Personal Effectiveness

ONLINE WRITING AND THRIVING SERIES

Join these interactive online workshops to support you with writing strategies for your thesis and to learn simple & effective moving and breathing techniques to help with stress relief and overall wellbeing. The workshops run once in each semester and are strictly limited to 30 participants per session.

Each workshop is repeated in semester 2.

WRITING AS THINKING: LETTING GO OF SELF-CRITICISM AND OVERCOMING WRITER’S BLOCK

19th January 2024: book your place here

In this session you will connect with peers to share your challenges and successes in writing your thesis.  Together we will consider whether writing can be a tool for thinking, or part of the thinking process, and we will explore some practices to help overcome writer’s block.  This session will support you to feel more confident in writing your thesis or dissertation – whatever stage you are at!

WRITING AS SIGNPOSTING: CONSIDERING YOUR READER WHILE WRITING

8th February 2024: book your place here

This session will help you move from content-creation to reader-consideration, as you begin to see your academic writing in its wider context.  You’ll share ideas for keeping your reader in mind while writing, and practice techniques for helping your reader to understand and navigate your text.

WRITING AS NARRATIVE: STRUCTURING YOUR CHAPTER OR THESIS

23rd February 2024: book your place here

Having trouble seeing the bigger picture? If you’re getting stuck on the minor details and losing focus on your project overall, this session will help you to reorient your thinking to consider the overall shape and structure of your academic writing.  This will help you get clear on your argument and make connections between the parts of the whole.

WRITING AS EDITING & EDITING AS WRITING: REDRAFTING YOUR WRITING FOR SUBMISSION

29th February 2024: book your place here

This session is key! Everything you’ve done up to now has led you here.  How do you make the leap to your best possible writing?  By planning in time for editing and redrafting before submission you will learn how to maximise your own potential as an academic writer.

WRITING AS CRITICAL ANALYSIS: THE MECHANICS OF ACADEMIC WRITING

22nd March 2024: Book your place here

This session will be a deep-dive into the mechanics of academic writing for your thesis, chapter, or research paper. We will explore how to move from descriptive/summative writing to critical and analytical thinking. Topics covered may also include: Transitions between paragraphs/ideas; Referencing and citation; Subjective/Objective positioning.

Please bring a recent piece of academic writing as your focus for development. The workshop will be highly interactive, with lots of opportunity for peer-support and independent writing/reflection.

WRITING AS THESIS POSITION- DEFENDING YOUR ARGUMENT
9th April 2024: Book your place here

With a central focus on presenting your thesis as an original contribution to your field, the workshop will be structured around reflection and discussion, exploring the techniques of constructing and defending your argument throughout your thesis.

The session will give you an opportunity to reflect on your academic writing: your challenges and celebrations; tips, techniques, and strategies for success. You’ll be encouraged to reconnect with your passions and core values as a writer and researcher.

This final workshop is designed to invigorate and motivate you for a fruitful future of academic WRITING & THRIVING!

WRITING AND THRIVING SURGERY
26th April 2024: book your place here

Come along to the writing surgery to develop and reflect on your thesis writing – including personalised feedback and your questions answered.

This is your opportunity to test the skills you have learnt in the Writing & Thriving workshops, ask questions about your own thesis-writing process, and receive tailored feedback and advice from Sally-Shakti.

Workshops are facilitated by Sally-Shakti Willow who completed her PhD at the University of Westminster in 2019.  While studying she also co-developed and taught a series of workshops called Wellbeing While Writing. The workshops used practical techniques from Creative Writing pedagogy to support doctoral researchers of all disciplines with writing their thesis. Sally-Shakti now shares her skills and experience with doctoral researchers across the globe through her online work with WRITING & THRIVING in Higher Education. To find out more, please visit www.writingthriving.com

DIY VIDEO CREATION AND PRESENTING ON CAMERA

29th April 2024
Book your place here

The workshop starts off with some examples of video content created by academics and sparks a discussion about its uses, advantages and challenges. The facilitators will gauge everybody’s video skill level and experience at the start of the session, so that the content is pitched at the appropriate level. 

