Tips for Effective Conference Presentation

Presenting at a conference is a core part of scientific communication for any researcher or academic.

Finding the right conference with the right audience and successfully communicating your latest findings is a great way to enhance your career prospects and, in turn, learn about the newest developments in your research field.

Developing a conference presentation is no different to developing any other presentation – you need to be well prepared, consistent throughout and ensure you’re able to resonate with your audience.

Here are four key factors that will help you give an effective conference presentation:

1. The structure and content of speech;
2. How it is presented;
3. Using visual aids;
4. Responding to audience questions

Each of these four factors will be discussed in turn, before it is appropriate to address some of the basics.

Before getting ready for preparing an effective presentation at a conference, you should ask yourself the following questions:

What is the purpose of your lecture? Is it intended to inform the audience or to persuade or entertain them?

What are the key points you want your audience to understand from this conference? How much time did you spend to get these tips?

How much information do your audience have about the topic of your lecture?

The answer to these questions will determine how you will operate in each of the four areas that will be discussed hereafter.

Structure

A presentation or lecture has three parts: introduction, body, and conclusion. The introduction of your conference should include an explanation of the content and structure of your lecture. This section should familiarize the audience with the content of the conference. This is especially important for an audience who does not know much about your subject area. In addition, the introduction should reflect the purpose of the lecture (informing, persuading, entertaining?).

The body must be rational. You need to state your points clearly using logical terms such as “what I just said shows …” or “It proves that …” demonstrates different parts of your lecture to your audience. This is especially important when you change the subject to discuss new issues. You need to advance your lecture in a way to make your audience realize that you have finished talking about the topic (a) and you are talking about topic (b) now. Using phrases such as “after discussing … I’m going to argue that …”, can help you accomplish this.

At the end of your lecture, you should give a summary of the main points of your presentation. It is important that you finish your lecture in a “neat” way and avoid having your conference end in confusion. You can do this by saying a few concluding sentences that are relevant to the goals you stated at the beginning. For example, you might use the phrase, “I hope that by this presentation, I have been able to show you that …”.

Presentation

Like the structure of your lecture, the way you express and deliver content to your audience is also important. Here, readiness and preparation are the primary deciders.

You should always practice your presentation in full before you deliver it.  You need to practice to ensure that your presentation fits within the time parameters. Practicing also makes it flow better. You can’t practice too many times.

Making eye contact with your audience gives them a sense of involvement in your presentation and helps to convey your objectives on a personal level. Don’t stare at the floor, ceiling, wall, or overhead projector! Just look at your audience! Speak distinctly and change the pace and tone of your speech to get the attention of the audience on a regular basis. Use a language that suits your audience. This is especially important when you are providing specialized content to non-specialists.

Before starting your lecture, depending on the location of the conference and the number of audience, decide whether to stand or sit down. If you are presenting in a standing position, move a little in the place so that the audience is not distracted due to the monotony of your presentation. Use body language and gestures while speaking, as this will help your audience understand you better. However, try to make your audience feel you are comfortable and natural, even though you may not actually feel that way! Remember that almost all people feel nervous, anxious and uneasy when presenting at a conference. Pre-talk training can help you a lot and reduce your nervousness during the conference.

Keep in mind that the audience are generally on your side in the sense that they are eager to see your successes, and mistakes often feel like a bigger deal for than they are for your audience. Remember that no one expects your speech to be perfect.

Visual aids

If you have chosen to use visual aids in your presentation, you should practice with them repeatedly. Through practice you will be able to seamlessly incorporate them into your presentation, which will reduce distractions, increase your credibility, and keep the audience’s attention focused on your message. Practice will also help determine the time required for your presentation so you can edit before you speak if necessary.

Using visual aids helps you convey content to your audience in a way that makes it easier to understand.

Images are key elements to any presentation. Whether it’s a pie chart to show percentages, or a strong image to convey a point, visuals can be much more effective than words. They help reinforce or complement the ideas or points you’re trying to get across. Your audience may be able to understand your message a little easier when it’s presented with visuals that relate to it.

There are many types of visual aids, such as flip charts, posters, props and models, graphs and charts, overhead projector slides, white or black board, and paper handouts.

It is important to note that the use of visual aids is intended to improve the understanding of the oral part of your presentation and, therefore, should only be used when it is in the service of the lecturer’s oral speech.

Responding to questions

In question and answer session, your audience will have the opportunity to participate in the conference process, deepen their understanding of your content, and indirectly test your understanding of the subject. Your presentation has not finished yet.

One of the main problems with these sessions is that the presenter’s nerves frequently force an inappropriate response. This could be because a question has been misinterpreted or that only key words from the question have been heard rather than the full content.

It is important to listen to all parts of a question before drawing premature conclusions about your ‘best’ response. If you are worried that you haven’t understood a question, clarify the area of inquiry before going any further. It is important to remember that even though you are taking a question from one member of the audience, as a presenter, you are still responsible for the interest and engagement of the other audience members. When you reply to a question, direct your answer to both the questioner and other members of the audience. Try to keep your responses as focused as possible.

Once you’ve mastered the tips above, you’ll be all set to give a great conference presentation. And the more you do, the easier they’ll get. Until you’ll reach a point when you can’t remember how nervous they used to make you.