias Mayer is an expert in communication and leadership development with nearly 20 years of experience training and coaching scientists. With a diploma in Visual Communication and a Ph.D. in Computer Science, he has developed a deep expertise in organizational behavior and interpersonal communication. Dr. Mayer founded mmsc.de in 2004 and the young scientists' academy in 2021, creating tailored programs that address the unique challenges faced by scientists and researchers. His esteemed clientele in Germany includes several Max Planck Institutes, EMBL Heidelberg, DESY Hamburg, HZB Berlin, and various graduate academies.

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