The workshop then dives deep into a Filmmaking 101 session where you are given an insight into the basics of filmmaking (rule of thirds and framing, three point lighting, sound, the 180 degree rule etc), filmmaking terminology, camera techniques, equipment (at affordable prices), the social media channels to carry your content, storyboarding, stock libraries, copyright and attribution rules, outdoor filming rules, editing and how to leverage the medium to communicate the right kind of message to the relevant audience. It also covers presenting skills with a camera and the nuanced differences needed from conventional public speaking. 

Various cameras and filmmaking equipment are physically laid out too, so that you can see some affordable kit available to you on the market and to be able to ask questions around their uses. 

The workshop is packed with ideas and first-hand experiences to help  attendees become more conscientious and able storytellers of the moving picture. 

The session is deliberately practical in the second half and culminates with attendees filming short videos with their smart phones in a team on a chosen topic (usually a short precis / abstract of their research). The facilitator then chooses one ‘film’ to edit live in front of the group so that students develop insight into the editing process and understand how component parts such as graphics, music, titles, sound effects etc can elevate the content.

HOW TO HAVE EFFECTIVE SUPERVISION EXPECTATIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

9th May 2024
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Embarking on a PhD journey is both exciting and challenging, and effective supervision plays a crucial role in its success. This workshop is designed for PhD students seeking to understand how to navigate the supervision process by establishing clear expectations and responsibilities.

Through interactive discussions, real-world examples, and practical exercises, participants will:

• Learn the significance of clear supervision expectations in achieving research goals and milestones. 
• Understand the dynamics of the student-supervisor relationship and how to effectively communicate expectations.
• Explore strategies for aligning personal research objectives with supervisor expectations and broader academic standards.
• Gain insights into the importance of proactive communication and feedback mechanisms in maintaining clarity and progress.
• Develop skills for managing expectations in the face of challenges and uncertainties inherent in doctoral research.
• Receive guidance on how to advocate for their own needs and responsibilities within the supervisory relationship.

By the end of the workshop, PhD students will have the knowledge and tools to foster a productive and harmonious supervisory relationship, ensuring clarity, accountability, and progress throughout their academic journey.

THE POWER OF GOAL SETTING WHILE DOING A PHD

13th May 2024
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Is this you?

• You don’t know where to start with your PhD thesis
• You often feel overwhelmed and isolated as a researcher
• You have a tendency to procrastinate or lack the motivation to turn your dream to become a Dr into a reality  

If so, it’s time to set goals which are realistic and achievable.

The benefits of goal setting include:

• Improved time management
• Better control of your life and your studies
• Increased motivation and self-confidence
• Increased sense of purpose
• Greater clarity and focus
• Greater success and performance

Join us for this practical workshop where we explore the science behind goal setting, question why we often shy away from the process and learn how to set goals which are Specific, Measurable, Achievable and Time (SMART). 

Open to all, regardless of which stage of the PhD journey you are in.

SOCIAL MEDIA and YOUR PhD: Crafting an Effective Online Researcher Profile

15th May 2024
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Should PhD students be using social media, and if so, which social media should they be using? Is the use of social media a distraction from doing ‘real’ research, or can the adoption of social media benefit PhD students in any ways? What are the benefits of using social media and what are some of the potential problems? Tackling some of these questions based on both personal experience and research findings, this lecture explores the value, challenges and risks of using different forms of social media as a PhD student.

