Ten Secrets to Giving a Good Scientific Presentation

CONFERENCE PRESENTATION

UNIT 1. Giving a Scientific Presentation at a Conference

Exercise 1.1. Read the text about five reasons why it is important for you to participate in conferences.

Why It Is Important for You to Present Your Data at Scientific Conferences

1Contribute to and learn about the most recent advances in your field

Conference presentations allow you to present your data during many stages of development, (e.g., preliminary findings, recently collected data, or data that is waiting to be published). This will allow you to present your most up-to-date findings and receive feedback from colleagues, which will help you when you ultimately write up your study. Additionally, you have the opportunity to attend numerous exciting talks and poster sessions while at the convention. As these presentations often represent the most cutting-edge research available, they can provide you with valuable information far earlier than if you had waited for the publication.

2 Advocate for your science

Perhaps one of the most important benefits from conference presentations is the ability to advocate for your science. Representing your field of interest allows researchers in other disciplines, policy-makers, and the public to become aware of the innovative research being generated in your particular subfield. As scientists, it is important that we share our research findings with people outside our specific discipline to increase the visibility of our research and provide interested individuals with more information.

3 Learn how to talk about your data

Conferences provide a way to practice your presentation skills and can help you develop the expertise needed to discuss your research in a clear and meaningful way. Learning how to answer specific questions and present your data to a range of individuals (who may or may not be familiar with your field of research) will help you in other endeavors, including future conference presentations, masters or dissertation defenses, and classroom teaching.

4 Contribute to your overall research profile

When on the job market, graduate students often compete against other students for ideal jobs or post-doctoral positions. A history of conference presentations will show potential employers that you regularly disseminate your research finding to colleagues as well as keep up-to-date on the cutting-edge research of the field. Moreover, many conferences offer travel awards, which if won, can be added to your list of awards and honors. These lines on your vita may be the deciding factor between you and other potential job candidates.

 

5 Meet other researchers in your field and potential contacts for future positions

The presentations that you give and attend are likely to be frequented by researchers with similar interests, giving you the opportunity to discuss your research and learn valuable information from people working with similar techniques, populations, or statistics. Establishing contacts with other scientists will foster friendships with motivated researchers who can be resources for you at any stage of your career. An additional advantage of meeting researchers with common interests is that you may be able to create contacts for future employment or post-doctoral placements, allowing you to learn of available positions sooner than those who wait for advertisements to be posted. Furthermore, making yourself recognizable to future employers can increase your likelihood of being considered for a position.

Exercise 1.2. Look at the typical conference program.

1 registration where you pay or confirm payment of the registration fee, and in return receive a badge identifying you as participant, plus documentation such as the latest program, invitations to social events, etc.

2 plenary sessions general opening and closing of the conference, panel discussions, and talks by "invited" speakers, i.e. renowned experts in their field, whose costs are paid by the organizers.

3 parallel sessions more specialized sessions with "contributing" speakers (selected on the basis of submissions, and having to pay to participate), that take place simultaneously in different rooms. Often such sessions are organized by their chairperson independently of the main conference committee, who is responsible for the focus and the selection of contributors. Smaller conferences (workshops) may not have parallel sessions.

4 social events coffee breaks, lunches, receptions, conference dinner, excursions, etc.

Exercise 1.3. Now, read this article on some strategies for a good scientific presentation.

Ten Secrets to Giving a Good Scientific Presentation

1 Prepare your material carefully and logically. Tell a story. The story should have four parts: Introduction;    Method;  Results; Conclusion / Summary.

The Introduction should not just be a statement of the problem – but it should indicate your motivation to solve the problem, and you must also motivate the audience to be interested in your problem. In other words, the speaker must try and convince the audience that the problem is important to them as well as the speaker.

The Method includes your approach. It becomes more interesting to the listener if this section is “story like” rather than “text book like”. This adds the human element to your research which is always interesting.

The Results section is a brief summary of your main results. Be as clear as possible in explaining your results – include only the most salient details. Less salient details will emerge as people ask questions.

The Conclusion/Summary section should condense your results and implications. This should be brief. Be sure to connect your results with the overview statements in the Introduction. Do not have too many points – three or four is usually the maximum.

You may also add the fifth item: Future Research.

2 Practice your talk. Many scientists believe that they are such good speakers, or so super-intelligent that practice is beneath them. This is an arrogant attitude. Practice never hurts and even a quick run through will produce a better talk: you’ll be able to analyze your pros and fill in the gaps.

3 Do not put in too much material. Good speakers will have one or two central points and stick to that material. The point of a talk is to communicate scientific results, not to show people how smart you are. Less is better for a presentation.

4 Avoid equations. If you have to show an equation - simplify it and talk to it very briefly.

5 Have only a few conclusion points. People can't remember more than a couple things from a presentation.

6 Talk to the audience not to the screen. It is hard to hear the speaker in this case, besides, without eye contact the audience loses interest. And one thing more, do not start talking right away when you put up a viewgraph. Let people look at the viewgraph for a few moments: they usually can't concentrate on the material and listen to you at the same time.

7 Emphasize key words. If you speak in the same voice tone throughout the entire presentation, no one knows what is really important. Make it obvious to your audience what they really need to pay attention to.

8 Avoid making distracting sounds. Try to avoid “Ummm” or “Ahhh” between sentences.

9 Polish your graphics. Here is a list of hints for better graphics:

ü Use large letters.

ü Keep the graphic simple.

ü Use color.

10Add some emotion or humor to your talk. A joke or two in your presentation spices things up and relaxes the audience.

Exercise 1.4 Giving a presentation and speaking in front of a room full of peers can always be a stressful experience, but there are ways to project confidence and authority even when you are nervous. Read this article from a website on business communication.