Graduate Professional Development:
Communication

Effective written and oral communication of ideas is crucial for all scholars, teachers, researchers, and professionals. There are abundant resources at Stanford you can access to improve your writing and speaking skills.

Writing
The written word is a crucially important vehicle for communication in today's world. Learning to write clearly, succinctly, and in a style appropriate to disciplinary norms is an important part of every scholar's development. For graduate students, academic writing includes course papers, conference papers and posters, manuscripts for publications, and, for doctoral students, a dissertation. Career-related writing includes cover letters, Curriculum Vitae (CVs) and resumes, teaching and research statements, and grant, fellowship and job applications.

Speaking
As professionals develop, they learn to clearly explain and defend their ideas. For graduate students, oral communication occurs in formal settings, such as conferences, seminars, or research group meetings, and in more casual settings, such as faculty advising meetings or a conversation with a fellow student. The “audience” can range from experts in one's field to the general public. In all cases, students must learn how to organize, prepare, and present their work and ideas clearly and confidently. Career-related oral communication includes interviewing in person or on the telephone and presenting a “job talk” about research findings and plans.

All links below will open in a separate browser window.

Workshops and Events

Writing Workshops for Graduate Students
Improve your writing skills in these popular Hume Writing Center workshops, offered every quarter. Favorites include "Publishing the Journal Article" and "Getting Started on the Dissertation."

Dissertation Boot Camp
Jump start your dissertation, master’s thesis, or other graduate writing project.  Boot Camp provides the ingredients for productive writing: dedicated space and time with minimal distractions, peer support, and expert writing consultants. Boot Camp runs from 9 am-1 pm daily for two weeks, and Boot Camp After Dark offers evening sessions.

Intellectual Leadership: Creating a Research Agenda
Craft a clear research statement that articulates an independent research agenda for the future.

Quick Bytes
Learn new strategies and skills to help you succeed as a graduate student in these hour-long lunch workshops. Topics related to communication have included "Writing for an Expert Audience," "Writing Successful Grants," and "Speaking to an Expert Audience."

Academic Chats
Discuss academic life with 2-3 guest experts and other students; topics related to written communication have included "Writing a Research Statement," "Writing a Teaching Statement," and "Turning Research Findings into Publications."

Communication Matters
Focus on oral communication skills that are essential for success in any environment; part of the “Matters” workshop series designed specifically for graduate students.

Stanford Courses

CTL 231: Future Faculty Seminar
This autumn course covers a range of topics for students interested in pursuing an academic career, including written communication. Autumn quarter, flexible units, auditing permitted.

Stanford Graduate Summer Institute
Highly interactive, interdisciplinary courses taught by teams of Stanford faculty and outside experts. These non-credit-bearing courses generally run for 4-5 days, lasting all or half of each day, just prior to Fall Quarter (exact schedules vary). Past communication related courses have included “IRITE-ISPEAK.”

Summer Institute for Entrepreneurship (SIE)
Learn from experts about building the analytical and practical skills critical to launching a successful business in this intensive, month-long summer program. Includes coaching on making an oral "pitch" to potential investors.

Explore Courses
Find other Stanford courses related to communication.

Stanford Offices and Services

Hume Writing Center
Workshops, individual one-to-one tutoring, and other resources to help all students—graduate and undergraduate—improve their writing.

Technical Communication Program, School of Engineering
Courses and consultations for students in technical fields seeking to strengthen their technical writing and/or speaking skills.

The Oral Communication Program
Improve your oral communication skills with communication tutors, workshops on writing teaching statements, feedback on talks, and other resources.

Center for Teaching and Learning
Courses, workshops, individual consultations and other resources to help students and faculty acquire the skills and experience necessary to teach and to learn.

Career Development Center
Resources and training in all aspects of career planning, including interviewing and preparing resumes, CVs and cover letters.

Career centers in these schools offer their students more specialized assistance:

• School of Medicine Career Center
• Graduate School of Business Career Management Center
• Law School Office of Career Services

Lane Library, School of Medicine
Classes related to writing papers and grants, including classes on reference citation programs such as EndNote.