Dr. Séagh Kehoe is a Lecturer in Chinese Studies the School of Humanities, University of Westminster. Their research focuses on the cultural dimensions of social and political transformation in modern and contemporary China. They are especially interested in Chinese media representations of ethnicity and race, gender and sexuality, nationalism, and military. They tweet @seaghkehoe

NEW FOR 2024! ASSERTIVENESS AND CHALLENGING CONVERSATIONS PRACTICE

20th May 2024
BOOK YOUR PLACE HERE

You’re with your supervisor who wants you to do something that you’re not happy doing, you might not feel that it’s your job to do it, you don’t know how to say no. If you say no, what will they think, how will it leave them viewing you, could you risk something for yourself by speaking up?

There are a variety of day-to-day challenges similar to the above that we encounter in academia, and for anybody (graduates or even those with years of experience), it can often be hard to know how to handle them. How do you influence, get the outcome you desire and still retain a trusted working relationship?…. Assertiveness is one way.

The term ‘Assertiveness’ could be seen as pushy, un-empathetic, bossy, but it isn’t. In order to be trusted and respected as an equal and professional, the art of assertiveness is a real ‘golden ticket’ to authentic and great conversations. This interactive and participative course is run by two professional actor/coaches who will provide a realistic set of scenarios via skills practice (role-play and forum theatre), in order to bring the learning to life and allow participants to try out some of these skills in a safe environment. You will learn by watching, discussing and doing. It will touch upon the importance of Assertiveness in enabling you to express and explain yourself, deliver constructive criticism and to develop confidence.

This is an interactive, 1 day in-person workshop. In the workshop we play with some fun icebreakers to start with to ease us in, using some acting from the facilitators to portray types of traits and behaviours we may recognise. We look at all of the techniques and pitfalls to certain types of well-intended assertiveness. We explore the definition and what it looks and feels like in real life, and then we practice! We discuss the key ingredients of ‘good’ assertiveness and explore some tried and tested models that can be used as a framework for a difficult conversation. 

Half of the workshop then sees two actors acting out three scripted scenes that exhibit the classic pitfalls of passive, aggressive and passive aggressive approaches to a challenging conversation. Learning by watching, discussing and interacting with the characters and asking them questions / giving them pointers. We then run a forum theatre scene where the students effectively ‘coach’ the protagonist to become more assertive in their conversation with the antagonist. We soon learn that it is about mutual respect, vulnerability and trust. If there’s time (and appetite) we end the day by giving students an opportunity to practice and/watch a bespoke conversation with an actor/coach.

THE CREATIVE RESEARCHER

12th June 2024
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Research is a cyclical form of structured enquiry that begins with an open-ended question or hypothesis and ends with the creation of new knowledge that answers the question and progresses the field of enquiry.

There are several distinct stages in the research cycle that present different kinds of challenge, and the researcher needs to draw on a variety on skills to meet these challenges and make progress in their research. Some of these challenges require a greater emphasis on the critical appraisal of existing knowledge, observations and data, but creativity always works symbiotically with critical thinking.

Other challenges are more speculative and open-ended, requiring a greater emphasis on creativity. These include identifying the initial research question, ideas to proceed with addressing the question, and the design of the investigation.

This workshop, though covering some aspects of critical thinking, will focus mainly on creativity. Everyone is creative to some extent, but little emphasis has been placed on the importance of creativity in research, perhaps because it is less well understood than critical thinking. This workshop will illustrate how creativity is at the heart of progress in research, and how individual creativity can be nurtured and developed further. It will explore the nature of creative thinking and the factors that both nurture and inhibit it. Some ‘tools’ for nurturing creative thinking in research will be applied, and a framework will be described in which the various tools for critical thinking and creativity can be applied in a systematic way.

This workshop aims to describe the nature and nurture of creativity in the context of doing research. It will describe a framework for creative problem solving and will cover some tools, techniques and behaviours that can help access individual and group creativity. Some of the influences that inhibit creative thinking will also be discussed.

CREATING AND MANAGING EFFECTIVE RELATIONSHIPS FOR YOUR DOCTORAL RESEARCH

5th March 2024
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In this workshop, we will discuss how we can best network with our colleagues, peers, publishers, funders, as well as the beneficiaries of our research and the wider public. Networking is all about building valuable relationships that can sustain and support us in our research journey. We will use this workshop as a space for you to develop your own individualised plan around networking, a plan that is tailored to your goals, needs, skills, and resources.

