ICTR | How We Talk with Research Participants Series: The Art of Communication; Session 1: Moving from Anxiety to Authenticity: 10 Practical Steps to Improving Communication with Community
September 23, 2025, Noon-1 pm CT
Online Zoom
UW Institute for Clinical & Translational Research
Join ICTR’s Recruitment & Retention Resource Center this fall and winter for a virtual workshop series: “How We Talk With Research Participants: The Art of Communication.”
Each one-hour session of this five-part virtual series covers practical communication techniques that you can readily apply in your work to build stronger relationships with research participants and community members, increase understanding, and to improve recruitment and retention outcomes. Note: You do not need to attend all five sessions. Please select the sessions that are of interest to you.
All are welcome, including investigators, study team members, and those who communicate with research participants and community members. Sessions will be held on Sept. 23, Oct. 16, Oct. 30, Nov. 18 and Dec. 16.
Session 1 on Sept. 23: Moving from Anxiety to Authenticity: 10 Practical Steps to Improving Communication with Community Participants
Presenter: Gina Green-Harris
Engaging in discussions about academic research often includes terminology that is unfamiliar to the potential participants or may tell potential participants “what” we plan to do, or “how” we plan to conduct the research “on” them as community members. These practices often create challenges to participation in studies and raise skepticism about research in general.
Learning how to approach the community with authentic communication is a skill that is often overlooked. Using authentic communication with community to discuss research can be accomplished by using an asset based and conversational approach that can lead to shared communications. Learning to engage in authentic conversations promotes transparency, shared learning, and opportunities to exchange varied knowledge. In authentic communication all parties to be heard, focuses on commonalities which can reduce conversation anxiety on both parties. Further authentic conversations may lead to stronger bonding and longer research engagement over time within academic- community partnerships.
This workshop will explore ten practical communication practices that can be used to implement transparent, skillful conversations about research with community members and explore how authentic communication can be of added value and benefit to the research process.
