All things conference

I'm back to real life again after the conference. My first presentation went well despite having only 7 people in the audience (it was a panel on gender at 9:00am, so really, what can you expect...). I didn't feel nervous, which is surprising for me because usually when I have anything to do that requires practice/planning, I don't sleep well and I can't eat breakfast. I didn't speak as slowly or as smoothly as I'd practiced, but I'm sure no one noticed. Thankfully, I had no hard questions (the only question directed at me was by my advisor...what was he thinking?!).

Here are the top five things that I think contributed to my success:

1. Practice, practice, practice. I practiced at home and at school in front of a friend and my husband. I even took my laptop to school and hooked it up to a projector to check how my slides looked and to get the feel of presenting. This also helps you determine if you're better at speaking from word-for-word notes or a general outline, if you have a certain word you repeat needlessly (for me it's "so"), and if you have the right length of presentation.

2. Focus on my research. On my first draft of the presentation, it was too long. My advisor maintained that I had to cut out a bunch of the lit review because people at conferences just want you to get to your research findings. It totally worked and I think I had a stronger presentation because of it.

3. Attend other sessions. I went to two sessions on the day before mine. They both reinforced my confidence. In the first, one woman spoke for about 15 minutes on the lit review and had to rush through the findings so that I wasn't sure what her research actually showed. In another, the slides were dull black writing on a white background. The second session started off with a man who gripped the podium and literally read from the paper in front of him. By attending other sessions, I boosted my confidence in my presentation because I knew it wouldn't be the worst at the conference.

4. Be creative. As I've mentioned many times, I made sure my slides were engaging and visual aids rather than reiterations of what I was saying. For me, this helped because I'm comfortable and excited with my creativity.

5. Keep in mind that people want to like me. When someone goes to a presentation, they want to like the presenter. They don't come ready to attack, but to learn. By remembering that people are willing to give you the benefit of the doubt from the start, I was able to remain calm in the minutes leading up to the presentation.

So there you have it: all things conference. Hopefully some of these tips will be useful the next time you are planning to present.

Today's Grad Gravy: Present like you know you cannot fail.