title: Helping improve dissemination of research: Toastmasters is a novel mechanism.
abstract: Competencies for health professionals and students often include the ability to transfer knowledge to different audiences in a variety of ways. Consultation, presentation, teaching, multimedia, and posters are some examples. A recent question on a national listserv about writing, editing, and proofreading services in health sciences libraries prompted this column about a potentially novel way of helping students and faculty in health disciplines to improve their abilities to communicate professionally. In addition to the poster design and review services that one library offers, it is also the host of two Toastmasters International clubs that provide participants a nonthreatening, real-world environment to improve the content, structure, methods, and delivery of their written and spoken messages. A librarian on staff is a member of and serves as liaison to the two clubs.
authors.affiliation: a Health Sciences Library , University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill , Chapel Hill , North Carolina , USA.
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Allegri
mesh_terms: D035843:Biomedical Research; D006801:Humans; D033181:Information Dissemination; D007993:Libraries, Medical / Q000458:organization & administration*; D009937:Organizational Objectives; D013060:Speech
keywords: Communication; Toastmasters International; competencies; liaison services; public speaking; research dissemination