—— 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 Wednesday, 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 Audience Architecture canvas
✓ A drafted explanation of your work — ready to use
✓ A framework for adapting your message to any room
✓ Optional: professional headshot
✓ Optional: on-camera practice for LinkedIn or 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 · No credit card required
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."
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
"The elevator pitch advice I've gotten has never felt quite right — too rehearsed, too reductive. I want to talk about my work in a way that actually reflects what I do."
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."
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.
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
Introductions and framing for the session ahead.
SETUP
12:15 – 12:35
Why Expertise Doesn't Communicate Itself
Experts and their audiences organize information differently — which is why knowing your subject well doesn't automatically make it easier to explain. We'll look at what's actually happening in that gap and what it takes to close it.
PRESENTATION
12:35 – 12:55
Audience Architecture
Using a structured framework, you'll map one real audience you need to communicate with — what they know, what assumptions they're bringing, and what they actually need from you. Small group discussion follows.
FRAMEWORK + ACTIVITY
12:55 – 1:15
Putting It Into Words
You'll draft a short explanation of your work for the audience you just mapped, then exchange it with a partner for structured feedback — not on the science, but on whether the explanation did its job.
WRITING + PEER FEEDBACK
1:15 – 1:30
Context and Format
A LinkedIn post, a conference introduction, a conversation with a program officer — the context shapes what you lead with and what you leave out. We'll look at how to make those adjustments without starting over every time.
PRESENTATION + DEMO
1:30 – 1:35
The Translating Your Expertise Summer Sessions
A brief introduction to the Summer Sessions and what's included for attendees.
ANNOUNCEMENT
1:35 – 2:00
On-Camera Practice + Headshots
Those who want to record a short version of their message for LinkedIn or personal use can do so. Professional headshots are also available during this time.
OPTIONAL
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 — no separate sign-up required, no code to remember. 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 works at the intersection of science communication and learning design — helping experts bridge the gap between what they know and what others can actually use.
Her background spans molecular biology, a teaching postdoc, directing a scientific training program for adult learners, and building learning experiences for organizations where understanding isn't optional.
She works fluently across public engagement and professional translation — and has spent years figuring out why smart people struggle to explain their work, and what to do about it.
HOSTED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH
Emory Libraries — Woodruff Health Sciences Center Library
WATSON INSTITUTE
TRUIST FOUNDATION
UPSTREAM SOLUTIONS
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. No credit card, no catch. 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 mandatory?
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
Your expertise deserves to be heard.
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.