Through structured reflection both individually and as a group, we will help you identify your reasons for engaging in networking, the people and types of audiences you’d like to network with, as well as best practices for developing these relationships, from using social media and email, to striking up conversations in conferences, to presenting your research in a variety of venues, to building a public profile.

Please bring your laptop and, if you have time before the workshop, please reflect on your reasons for wanting to network more (or more effectively) and on the obstacles that you are facing when doing so.

THE SUPERVISOR-SUPERVISEE RELATIONSHIP- AN INTERCULTURAL PERSPECTIVE

7th March 2024
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Given the multilingual and multicultural staff and student body at the University of Westminster, it is likely that your supervisory team is composed of academics that have studied and worked in a number of different cultural settings. You are probably familiar with one or more academic contexts and this familiarity is shaping your expectations of what your PhD will be like. In this workshop we will focus on the supervisor-supervisee relationship and explore how it is shaped by our previous academic and cultural experience. The workshop will analyse and help us reflect on:

• higher education as a cultural context, with a focus on the PhD process
• the institutional culture of higher education in the UK and of the University of Westminster, in particular
• culture and experience and how it shapes the expectations of the supervisory team and its individual members
• culture and educational culture shaping your expectations
• selected cultural aspects that influence the supervisor-supervisee relationship: hierarchy, ways of addressing, communication, time and deadlines, individual vs group/team, guidance styles and independence.

OVERCOMING PROCRASTINATION WHILE DOING A PHD

11th March 2024
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Writing a PhD is a mammoth task. With hardly any classes to attend, lots of academic freedom and freedom in general, no imposed structure to your daily life, long term deadlines … it can be all too easy to delay getting started.

Is this you?
Do you have a tendency to always find something more important or more urgent to do than attending to your research or writing? Would you rather watch Netflix than complete that Methodology chapter or upload that supervision meeting you had yesterday? Do you keep doing more research but find it difficult to get down to writing anything? Are you focusing on your future career rather than getting the PhD done?

In this workshop we explore why some of us have a tendency to procrastinate and it is rarely a case of simply being lazy! There are countless reasons which may cause you to delay starting certain tasks linked to you PhD.  In this workshop we try to bring those issues to the surface in order to address the root causes of what makes us delay certain tasks at the expense of easier or more enjoyable activities.

Once we unpack the root causes of our behaviour, we may begin to develop a better awareness of ourselves.  We will be better able to see patterns in what we do and be more clearly able to build up strategies to overcome some of the obstacles to patterns of behaviour that are working against us.

This workshop will be a critical journey of self-discovery, introspection and reflection. We will begin a process of setting goals which are Specific Measurable Achievable and Timed (SMART).

This workshop will be useful to all doctoral researchers no matter what stage of the doctoral degree you are at.

WELLBEING AND THE DOCTORAL RESEARCHER

Will run again in Autumn 2024.

This is an online workshop that aims to explore wellbeing in the Doctoral Researcher experience at the University of Westminster. The PhD journey can often be lonely and isolating and aside from the demands of actually being a Doctoral Researcher, real life can also intervene.  How do we navigate the experience of doing the research whilst also taking care of ourselves?  ‘Self-care’ has now entered the lexicon of everyday language, but how might it be especially important whilst being a Doctoral Researcher?  We will be addressing these issues and a special focus will be given to the particular demands that doing a PhD makes on our sense of ourselves.

The format of this workshop will give time for working in pairs, small groups and as a whole group, and focus on each of the four higher-order themes identified by Hazell et al (2020):

*   Always alone in the struggle

*   Death of personhood

*   The system is sick

*   Seeing, being and becoming

This workshop is not a presentation or webinar, so please come prepared to participate.  It is open to all doctoral researchers regardless of year.