Design and Deliver Grad Studio: Defending and Answering Questions

Design & Deliver Grad Studio is a workshop series that takes you through the process of planning and designing a spoken academic presentation. If you’re working on a specific presentation, we encourage you to attend all three: start by organizing your ideas in “Planning for and preparing presentations,” learn how to create engaging slides in “Slide Design,” and practice strategies for confidently answering questions in “Defending and Answering Questions.”  

Each workshop will take 2.5 hours (with breaks) to build on one another and cover different elements of an effective academic presentation: planning your messages, supporting them with engaging visuals, and answering questions about your work clearly and concisely. You are welcome to attend any workshop you find most relevant, but we encourage you to attend all three so you can learn about and plan for all three elements.  

In all three workshops, you’ll be expected to brainstorm, plan, and discuss your own presentation, so it’s best to bring a specific presentation you're working on. If you don’t have a presentation coming up, come prepared to work on an academic presentation (such as a conference presentation or thesis defence) you’re likely to deliver.  

• Thursday, April 23, 2026: Planning for and preparing presentations 

• Thursday, May 7, 2026: Slide design 

• Thursday, May 21, 2026: Defending and Answering Questions 

May 21: Defending and Answering Questions 

In this workshop, we’ll discuss the purpose of Q&As and defences, teach you how to prepare for questions from your audience, and share strategies for asking and answering questions clearly. This workshop works best if you’re preparing for a presentation with a significant Q&A portion (like a defence). Throughout this workshop, we’ll ask you to think about your department’s defence culture, anticipate questions about your research, and practice asking and answering questions with your peers. 
 
If you dread the Q&A portion of a presentation or defence, this workshop will help you feel more confident when answering questions.