The Conference Presentation

Lynda Gagne
University of Victoria
October 2004
Overview
Preparing for your presentation
Giving your presentation
Chairing a session
Discussing a paper
Concluding comments

Preparing for your
presentation
Knowing your audience
Knowing yourself
Knowing your subject
Selling your research question
Selling your methodology
Choosing the right media
What to include in your presentation
Practicing for your presentation

Knowing your audience
Are the participants experts in your field of
study, are they peripherally related to the
field, or can you expect some of both groups?
How much do you expect participants to
know about your research methodology?
How much do you expect participants about
the policy relevance of your research
question?
Knowing yourself
How often have you presented and how
much confidence do you have in
presenting?
What are your weaknesses?
How much preparation do you need?

Knowing your subject
What have other people done in your
field of study?
Do you have a good handle on the
literature?
What specifically did you do?
What data did you use (if any) and
whats the story behind this data?
Selling your research question
Why is your research question
interesting?
What policy relevance (if any) does it
have?


Selling your methodology
Whats innovative about your
methodology or your research?
Are you using a new method?
Are you using a well-accepted method with
new data?
What differentiates what you have done
from what all the other work that has been
done in the area?
Choosing the right media
Power Point slides have become a
standard in many conference
presentations
However, in some disciplines, simple
transparencies are still the norm
What to include in your
presentation
The chair should introduce you
Start with a front page that includes
Title of your presentation
Your name and affiliation
[Date, name of conference, paper prepared for]
[Your next page should include]
Acknowledgement to granters, assistants, etc.
[Any required disclaimers]

What to include in your
presentation
Introduction
Tell the audience what issues you are
addressing
Place your work in the context of the
existing literature
Identify your specific research questions

What to include in your
presentation
Methods
Describe your data (if applicable)
In an academic conference, describe your
methods in moderate but sufficient detail
that listeners would be in a position to
criticize your methods (if needed)
In a policy conference, use heuristic
devices to convey complex methodology
What to include in your
presentation
Findings
Summarize the key aspects of your
findings
Use graphs and charts whenever possible
or applicable
Graphs and charts should be adequately
labeled you may want to test them on
others before your conference
What to include in your
presentation
Discussion/conclusion
Discuss the (policy) implications of your
findings
Point out the limitations of your research
[Make suggestions for further studies]
Practicing for your
presentation
Practice giving your presentation to
insure that it is the right length adjust
accordingly
Practice voice control
Learn your materials to remember the
order in which they are
Giving your presentation
The presentation
Question period
The presentation
Engage your audience
Make eye contact
Use voice projection
Show confidence the people who took
the time to come to your presentation are
interested in your work
Smile and try to build rapport with light
humour (if youre comfortable with that)
The presentation
The chair will usually defer questions to
the end of the presentation
If someone interrupts, be friendly and
do answer clarification questions
Postpone responding to substantive
question until the question period
Question period
Thank the people who ask questions
(oh yes, very good point, Ill check into
it; oh yes, I did address this, but )
Disarm the obnoxious (active listening,
as above)
Avoid protracted debates
Take notes
Chairing a Session
Chairing a session is often expected of
presenters
Carefully review the terms of your
engagement
Contact participants shortly after you
receive your assignment to agree on
process (or to inform them of the
process)
Chairing a Session
Decide on order (presentations,
discussants, question periods)
Begin the session by describing the
process (unless the process is standard)
Introduce each section/speaker
You are the time and order keeper
Discussing a paper
Often required of conference presenters, or
others usually allotted around five minutes
Junior people should accept these
assignments, although they are time-
consuming, because of the exposure
You will need to become sufficiently familiar
with the related literature and the paper
(ideally you should discuss a paper in your
area of research)
Discussing a paper
You enjoyed reading the paper, or you
found the paper interesting
Brief summary / key points
Papers contribution to the existing
body of knowledge
Ideas for extensions or revisions
(constructive criticism)
Concluding comments
Attending a conference is an ideal way for
academics and students to make useful
connections and to communicate their
research findings
Students will get the opportunity to suitably
impress potential employers with their work
and presentation skills
Dont forget to bring your business cards!