Give three tips for creating effective conference presentations. What might differ between paper and poster session presentations? Why should the ambitious student engage in both types of presentations during his or her career?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Ans: Presentations are great ways of sharing research with others in the field before the data might be ready to submit for publication and/or before you publish. You elicit feedback that can be helpful in making your research the best it can be. Although presentations at conferences are not graded, the student researcher should attempt to put his or her best foot forward in front of professionals who could be later mentors or contacts. In creating the presentation, the first goal is to select a clean template for the PowerPoint to accompany a paper presentation or for the poster. The font should be simple as well to give a professional visual. The presentation should follow along with the sections of the paper and be easy to follow. For a paper presentation, there will be an actual presentation where the presenter verbally presents the material, usually along with a PowerPoint visual. The presenter should not read verbatim what is on the slide; in fact, the slide should have bullet points rather than complete sentences. Make sure all information on slides is simple and clear and does not require the audience to read a lot of detail. Also, there should not be a lot of fancy animation or other distractions—the audience should be encouraged to listen more than look. For a poster presentation, the presenter will accompany a poster, so to speak. The presenter will stand beside the poster and be available for questions or even the 5-minute elevator speech, but the focus is on looking rather than listening. In fact, some of the audience will read and leave without talking to the presenter at all. The poster itself is a condensed version of the paper, making sure that each section is represented to the extent that the important material is covered. The poster demands tables and graphs, if possible. While the two types of presentation differ in focus, an ambitious student should, if possible, participate in both types. Public speaking is important, but poster presentations allow more interaction with the audience and allow the exchange of ideas.