This one-hour professional development webinar, geared toward STEM graduate students and early-career professionals, breaks interpersonal interactions down into two distinct but interacting parts: sending messages and receiving them.

Communication, teaching, and learning all depend on both clear messaging and understanding. Miscommunication is often simply the result of a mismatch between these two components. Xu Simon, PhD, builds foundational communication skills for success in any STEM career by identifying common patterns in interpersonal communication, by highlighting where communication can go wrong, and by offering tools for troubleshooting common communication errors. Participants will develop a framework for using interpersonal interactions both for individual advancement and for maximal impact on their families, teams, industries, and marketplace.

After this webinar, participants will be able to shift the frame of reference for interpersonal interactions from a subjective, nonproductive experience to an opportunity to use the scientific values of integrity and observation for continued learning, effective teaching, and deep connection.

WATCH THE RECORDING (You must be an AWIS member. Join today or contact [email protected] for group screening information.)

Meet the Speaker 

Xu Simon earned her PhD in Biology from MIT in 2008. After completing postdoctoral studies in structural biology at Brandeis University, she served for two years as an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Science and Technology Policy Fellow. Her placement in the US Department of State’s diplomatic anti-chemical-weapons office spanned the 2013 Syria chemical weapons crisis, putting her at the center of a public international crisis. After completing the fellowship, Xu earned an MBA in Global Business from Bentley University. She has worked her way up from technical to high-level positions in two Boston-area startup companies and currently serves at Chief Technology Officer at Enozo Technologies. She has served as adjunct professor at both Bentley and Brandeis Universities while working in industry and released a TEDx talk in 2022. She is passionate not only about science itself but also about helping scientists share their advances with the broader world so they can provide the most benefit.