GRADvantage Communicator

A communicator masters communication skills through using multiple mediums to listen, learn, and clearly explain complex ideas and translate knowledge to diverse audiences in various contexts.

As a graduate student, building communication skills is an important part of your experience and can include writing and presenting course assignments, journalling, responding to email requests, building grant applications, and research proposals. 

A communicator will:

Explore

Explore ways to communicate ideas through written, spoken, and visual means

Practice

Practice giving and receiving effective feedback

Maximize

Maximize the impact of verbal and non-verbal communication

Mobilize

Effectively mobilize knowledge across a variety of contexts

Communicator Development Areas

Written

As a graduate student, you will develop the skill of articulating your ideas, knowledge, and research effectively through written form. Writing in multiple mediums for a variety of readers, including academic, professional, and general audiences, to communicate complex ideas and concepts.

  • Understand and apply rules and expectations of academic writing   
  • Practice academic integrity by understanding expectations 
  • Articulate skills and competencies to self and others   
  • Use creative ways of communication

Oral

As a graduate student you will develop the skills and confidence to articulate research and ideas persuasively to diverse audiences. As a graduate student, you will build presentation skills in seminars, workshops, and internal and external conferences.

  • Learn new and creative ways in which to communicate research 
  • Practice research communication skills through experience  
  • Seek opportunities to present in different settings and to varying audiences 
  • Be open to questions and feedback, and respond accordingly  

Visual 

As a graduate student you will use visual representation to share your knowledge and research through creative means. As a graduate student, you will increase your ability to convey information and ideas effectively through visual elements such as images, graphics, charts, diagrams, and videos. 

  • Create visually appealing data representation 
  • Use storyboards and mind maps to visually communicate your ideas 
  • Imbed research graphics to help with knowledge mobilization 
  • Build research creation into knowledge sharing