first conference presentation - totally clueless

[lookingouttosea]

Not only my first presentation but my first conference, in this discipline anyway. I'm presenting on an aspect of my PhD and I submitted a paper on it but I'm a bit unsure about my slides/powerpoint .Any tips? Is it ok, for example, to use stock pictures as a focal point for discussion or is that not serious/academic enough? And is it ok if I read from notes while referring to the slides? Or do I read from the actual paper I submitted? Subject is broadly social science. Any advice more than welcome as I'm pretty nervous. I won't know anyone there except senior people in my Dept and I've been at home with babies for months/years!

Personally, I don't picture the audience naked! I know many say it's best, but I find that weird.

Copyright free images that show or enhance what you have, are ok, just check n double check they're the right ones.

I wouldnt just read from notes or your paper, I'd do something in-between.. like prompts,
Don't leave slides on while talking about something else.
Try not to waffle ... My hardest thing!
Be consice
Practise on someone who knows nothing on the subject, and you can trust them to be honest. It doesn't matter if they know it or not, but they'll tell you if they're bored, or confused between 2nthings.
Use prompt cards from your paper (should've put this higher!).

Handouts. I was told early on, not to give out notes until the end of each session, or they'll get read while your talking... I find this of putting.

And most of all, relax. It's YOUR presentation.

I've given a few presentations over the years, taught from the front, and sang from the front (both as a group n solo), I've also been known to preach from the pulpit... My god the first time was nerve racking.

It's nervous, but use that energy .... Oh did I say, don't waffle! lol

Time it rigidly, and practice several times. Much better to be there minutes under the alloted time than three minutes over (makes the chair of the session get s fabulous impression of you if you stop just before they start glancing at their watch)

In a conference presentation, you can say one thing. It's really hard for people to take in information in this format (I have no idea why we all inflict it on each other), so tell them what you're going to tell them. Then tell them it. Then tell them what you told them.

Practice, practice, practice. Do timed practices with your slides. Learn it so well that you're extremely unlikely to need to look at any notes...then do yourself a couple of prompt cards just in case. You want to make it look as though you know this material so well that it's all just at your fingertips, and you hardly had to make an effort at all.

Stick ABSOLUTELY to your time limit. Aim for a couple of minutes under. As a new PhD student DO NOT go over time.

In my field, we read from a written paper - but there are better & worse ways of doing this. Better is to imagine your audience as you write, and remember that people's comprehension is different in spoken & written language.

Use slides to give your audience text that you want them to be able to read/see. Don't use them just as unnecessary illustration.

And personally, I find the final slide "Thank you for listening" sort of thing unutterably naff & cringey.

Thank you everyone. I've been practicing trying to get my presentation under the 20 minutes. Actually quite difficult. I can do it, but I'm talking too fast. Will have to keep at it!

I can do it, but I'm talking too fast.

Please don't keep "under time" by talking fast.

Cut.

Look, what you want is people to engage with your central driving research idea or research question. If you talk fast just to get under the time, you rather sabotage that objective. People won't follow, they'll switch off.

Get your presentation to around 15-16 minutes when you're practising. It will always take longer in a larger room, to an actual embodied audience.

What you want is engagement and response, and then questions & discussion.

If I see a speaker go like a bat out of hell, eyes down, just getting through his/her text with no thought for who is listening, not even looking up or engaging me as a listener then I - for one - will switch off & won't bother. That sort of speaker is not aiming to communicate, just wanting a platform.

It's a real rookie mistake and postgrads should be strongly mentored about why they are presenting at a conference. So cut. Kill your babies (creative writing advice).

In a conference presentation, you can say one thing. It's really hard for people to take in information in this format (I have no idea why we all inflict it on each other), so tell them what you're going to tell them. Then tell them it. Then tell them what you told them

This x 10!

Totally agree with all the great comments- don't rush, speak clearly, cut your slides and have one main message. I also practice it about 10 times til I can say the whole thing without looking down. I also have a copy of the slides in front of me in large type so if the IT broke/I can't remember what to say, I would be ok. Good luck!

Check the guidelines again. Things to check particularly:
Widescreen or traditional slide sizes?

Can you take your own laptop or do you have to upload?

if its your own: is it or powerpoint liable to crash? Can you turn off all the pop-ups so you don't get email alerts during the presentation? Will it survive without being plugged in? Have you emailed the presentation to yourself and saved it to a USB? Do you have a HDMI and VGA ports? If not do you have an adaptor?
if you have to use theirs: When do you have to upload/transfer your presentation? Save your presentation as both a PDF and a PPTX. PDF is safer, it's more likely to work on any system. Do you use Mac? Have you formatted your USB so that it will work with a Windows? Go and find someone else's computer you can check with.

Timing is timing and non-negotiable. It's really rude to go over because it eats into others' presentation time. At some conferences they turn off the mike. You need to allow 2 mins for questions. In my field that means no more than 18 slides for 18 mins including title. You will probably talk faster with nerves, but it still shouldn't be a rush. There may be many non-native English speakers and your English is likely to be quite difficult for them to understand so you have to go slowly, clearly and confidently. Most people in my field memorise their talk and I normally practice at least 10 times, more like 30 when I was starting out! If you have time, do it in front of your professor and other students first. She/he shouldn't mind because it will look bad for them if you mess up (no pressure :-P )

My first conference presentation, I accidentally wore a shirt the same colour as my official university slides (I don't know why, they/it were both disgusting!) Your first presentation is always a steep learning curve. It's mostly about being seen and most people won't notice the exact contents once they've put a face to a name. So try not to stress too much and I hope you enjoy the conference