—— FREE LUNCH & LEARN · WOODRUFF HEALTH SCIENCES LIBRARY
Beyond the Jargon: Translating Your Expertise for Any Audience
A Lunch & Learn for Researchers, Clinicians, and Trainees
🎟️ Capacity 25 participants — register early
📅 Date Thursday, June 4, 2026
📍 Location WHSCL Classroom B65 · 1462 Clifton Road NE, Atlanta, GA 30322
🅿️ Parking Michael Street Visitor Parking
🍽️ Lunch Provided — at no cost to you
WHAT YOU’LL WALK AWAY WITH
Something you can use the next time you're in the room.
This session is designed around application, not exposure. You'll leave having worked through your own communication challenge, not just heard about someone else's.
✓ A completed worksheet mapping who you're talking to — and what they actually need to hear
✓ A clear explanation of your work, drafted and ready to use
✓ A method you can repeat the next time you need to explain your work to someone outside your field
✓ Optional: professional headshot
✓ Optional: on-camera practice for LinkedIn or conference talks
✓ 2 free months of the Translating Your Expertise Summer Sessions ($54 value)
Only 25 spots. Space fills quickly — register to secure yours.
Free to attend · Lunch provided
WHO THIS IS FOR ——
You know your work well. That doesn't always make it easier to explain.
Most researchers, clinicians, and trainees were trained to communicate within their field — to peers who share their vocabulary, their context, and their assumptions. Communicating outside that context is a different skill, and most graduate programs don't teach it.
RESEARCHERS
"I can walk anyone in my lab through this. Outside of that room, I either over-explain or lose people before I get to the part that actually matters."
Communicating your expertise to a broader audience isn't about making it simpler. It's about precision in translation — understanding what your audience actually needs to know, and saying exactly that.
CLINICIANS
"I translate complex information for patients every day. But when someone asks about my work, my training, or my research interests, I don't have a ready answer."
GRADUATE STUDENTS & TRAINEES
"Every time I try to explain my research to someone outside my field, I end up either losing them or leaving out the part that actually matters. I want to talk about my work in a way that sounds like me."
POSTDOCS & EARLY CAREER FACULTY
"Job talks, grant pitches, stakeholder presentations — the expectations are high and the guidance is thin. Most of what I know about this I figured out the hard way."
SCIENCE COMMUNICATION STUDENTS & EARLY -CAREER SCICOMM PROFESSIONALS
"I know how to break down complex topics for other people — but I'm still figuring out how to talk about my own expertise and where I fit in this field."
AFTER THIS SESSION ——
You'll be able to talk about yourself and your work for any audience.
The goal isn't a polished script you memorize. It's a framework you can apply the next time the situation calls for it — whether that's a funding conversation, a job interview, a conference introduction, or a question at a dinner table.
01
Map your audience before you decide what to say
Use a structured framework to think through who you're addressing, what they already understand, and what they actually need from you — before you decide what to include.
02
Draft an explanation of your work that holds up outside your field
You'll write a clear, audience-specific description of what you do and why it matters, and get direct feedback on whether it's landing the way you intend.
03
Understand how context changes what you emphasize
The same expertise reads differently in a funding conversation than it does on LinkedIn or at a conference. This session gives you the logic behind those shifts so you can make them deliberately.
04
Practice saying it on camera
For those who want it, there's time at the end of the session to record a short version of your message. Professional headshots are also available.
THE SESSION ——
What to expect on June 4th
The session moves between short presentations and structured activities. You'll be applying things to your own work throughout, so you're not starting from scratch when you leave.
12:00 – 12:15
Welcome + Lunch
Get your food, meet the people in the room, and hear what the next two hours are actually going to look like.
12:15 – 12:35
Why Expertise Doesn't Communicate Itself
Knowing your subject well doesn't automatically make it easier to explain — in fact, it often makes it harder. We'll look at exactly why that happens and what it takes to close that gap.
12:35 – 12:55
Who Are You Actually Talking To?
You'll map a real audience from your own work — who they are, what they know, and what they actually need from you.
12:55 – 1:15
Putting It Into Words
You'll write a clear explanation of your work for that audience and find out whether it's landing the way you intend.
1:15 – 1:30
Same Expertise, Different Room
A LinkedIn post, a conference introduction, a conversation with a program officer all call for something different. You'll learn how to make those shifts without starting from scratch every time.
1:30 – 1:35
What Comes Next
A quick look at what's included for everyone who attends today.
1:35 – 2:00
On-Camera Practice + Headshots (Optional)
If you want to record a short version of your message for LinkedIn, a conference bio, or personal use — this is your time. Professional headshots are also available.
FOR ATENDEES ——
The session is the start, not the finish.
Everyone who attends on June 4th receives two free months of the Translating Your Expertise Summer Sessions. The sessions are virtual working sessions covering different dimensions of communicating your expertise — audience-forward presentations, positioning yourself in your field, writing for professional audiences, and more. Sessions are designed for people who are already working, not people with unlimited time.
Two free months, included with your attendance.
The Translating Your Expertise Summer Sessions are $27/month. Attendees get the first two months at no cost. Details will be shared at the event.
$27/month
FREE
2 months · attendees only
YOUR PRESENTER ——
Meet Zakiya
FOUNDER, UPSTREAM SOLUTIONS
Zakiya Whatley, PhD
Zakiya has a PhD in molecular biology, a background in science communication, and spent years running scientific training programs before founding Upstream Solutions.
She built this session because she kept meeting brilliant researchers who couldn't explain their work to anyone outside their lab — and realized that wasn't a them problem. It was a design problem. Nobody had taught them how.
She's spent the last several years figuring out what that teaching actually looks like.
HOSTED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH
REGISTER ——
Claim Your Spot
Space is limited to 25 participants. Lunch is provided. No cost to attend.
QUESTIONS ——
Frequently Asked
Is this really free?
Yes. Lunch is provided. The cohort offer is a bonus for people who attend.
Do I need to prepare anything?
Bring your laptop and something you're currently working on — a talk abstract, a bio, a grant summary, anything. We'll use real material, not hypotheticals. No slides or pre-work required.
What are the Translating Your Expertise Summer Sessions?
A virtual working session series running through the summer, focused on different dimensions of translating expertise. It's $27/month; attendees receive the first two months at no cost.
Who should attend?
Researchers, graduate students, postdocs, clinicians, and trainees — anyone who needs to communicate their expertise to audiences outside their immediate field.
Is the on-camera activity required?
No. It's an optional activity at the end of the session. Headshots are also available during that time.
What if something comes up and I can't attend?
Please cancel your registration so someone else can take your spot. Space is genuinely limited.
ONLY 25 SPOTS · JUNE 4, 2026
You already know your work. Let's make sure other people can too.
This is a working session with 25 people, a structured framework you'll keep, lunch, and a free start on the Translating Your Expertise Summer Sessions. Registration takes two minutes.