GSA #9: On Giving Conference Presentations

This dude is about to go give a "presentation"...in his undies...!

I realized that the main reason why I write these posts is because I need to discipline myself into practicing what I preach...

Presenting at conferences is a great way to explore ideas and get feedback and questions. But there's also something huge about the opportunity to practice giving presentations that I'd totally forgotten. (Shut up. I'm an idiot. I know.)

After having a blast at PAMLA and spending time with awesome people, I am resolving to do the two following tasks for my next presentation.

Go off script. Oh come on, conference presentations are only 12 to 20 minutes long. If your idea of getting people to become engaged with your work is by reading off of letter-sized paper for that long, you've got some rethinking to do. Besides, when (not if) you give a job talk, that shit is like 45 to 50 minutes long! You might as well practice giving lovely (and long) presentations (with visuals) when you're given that opportunity (which might be rarely for those of us who don't teach our own classes).

(I understand that some people can read beautifully from a script, and if you are one of those people, more power to you. I am not. I also think it's fine to have a partial script or an outline as long as it enables you to stay focused, make eye contact with audience members, and riff a little. I saw two of my friends giving such presentations at PAMLA, and I was like...that's what I should be doing!)

Practice. Why, why, why do I always leave presentation preparations 'til the last minute? Somebody please kick me. At least I've moved beyond that point of forcing my companion to look for a Kinko's with me near the conference site. But conferences are opportunities for you to get "out there" as the awesome scholar that you are—don't blow them! People remember you if you are good or bad, and then kind of forget you if you are mediocrely somewhere in between. (That's an actual word? Wow.) And if people are going to remember you, it'd better be because you were polished and professional—because then you get to make friends and join awesome projects in the future!

[At some point I want to go to a conference just to go, without having to present anything. If anyone has suggestions for a good conference to crash, I'm all ears.]