Mind Your Way- Nailing grants, papers, prizes, and awards - Write yourself to success!

This personalised workshop will be run for a limited number of HASS Researchers by Dr Lisa Curtis-Wendlandt (Director of Mind Your Way).

So, you have a brilliant idea for your next research grant or fellowship application, and you need everyone to “get” its value and significance? Then you must build the strongest possible connection between your text and its readers. In fact, persuasive packaging is far more influential in selling ideas than many admit. Your assessors will not only judge your work by the quality of your ideas: they will be swayed by how you tell the story. Once you have settled on a (presumably brilliant) topic for your next submission, you will want state-of- the-art communication tools to make it simply irresistible! This workshop is dedicated to the “how” of successful reader engagement, and translates interpersonal rapport-building techniques into the realm of competitive academic writing. A hands-on introduction to persuasive language use, we provide samples of real, successful grants to help you translate theory into practice.

9:30am-5pm, Monday 9 October, Level 6, Forgan Smith Tower (1)

There are limited spots available, and preference is given to those with an upcoming grant submission, but all are welcome to request participation. Successful participants will be asked to provide a 1-2 page sample of the introduction of their project description. Further instructions will be given to those that register their interest.

Upon completion of the training, participants will have:

• Acquired a holistic understanding of the function of texts, which deliver content by building a successful relationship with the reader
• Learned how to structure any written text according to the 4MAT system of content delivery
• Learned and applied the “Milton Hand” tool, a five-step sentence structure that serves to strengthen the central argument in a text by eliciting costs and benefits
• Learned how to identify and create different levels of abstraction in a text, with the purpose of catering to reader’s need for both “big themes” and concrete examples (story anchors)
• Learned how to identify and create story anchors to ground a text’s argument or theme in a concrete example that evokes feelings and thoughts to engage the reader
• Benefitted from advice and guidance on their own current or next grant application by the presenter or a group of peers on the day of the event (if they provide a section of their application beforehand; see note below).

About the presenter

The presenter is Dr Lisa Curtis-Wendlandt, Director of Mind Your Way. Over the last decade, the Mind Your Way team has helped clients secure well over $80 million in competitive research funding, prizes, and awards. Lisa is a seasoned leadership coach accredited with the International Coaching Federation and brings expertise in coaching for diversity, equity and inclusion, with over 2,000 hours of coaching conducted to date. She has coached on flagship gender equity programs at leading universities and is passionate about helping researchers develop their authentic voice while navigating the volatile academic job market and research funding environment. In her spare time, Lisa still dabbles in research and recently published her first monograph in Springer’s series Philosophy & Medicine. She enjoys taking time out to run, do yoga, and explore nature with her family. Born in Berlin and at home in Melbourne, she loves traveling and exploring the arts, foods, peoples, and places across Europe, Australia, and beyond.