Conference nerves

Comment by Blanka Sengerová

>>but this time I am writing a 2,000-odd word essay, and will read through this as my presentation (with just a couple of illustrative slides as a backdrop).

Actually that sounds like a very difficult thing to do to make listeners engaged, so I will be interested to hear how that goes. Good luck and we look forward to hearing your post-conference impressions!

Comment by Sarah Davies

Interestingly, I am just in the process of - for the first time - preparing a written paper for a conference. As in: normally I develop slides, and talk around these, but this time I am writing a 2,000-odd word essay, and will read through this as my presentation (with just a couple of illustrative slides as a backdrop). I am finding that I need to rehearse this far more than I normally would - perhaps even close to Kevin's 20 times. I need to speak the text out loud as I write, and then I need to run through it repeatedly to check the timings. So maybe the degree to which you rehearse depends on the mode in which you're planning to present - and how comfortable and familiar you are with it...

Comment by Sandrine Berges

Glad the talk went well! I'd say that when you rehearse the talk to yourself, you should add a bit of time at the end, just because we tend to speak faster when no one is listening. Also, I like to bring a handout with me rather than rely on computer equipment that may or may not be there, and may or may not work. Also, it gives the audience something to doodle on if they get bored! (Someone I know used to put a crosswords on the back of his handouts).

Also I tend not to get very nervous, but I do agree that when I am too relaxed, I tend not to do as well.

Comment by Blanka Sengerová

>>Talks that over-run are a major bugbear of mine - it's rude to the audience, and it's rude to the other presenters in the session.

I totally agree with that, and was amazed by how many people at this conference went over time despite the strict guidelines saying that there would be a yellow light in your last 2 minutes and a red light at 10 minutes to stop you (meaning "why are you still talking?").

There was also a request in the talk guidelines to not include an acknowledgement slide but to include a slide on translational applicability of the research to patients of the disease the conference was focused on (Fanconi anemia) for the basic science talks and a translational slide on relevance to the scientists in the clinicla talks. Far too many people ignored both requests...

Comment by Hannah Dee

Pleased to hear the talk went well, Blanca. I too find the idea of 20 rehearsals a bit OTT. However I probably read through my slides to myself about 5 times, thinking about when and where I'll make "asides", and thinking about ways to express and elaborate on what I say.

Also I'll try to have a couple of places where I know I can extend, and a couple of places where I know I can cut, so if I find myself pressed for time or running too quickly I can make the talk fit the time. Talks that over-run are a major bugbear of mine - it's rude to the audience, and it's rude to the other presenters in the session.

Comment by Blanka Sengerová

Well, the 10-minute talk I did on Friday went well. It was certainly the biggest audience I have spoken to, and I liked the fact that the talk was the secind one of the conference so it was over almost before we got started.

I also agree that practising 20 times would be excessive for me, but I ran through it in 3 different iterations with my own labgroup before I left (for timing and content), and then the night before by myself in the hotel room just to remind myself of the content (I'd been holidaying during the week before in Barcelona so wanted to make sure I hadn't forgotten it all - I'm happy with my own data, but I was also including some of my colleague's work, which doesn't come quite as naturally). That seemed to work fine for me.

Comment by Sarah Davies

I'm with Simon - I'd never consider practising 20 times for anything. I think a lot of my conference nerves, such as they are, are to do with how well I know my material and who my audience is. On a familiar topic I think you can pretty much go with the flow; on newer work in progress, the words don't trip so easily to the tongue and I like to run through my slides a couple of times to make sure I know what I'm going to say. And I'm more tense in front of a high profile or large audience than, say, 8 of my peers who work in a very similar area.

Just to be onery, I'd also disagree that being (a bit) nervous is necessarily a good thing. When you're relaxed I think your audience is too - and I personally like a more conversational style which isn't super polished but where a speaker's interest and passion in the subject can really show through.

Comment by Simon Smith

Wow, I'm impressed by your thoroughness, Blanka and Kevin! I must admit I rarely go through my talk properly in advance. When I do, it makes me more nervous, not less, but that might be no bad thing (see Paul's comment). I think you can put your mind at ease about some things by checking out the space / equipment etc. to familiarise yourself with the setting, but I think you just have to live with the pre-performance nerves.

While I get nervous before giving papers at conferences, I get much more nervous before giving a lecture to students. I suspect it's because I know I'll see them again next week!

Comment by Kevin Macnish

Give the talk in private to yourself lots of times. Ideally about 20 times (seriously). That helps you to iron out slips of the tongue and experiment with previously unthought of comments which may or may not sound appropriate as they come out of your mouth.

Comment by Paul Spencer

I can hear the sage words of Piero Vitelli in my head as I type this "Nerves are your body's way of telling you that you are about to do something important, that it matters. If you are not nervous then you are about to "tank"..."

"You need to physically prepare to present as well as preparing the words, you can do this by warming up your body. You don't have a choice as to whether you will warm up, only whether you do it before or during your presentation"

Other advice I can give is to make yourself familiar with the space that you will present from, i.e. place yourself in the spot before you have to do it. Make sure your tech stuff works.

Enthusiasm, passion and aunthenticity as a person are all important ingredients to a compelling presentation. Let them in.