Office of Postdoctoral Affairs
Workshops, courses, and many online resources, such as the "Scientific Management Series" which includes videos and PowerPoint presentations about written communication.

Mentors in Teaching (MinT) program
Specialized support for mentor teaching assistants or experienced TAs who mentor other students who are serving as teaching assistants.

Additional Resources

   WRITING

"Elements of Style", by William Strunk, 1918
A true classic that presents guidance on style and grammar in a concise, easy-to-read format.

"They Say / I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing" by Gerald Graff, Cathy Birkenstein and Russel Durst, 2011
An easy to read reference for how to cite others and write effective literature reviews.

Scientific Writing Resource, by Nathan Sheffield, Duke University
A three-lesson online course that walks you through the principles of scientific writing to communicate what you intend to the reader.

Scientific Writing Booklet, by Marc Tischler, University of Arizona
A detailed guide to writing scientific papers.

Making the Right Moves: A Practical Guide to Scientific Management for Postdocs and New Faculty
A freely available book published by Burroughs Wellcome Fund and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

• Chapter 9 - Getting Funded, focused on grant writing
• Chapter 10 - Getting Published and Increasing Your Visibility, focused on research papers

Moving On: Managing Career Transitions, Burroughs Wellcome Fund
This small booklet includes sections on formulating teaching and research statements.

Written Communication Skills for Engineers, by Buddy Ratner, University of Washington
An example-filled PowerPoint presentation illustrating dos and don’ts.

On the Art of Writing Proposals, by Adam Prezeworski and Frank Saloma, Social Science Research Council

Scholarly Pursuits: A Guide to Professional Development during the Graduate Years, Cynthia Verba, Harvard University. 2009, Tenth Edition
Especially Chapter V: Grantsmanship and the Appendix reprint, "The Art of the Fellowship Proposal," by John Lippincott, National Endowment for the Humanities.

Guides to Writing Successful Proposals, compiled by Texas A&M University
A compendium of guides on grant writing by various universities.

Guide to Writing Resumes and Cover Letters, Stanford Career Development Center

Tomorrow's Professor by Rick Reis,Stanford emeritus professor
Weekly email postings for graduate students who are planning on a career as a faculty member, touching on all issues related to academic life, from the practical (how to teach, how to write a grant) to the philosophical. Subscribe to the listserve or search the archives for articles of particular relevance.

   SPEAKING

Communicating Science: Giving Talks, Burroughs Wellcome Fund
Advice on how to present a talk to an expert audience.

Designing Effective Oral Presentations, Online Writing Lab, Rice University
In-depth strategies for structuring and presenting technical and business information.

Oral Presentation Skills - A Practical Guide, Carl Storz et al, Institut National de Telecommunications of France, 2002
Offers a non-American perspective that accommodates different cultures. It includes specific suggested phrases for each stage of a talk.

Nonverbal Communication, by HelpGuide.Org.
Introduction to the world of nonverbal communication which, many say is much more important than the words used.

Ten Tips, by Toastmasters International
The ten most important things to remember in any oral presentation from an organization dedicated to training public speakers for decades.

How to Give an Academic Talk: Changing the Culture of Public Speaking in the Humanities, by Paul N. Edwards
Aimed at giving talks in the humanities but relevant to all disciplines.

How to Give an Effective Oral Presentation, European Federation of Catalysis Societies (EFCATS)
Advice for scientists on making effective oral presentations, including presenting posters.

Oral Presentation and PowerPoint Guide, Penn State University
This guide includes unexpected suggestions, such as turning off the projector.

Making the Right Moves: A Practical Guide to Scientific Management for Postdocs and New Faculty
A freely available book published by Burroughs Wellcome Fund and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

• Chapter 1 - Obtaining and Negotiating a Faculty Position, focused on the "job talk," part of every faculty interview
• Chapter 13 - Teaching and Course Design, focused on teaching.