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.
Tip 1 - Build your presentation within time constraints
Ensuring your timing is right is so important when presenting at a conference. Before starting to prepare your presentation, confirm how much time you have been allocated.
Don't forget to allow time for questions after your presentation. If you have been allocated 10 minutes, you may decide to allow 7 minutes for your presentation and 3 minutes for questions.
If you have 7 minutes for your presentation prepare 7 minutes of content. No more.
If you don’t practice your timing, you may not get a chance to highlight your findings and recommendations – the most important part.
Tip 2 - Know your audience
Knowing your audience will enable to tailor your presentation to the audience and may enable you to avoid spending unnecessary time going over the existing literature and background information.
Tip 3 - Keep your presentation slides simple and consistent
You want your audience to listen to you instead of reading from your slides, so less is more in terms of the text on the slides.
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 and can help the audience to remember key messages from your presentation.
Some text and bullet points can be used if you need to make a point that isn’t easy to communicate visually, or if you’re discussing steps or sequences.
Inconsistency in slides is a subtle thing but can take away from a presentation very easily. While slides with different colours may look nice, they may be distracting to your audience. Use a consistent template with the same fonts to make it easier for your audience to follow along. And remember, your audience will view your conference presentation from a distance, so use large clear fonts and as few words as possible in your slides.
Tip 4 - Rehearse your presentation
Rehearsing is crucial to making you feel comfortable with every word you are going to say. Rehearse your presentation aloud in private and in front of friends and colleagues. You may even find it helpful to record yourself. This can feel a bit embarrassing, but reading it through in your head never corresponds to the time it takes to read it aloud in public. The more times you say the words aloud, the more you will be familiar with it. And if you are familiar with what you’re saying, your confidence in your conference presentation will increase.
Tip 5 - Find out how the conference organisers want your presentation slides
Some conference organisers may require your to upload your presentation slides to their conference platform in advance, or may ask you to send them through email, USB stick, or have them running via your own laptop on the day. Make sure you know which so you don’t arrive to the room and find your slides can’t be displayed properly.
It is also advisable to ensure that you have a back-up copy of your slides available on the day, just in case of problems!
Tip 6 - Preparation on the day
- Wear something that makes you feel comfortable when facing your audience. If you’re not sure what clothes are appropriate, check the dress code with the organisers. If you’re not comfortable, you won’t look or feel confident.
- Arrive in plenty of time to meet your session chair and find out if they need any introductory information from you.
- Give the session chair a couple of sample questions to ask you if there aren’t any from the floor. Sometimes the audience needs someone else to start the ball rolling. It also helps your session chair who may not have the time to read your paper closely.
- Double-check that your presentation is working on the conference computer, or that your laptop connects ok.
- Familiarize yourself with the layout of the room you’ll be presenting in. Will you be standing at a lectern? Is there a microphone, or will you need to project your voice.
Tip 7 - During your presentation
- Wear a watch or bring your phone (on airplane mode) to the lectern so you can keep an eye on the time.
- Bring your printed presentation up. Even if you’re not planning to read from it, the idea that you can glance at it anytime you need will help you stay calm.
- Remember to slow your speech down and speak clearly.
- Leave enough time for a Q&A session after your presentation.
- Offer a way for interested audience members to get in touch with you after the conference.
Tip 8 - Encourage questions and discussions
If you manage your time well, you’ll have sufficient time left for questions and an open discussion after your conference presentation. Expect questions, but don’t worry if there aren’t any. If your audience is reluctant to ask questions, a good session chair will usually pose a question.
Tip 9 - After your presentation
- Stick around to answer any questions that weren’t covered in your Q&A. If you’ve got business cards, now’s a good time to have them to hand.
- If your fellow students or colleagues were at the conference, ask them for honest feedback on how your presentation went.
Tip 10 - Presenting skills for life
Once you got through your first conference presentation, you'll find the next one less intimidating. 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!