Hi everyone,

I'm presenting at my first conference in just under a month. I've submitted an abstract which basically covers my whole thesis topic - my aim was originally to present a brief overview of my thesis material and discuss some preliminary thoughts as I'm in the pre-writing up stage.

I've done a very very rough draft and I think trying to present all my key material in 30 minutes is technically possible but I won't be able to go into very much depth...or at least, people will maybe start to switch off if I'm forced to cover a lot of stuff quite superficially...it's hard to gauge because I'm inexperienced and it's a somewhat interdisciplinary conference. I don't know how familiar the audience will be - there will be some stuff they know way more than I do, like historical details and theory but I know my material more than anyone else (hopefully!)

So, can I just talk about the first half of my material, i.e. the earlier period? I think I can get into the topic a bit more and present it as a coherent narrative. Do I need to check with the conference organiser first? My focus isn't changing, just the scope.

Thanks for your help!

This issue came up for me last year, when I'd submitted an abstract and then wanted to change the content slightly for the conference. My supervisors said it was fine to do that and it happens a lot (I think it must, because you have to submit abstracts so far ahead of the actual conferences). It may be worth discussing your presentation with your supervisors to get some feedback.

Make sure that your speaking slot is really 30 minutes long. Most conferences in my experience allow 20 minutes speaking time per speaker, with 10 minutes at the end per speaker for questions. So do be sure exactly how long you will have to talk for.

Bilbo - Thanks for your comment. Yes it is 30 mins. They specified this to allow for more depth than the usual conference paper.
Chickpea - Thanks for your suggestion, I'll try to do that. Hope they'll reply to my email!

From what I've seen and heard, it's very common to change. I've known people (drs/professors) present stuff that's really different from their abstract in the booklet. I really wouldn't worry about it, but do check with supervisors first.

Good luck!