It is near that time of the year where faculty and doctoral students are preparing for the upcoming conference presentations. Since I have been at the University of Tennessee, I have thoroughly enjoyed the fact that we have been encouraged to submit our research and presentations to various conferences. Each conference format and presentation is different and a wonderful experience. Some are formal presentations to a large audience while others are more one-on-one like in a poster session. Over the last few years, I have learned some best practices and things to remember when presenting at conferences, and here are a couple that I would like to share with you all:
Visuals are key in presentation: Whether it is a poster presentation or a formal presentation, you need to make sure that you have visuals in your presentation. If you just have text on your PowerPoint slides in your presentation or on your poster, this will not necessarily catch the attention of others. Use graphs, figures, and other visuals to illustrate what your research presentation is all about.
Practice, practice.. and practice some more!: You want to feel confident and energetic about your presentation – you it is important to make sure to practice your presentation.
Appearance is everything: People are not only going to be looking at your presentation, but they are going to look at you. So, by saying this – you got to look fabulous! Investing in a nice business suit (with fabulous shoes of course!) and presenting yourself professionally, you will definitely make a very good impression on others and manage your reputation proactively. Jones New York has really great business suits – they are just fabulous! In addition to your appearance, you want to make sure that you have material for the participants at the conference to have that will remind them of you and your presentation. Whether it is a handout or your business card, it is important to have these available for others so they can refer back to these materials and be able to contact you with further questions or establish a networking relationship with you professionally.
These are just a few tips that I would like to share with you all that have helped me out in my conference presentations. I will be using these same tips in the next couple of weeks at my various conferences. In a few weeks, I will be heading to Rio de Janeiro for the Reputation Institute Conference to present several research studies during the Round Table presentation. After the RI Conference, I will be attending the Association for Psychological Science Conference in Boston. I am really excited about attending and presenting at these wonderful conferences.
Hope you all are having a great day!
Best Wishes,
Karen
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