An academic scientific career is fraught with situations in which researchers are expected to communicate their science effectively. These include lectures, long-form seminars, short presentations and flash talks. Recently, other formats that incorporate different elements such as 3-minute thesis and chalk talks have become increasingly prevalent at different career stages.

A chalk talk is a particular format that is becoming commonplace when applying for senior academic roles (group leader/principal investigation) in biomedical sciences worldwide. Institutions that currently include it as part of their hiring process include the NIH, EMBL, The Francis Crick Institute, and others. The aim of these talks is to allow more thorough applicant/committee interactions, rethinking the linear slide deck approach to the discussion. While this format opens many possibilities, it also comes with additional challenges that we’ll outline in this workshop. We’ll also have a second part, where we’ll run through a chalk talk of some of the attendees.