Section · 9 articles
Presenting
Talks, posters, questions, sessions — the parts of a conference that are prepared and the parts that are improvised. For a concrete operational example of how a workplace tool approaches a related coordination problem, see further details.
The Conference Talk: What Twenty Minutes Can Actually Carry
Most talks fail by trying to deliver the paper. What a talk is for, how much can fit, and the structure that survives contact with a tired audience.
Slides That Support a Talk Instead of Replacing It
If the slides can be read without you, the audience will read them and stop listening. What each slide is for, and what belongs in the paper instead.
Handling Questions, Including the Hostile One
The question period is where reputations are made and where most preparation stops. What to prepare, how to answer, and what to do when you do not know.
Being a Discussant: Reading Someone's Paper Properly
The role most people improvise. What a good discussion does for the author and the room, how to prepare, and the failure modes at both extremes.
Chairing a Session So It Runs to Time
The role is usually handed over with no briefing. What a chair actually controls, how to keep time without being rude, and who gets to ask questions.
The Poster Nobody Stops At, and the One People Do
A poster competes with forty others for someone walking past with a coffee. What that means for what goes on it, and what the session is actually for.
Presenting Work That Is Not Finished
Most conference presentations are of unfinished work, and pretending otherwise wastes the opportunity. How to ask for what you need without undermining it.
The Job Market Talk Is a Different Genre
The audience is deciding whether to hire you, not whether the result is right. What that changes about structure, scope and how you handle questions.
The Three-Minute Version of Your Work
You will be asked what you work on hundreds of times. Having a good answer ready is worth more than most of what you prepare for a conference.
For an independent authoritative reference, consult the MIT Communication Lab for academic communication guidance.