Prof Marc van Oostendorp kicked off the afternoon with an inspiring opening lecture on the importance of language in everyday life. Using language as a common thread, he connected the different topics of the masterclasses, surprisingly supporting his story with images created by AI. Participants then took part in one of the four masterclasses.
Storytelling
The question 'How can you use storytelling to influence your audience?' was answered by experts Dr Dennis Kersten, Dr Kobie van Krieken and Yannick Baay. They showed how stories colour the world around us and let the participants create the story of their organisation or company themselves using ten steps. Everyone walked out with their own story that made people think.
Inclusive Language
Some forms of language may exclude people, while as a professional, you want to appeal to as many people as possible with your message. Dr Lotte Hogeweg, Prof Liedeke Plate, Dr Jet Hoek and Caro Struijk discussed examples of companies that consciously deal with this and what the consequences of this are within society. The various pitfalls of language use were then discussed, and participants were challenged to look critically at examples and texts to make them more inclusive.
Effective Interpersonal Communication
How do you get the most out of your conversations with conscious use of language and effective communication? Prof Enny Das, Prof Sandra van Dulmen and Janou Hemsing focused on the dos and don'ts of effective interpersonal communication during the masterclass. Theory on the importance of listening, recognising and preventing resistance was refreshingly interspersed with group discussions to practice techniques and exchange experiences.
Language and AI
Finally, Kasper Maes and Dr Louis ten Bosch explained what AI means in society. Participants were wowed by the background, possibilities and role of AI for the future. They were given tips for using ChatGPT or other available technology and challenged to use it for brainstorming, rewriting texts, giving feedback, analysing images, having conversations and much more.
After the masterclasses, the professionals present exchanged experiences during the networking drinks. They went home with a certificate of participation and concrete tools to apply in practice. The organisation would like to thank all speakers and participants for an instructive and inspiring afternoon!
Keep an eye on our agenda for more masterclasses. Would you like to develop further now? Then take a look at the course offerings of Radboud in'to Languages.
