Guidance for Speakers at the Institute for Medical Humanities

We are delighted you have agreed to present at the Institute for Medical Humanities. Thank you for taking the time to share your ideas with us.

The Institute brings together a particularly diverse range of disciplines, expertise, viewpoints and values. To help prepare your presentation, you may wish to reflect on the following questions:

• How might the key concepts that I am presenting be understood in other disciplines?
• Who has power in the work I am presenting? What counts as evidence or knowledge – and who decides that?
• Is my presentation accessible?
• What kinds of images and symbols am I showing – and could they be interpreted or viewed in a range of ways?

In turn, we ask audiences at the IMH to engage in similar kinds of questions and to approach discussions in a spirit of intellectual generosity and curiosity.

We recommend all presenters discuss with the organisers in advance of the event:

• The length and expected format of the presentation
• Whether you are planning to present any potentially sensitive or disturbing material
• Whether restrictions apply to your presentation – eg data is pending publication; images are shown with restricted permission; results are under embargo
• Clarity around whether pictures of your slides or your presentation can be taken for personal use, shared on social media, incorporated as part of the Platform’s general archive etc.
• Clarity around the status of any recordings

You may find it helpful to consult further resource on accessible presentations and the University’s guide to communicating inclusively about race and ethnicity.