The ICCH Pre-conference Masterclasses being offered this year are below. All timings are in BST (GMT+1).
The cost of each masterclass is £80 for members and £95 for non-members.
Monday 14th September 2026
09:00 - 16:00: Conference Room (Ground Floor)
Masterclass 1
Relationship-Centered Communications in Teams: Beyond the Bedside
While most health communication trainings, including the original Relationship-Centered Communication (RCC) workshops, have focused on patient-health professional communication, this masterclass will provide a model for inter-professional RCC that develops skills in team member communication, reduces hierarchy, increases workplace belonging, and ultimately enhances collaborative patient care. This 6-hour masterclass, led by an inter-disciplinary group of expert Academy of Communication in Healthcare faculty, involves skill-based exercises conducted in a supportive small group learning environment.
09.00 - 12.00: Meeting Room 7 (Ground Floor)
Masterclass 2
Inductive Methods for Studying Recordings of Clinical Interaction: Part A - Microanalysis
Microanalysis of clinical interaction (MCI) is an observational discipline (the microanalytic lens) and an inductive (i.e., bottom-up) approach for constructing comprehensive operational definitions of whatever the analysts want to learn more about in the conversation (i.e., the phenomena of interest). Participants will engage in exercises to apply basic principles of MCI and new observational vocabulary to describe clinical interactions. While no experience with video analysis is necessary, this masterclass is designed to also be interesting for experienced analysts. This 3-hour masterclass can be taken independently; it can also be paired with Inductive methods for studying recordings of clinical interaction: Part B – conversation analysis.
13:00 - 16:00: Meeting Room 7 (Ground Floor)
Masterclass 3
Inductive Methods for Studying Recordings of Clinical Interaction: Part B - Conversation Analysis
Conversation Analysis (CA) is a rigorous method for examining recordings of naturally occurring interactions and identifying communication practices that can be linked to clinical outcomes. In this masterclass, we will introduce participants to the method of CA and practice three analytical approaches that align with the primary analytical question underlying CA: Why did this person say that, now? This 3-hour masterclass offers a structured, approachable introduction to CA for those who want to incorporate interactional evidence into research, teaching, or intervention design. This masterclass can be taken independently; it can also be paired with Inductive methods for studying recordings of clinical interaction: Part A – Microanalysis.
13:00 - 17:30: Boardroom (1st Floor)
Masterclass 4
Beyond Scripts: Teaching High-Stakes Communication with Medical Improv
In this 4.5-hour masterclass, participants will learn how to implement skills of medical improv (attunement, affirmation, and advancement) for teaching advanced communication: navigating emotionally-charged spaces; having difficult conversations; creating supportive team dynamics; and maximizing co-created communication.
13:00 - 17:30: Minor Hall (2nd Floor)
Masterclass 5
Resilience for Rising Health Communications Scholars: Building Careers in Academia and Research
The path for success in research or academics focusing on communication in healthcare is challenging, particularly when few other colleagues at one’s own institution share this focus. This interactive 4.5-hour masterclass is aimed for researchers and educators in healthcare communication seeking strategies, suggestions, and skills to help achieve career objectives and build tools for resilience and success.
Tuesday 15th September 2026
08:00 - 12:30: Conference Room (Ground Floor)
Masterclass 6
Train the Trainer - Playful Learning to Build Psychological Safety for Communication Skills Training
Struggling to get volunteers for role plays? Awkward silences when asking questions to the group? Communication skills training, particularly when it involves observed practice interactions (e.g. role plays, simulated patients), often exposes learners in front of their peers. Without adequate psychological safety there will be reluctance to engage.
This group of experienced communication educators, from the University of Manchester, have developed strategies to build psychological safety. To prepare learners for communication skills training, these strategies can be deployed flexibly at the start of the programme or in individual sessions. This 4.5-hour masterclass immerses trainers as participants in playful learning (medical improv, model building, picture cards) before supporting them to facilitate an activity utilising the approaches.
08:00 - 12:30: Boardroom (1st floor)
Masterclass 7
Addressing Health Misinformation in Clinical Encounters: Persuasion Strategies for Clinicians
Many clinicians receive little formal training in strategies for identifying and addressing misinformation while maintaining patient trust and supporting patient-centered communication. This 4.5-hour interactive masterclass addresses this gap by translating research from persuasion theory, science communication, and clinical communication into practical tools clinicians can use in real patient encounters.
08:00 - 12:30: Minor Hall (2nd floor)
Masterclass 8
Getting Started in Healthcare Communication Education Research: Questions, Paradigms, Practicalities
Healthcare communication education is widely delivered across professions and settings, yet many educators and early-stage researchers report uncertainty about how to study educational communication interventions rigorously, ethically, and with methods aligned to their assumptions about knowledge and learning. This interactive 4.5-hour masterclass develops foundational competence in designing innovative healthcare communication education research.