Anyway, it turns out I have to prep for an upcoming conference. It's bad news, actually, because I now have less than a week to do it. (My own fault.) Hence the photo of the dudette (sorry...deity?) with flames coming out of her head.
What's more, it seems I haven't updated my Grad School Awesomeness series since this past April. Who knew that when I actually have things to do, I'm willing to give up writing posts for my blog?
Fortunately a friend of mine was cool enough to ask me for thoughts on attending conferences, and I now have a legit reason to type up a new post. Here goes.
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My "first time" was a somewhat lackluster experience—isn't it for most people?—despite the nearly fool-proof setting and the actual characters involved. I think, at the end of the day, it was just somewhat anti-climactic. I came away thinking: I could've performed better.
Thank goodness for ACLA 2009, my "second time" for literature conferences. Boston is a lovely city, and in the five months since my "first", I'd considered how I could improve my performance when giving presentations. But then, I suppose you have to "do it" a good number of times before you can call yourself "experienced" in these things. I mean, looking back today, even my "second" left much to be desired...
I could have used some advice around the time I was starting out on the whole conferences bidness—advice that, now that I'm feeling panicky about going to yet another one, I think I might just give myself now.
- Prepping the presentation—Oh, right, the most important part of giving a conference presentation: GIVING THE CONFERENCE PRESENTATION. I think it's better to talk than read, and now that I have a three-hour lecture class of my own, I think it's easier than writing a paper to read out loud. If I'm talking instead of reading, I can use PowerPoint (sorry, I just don't get Keynote) to keep me on track—which I hope makes the presentation easier for people to understand too, more than having me just read a paper (which can be boring). "Talking" the presentation using PowerPoint, then, helps me in multiple ways: I don't have to write a formal paper, I can keep myself within time limits, and I can (hopefully) make the presentation easier to digest for the audience. And the more I practice, the better my "talking" and PowerPoint slides become. Maybe. (If I practice.) (Except I was recently told that some people count conference presentations toward your tenure review only if you write a formal paper—so who knows.)
- Asking and answering questions—This is important because it builds the skill of curiosity: wanting to know more out of sincere respect. (Yes, my random definition.) It's difficult, I think, to ask questions well—it's also fun to get better at it. I've learned to listen more carefully and to understand what makes for good (to me) presentations: how clear is the argument? how strong are the supporting analyses? how appropriate is the title for the presentation content? If I have an idea of what I'm looking for, then I can ask better questions to find out additional things, or things I thought were missing from the presentation. I also know what kinds of things to include in my own presentations, and to anticipate questions that might be asked of me. It also helps to think of conferences as mini, informal job interviews—a casual way to practice talking about your research, but with potentially a big pay-off if you make a strong impression. There's just less pressure involved than a real job interview. It's a total win-win-win! Also, for more intimate conferences like PAMLA, I appreciate the opportunity (during lulls in the Q&A, when audience members don't have questions) to ask questions of my co-presenters, so that we capitalize on the occasion of being in the same room among people working on similar topics. What a lovely way to get to know each other!
- Meeting people—Wait, did I just say "a lovely way to get to know each other"? Actually, I'm horrible at getting to know people—which is why I come up with artificial ways to strike up conversations with folks, like asking them questions about their research. (But isn't that what we're supposed to do at conferences?) Seriously, though, I want to practice talking with people, approaching them, introducing myself, learning about their work...without having it seem annoying or forced. In fact, I wished I had taken more time to get to know other graduate students and junior scholars at my past conferences, because I'm finding that those kinds of relationships motivate me to produce more work. So if possible—during Q&As, while waiting for sessions to start, or in those awkward moments of standing in line at the morning pastries-and-fruits buffet—meet new people! And remember that the random person sitting two seats away from you may be someone to organize conference panels with in the future. (In fact, in writing this post, I'm reminded of someone I met at ACLA 2009, and how we've kept in touch over the years—how lovely to get to meet interesting people!)
- Exploring the City—To be honest, though, just as important for me as getting to know people is getting to know a new city. Conferences are often the only times I get to travel, and boy, am I psyched about this upcoming conference in Portland, OR. (I'm running out of cities that 1) I've never been to that 2) are sites of academic conferences, so this may be the last time I get to discover a new city.) Of course it's important to attend conference sessions—to hear interesting presentations, to make sure the conference is well attended, etc.—but I love getting to see new sites, walk around cool neighborhoods, and eat and drink delicious things. Ah, the life of an academic...
Oy, conference...how I love thee. As long as I have fun and enjoy giving my presentation, then I'm doing something right. Now I just need to get myself out of bed so that I can prep this paper......
