PRESENTINGACONFERENCEPAPERSOMEHINTSFORCONFERENCEVIRGINS Ifyouarenewtopresentingaconferencepaper,herearesomehintsthatyoumight findhelpful. Doesyourpaperfittheconference? Ofcourse,youwillhaveconsideredthis,butitdoeshelptothinkcarefullyabout exactlyhowthepapermightfitin.Everyconferenceorganiserwillhavestoriesof the person who submitted an abstractthat wastotally unsuitable (i.e.

. a paperon elephantswhentheconferenceisonpigs)dontletthisbeyourpaper!Ifyou areunsure,youcanalwaysmakefurtherinquiries. Findoutwhatisrequired Ifyouhavedecidedthatthisconferenceissuitableforyou,thenfindoutwhatthe conference organiser requires. Do they want a title, an abstract and title, or abstract,titleandfullcopyofthepaper?Followingtheorganisersinstructionsto theletter givesyouabetterchanceofgettingyourpaperaccepted! Sticktothewordlimitthattheconferenceorganisersets.Whentheysaythey want a 50 word abstract,they mean it! It might help to underline key words thatfitinwithconferencethemes. Submittheabstract/titleearly,orontimeatthelatest Latepapersmaynotbeaccepted,somaximiseyourchancesbygettingyourpaper in early. Bydoing this you not only win brownie points with the organiser, but you get a better chance of getting a favourable time slot on the conference programme. You will also maximise your chance of getting mentioned in the conference programme that enlists the speakers. Often late additions are not mentioned, and that wont enhance your reputation. Ensure that your email or contactisclearlyavailable,andcorrectlyspelt. Preparetogiveyourpaper Preparationiskeytogivingconferencepapers.Thereareseveralwaysinwhichyou canprepareforyourpaper. Structurethepapercarefully.Findoutwhattimeallocationyouhaveisit 30minutes,20?Anhour?Prepareenoughmaterialforthetimeyouhave allocated,butbeawarethatoften,papertimingswillneedtochangeonthe day,sohaveemergencymaterialincaseyouneedtogoonforanextra10 minutes,orhaveaskeletonoutline,incaseanextrapaperhastobefitted intoyourpanel,andyouonlyhave10minuteswhenyouexpected20. Dont try and say too much. Remember that audiences have relatively shortattentionspans,sokeep itsimple,explainanytechnicalwords,and recap key points if you can. A well structured paper is easier to listen to then a freeform ramble, keep your audience in mind at all times! An introduction, a middle section and a conclusion is a simple formula to follow,andwillhelpyouorganiseyourthoughts.

 Eyecontactwiththeaudienceisimportant.Remembertolookupatallof them, sweeping your eyes around the roomevery sooften. This helps to keep their attention, and suggests tothem that you are confident in what you are saying (even if you arent!!). Mark pauses in your paper to give yourselftimetolookup,andcollectyourthoughts.Trytospeakasclearly asyoucan,andnottoofastortooslowly. Rehearse your paper in front of a friend, or aloud in private. Through painful personal experience, I have found that reading it through in your headnevercorrespondstothetimeittakestoreaditaloudinpublic.The moretimesyoureadit,themoreyouwillbefamiliarwithit,andifyouare familiarwithwhatyouaresaying,yourconfidencewillincrease. Preparefortheroom.Gototheroomyouarespeakinginbeforeyougive thepaper,togiveyourselfanideaofwheretheroomis,andwhatshapeit is, and what furniture you have. This not only means you wont be franticallyrunningacrossanunfamiliarcampus5minutesafteryouwere supposedtostart,tryingtofindtheroomyouarein,butitalsomeansyou willbepreparedinadvance,andcanmovefurnituretoyourrequirements. Youalsonothavethesuddenshockofbeingfacedwithalarge/tinyroom unexpectedly. Check with the organiser on the day or earlier that there have been no alterations to the programme. Dont be afraid to ask for exactly what you want if there are windows open in the room that are botheringyou,askforthemtobeclosed,orifyoudontliketheheightof thetable,youcanalwaysasktoseeifanothercanbeprovided(inadvance, whichiswhycheckingouttheroominadvanceissoimportant.) Technology requirements are subject to the inevitable rule that any technologyyouwanttousecanandwillfail.Alwayshavebackupplans, so that you arent stranded when the powerpoint/computer fails. Make yourrequirementsknowntotheconferenceorganiserwellinadvance,and iftheydontaskyou,tellthemanyway,dontassumethattheywillknow. Dontassumeeitherthattheywillbeabletoaccommodateyou,asnotall conference venues can accommodate the latest technology. Plan for the event that versions of software may be incompatible, and for overseas conferences,planfordifferentpowersuppliesandplugsizes!! Dontworry aboutthesizeoftheaudience!SomeofthebestpapersIhave everheardhavebeengiventohugeroomswherethereareonlyahandful ofpeople.Nevertakeaudience sizepersonally,asthereare many factors as to why people cant attend your session. It is highly unlikely that anyonewilleveraskyouhowmanypeopletherewereintheaudience,and youcertainlydonthavetostateitonyourCV!Agoodchairwillalways beinterested,aswilltheotherpanellists. Dontbetoohardonyourself!Ifthepaperdoesntgoasplanned,oryou dontfeelyouexplainedyourselfverywell,dontworry.OnyourCV,you dont have to give an evaluation of the paper, and you might find that giving a similar paper to a different audience another time works totally differently.Thebestacademicshavegiventheworstpapers,andtheworst

academicshavegiventhebestpapers.Itsabitlikegolf,ittakespractice andskillbutitsnotaprecisescience! Expect questions, but dont worry if there arent any. Again, it is not an indicator of how good/bad the paper was. If there are uncomfortable silences, a good chair will pose a question, but you can always engage with the other speakers abouttheir papers if there are no questions from the floor. If you dont understand a question, you could ask for it to be rephrased,anddontworryifyoudontknowtheanswer,asyoucantbe expectedtobepreparedforeverything! Aftertheconference,keepacopyofthedetailsofyourpaperandsession dates/times. You might think at the startof your career that youd never forgetgivingapaper,buttheysoonrackup,andifyoudontkeeparecord itcanbereallyhardtoremember!Itcanalsobeusefultokeepinformation ofwhoattendedandspokeataconference,asthey(oryou)maywantto getintouch. Finally, dont forget to enjoy your conference paper! This is an opportunityforyoutoholdforthonwhatyouknowaboutwithacaptive audience.Youaretheexpertonyourresearch,soenjoybeingcentrestage! Whoknows,youmightevenbeabletogetapublicationoutofit.Editors of journalsand books frequently gotoconferences,and ifone is in your audience, if you are prepared and confident, you might impress them enoughforthemtoapproachyou.Peopleusuallyabandon/forget/losetheir name badges on the second day of the conference, but keep yours on so thatyoucanbeeasilyrecognised.

Goodluck!!

BelaChatterjee2005