Hi All,
In looking at the guidelines for a conference I'm presenting at next week, there's no mention of powerpoint presentations at all. It just says that authors papers will be uploaded to laptops at the start of the session from a USB key. Nb it says papers not slides/presentations. I've been preparing ppt slides for the past few days and I'm wondering now if I'll get to use them. Has anyone been to a conference where you don't present from slides? I've never been to a conference before, let alone presented at one.
I could e-mail the chair but I don't want to seem silly if the answer's really obvious. I'll ask around the office tomorrow anyway.

I always email to check there'll be a projector - they won't think you're silly for checking something out, it shows planning!

Hi Ev

I've only been to a few conferences myself but when i have presented i have been asked to bring my ppt presentation on a memory stick.. so i suspect its a slip of a digit by the organisers.

I read your "nervous" thread and just to say, and please don't take this the wrong way, but you should be nervous ! its a nervy thing.. so please think of it as a normal reaction. anybody / everybody is nervous unless they're some sort of sociopath :-) or you're apathetic ... and i for one would rather not be either of those.

It seems to be conference season i have a few in the next few weeks and i'm jangling too.. but i'm convincing myself that there's a fine line between nerves and excitement - and so i'm as excited as can be.

All the very best .. sock it to 'em . (up)

I'd email to check. I went to do a talk to a stakeholder group and was assured there'd be powerpoint, and when I turned up they said they had the tv screen but 'couldn't be bothered' to set it up - so I ended up having to read off my slides and hold up my only hand out to the group to show them points on a graph! Luckily it was only about 15 people, but I was still really peeed off with the organsiers.

There prob will be powerpoint, but email to check anyway, and if you don't hear from them before you are due to go there then print your slide on acetate anyway just in case. Also I'd advise to print out handouts of your slides, you know 4 or 6 to a page, that you can hand out in case everything else fails! Plus if anyone is really interested in your talk they can take one away to remember it better. Better be overprepared than under I say!! Good luck! Oh and Bachs Rescue Remedy is great for the nerves!

Thanks everybody for the advice. I have e-mailed to check but no reply as yet - and time is short! I'm practicing the presentation now both using my slides and with just my paper.

On a side note - how does everyone introduce themselves at the start of their talk. The chair introduces each speaker but do you then introduce yourself again? I'm thinking of something along the lines of "Good afternoon, my name is EV an I'm here today to talk to you about (insert title of paper)". Does that seem about right? I would never say "good afternoon" in any other context but hello doesn't sem formal enough :$

Hi again Ev...when I'm presenting, after the chair introducesme, I'll just give a big smile and say something like 'Hi everyone, my names algaequeen and as such and such said I'm going to be talking about....' ...so pretty just what you were thinking of then! But don't forget the big smile, it will give them a good first impression and make them want to like you, it will help make you feel more confident and you'll look enthusiastic about your work so they'll want to be interested in it too. All subconscious of course! :p

Thanks Algae! And sorry for annoying everyone with my silly queries - I'm just so nervous

don't be silly, it's all par for the course when you're presenting to be nervous!! I remember taking about 3 outfits to my first conference as I was so nervous about wearing the wrong thing!! :) needen't have worried, it was all socks-with-sandals type ecologists! :D

We all do it - I am going to a conference tomorrow and despite him having no sense of style and me being fairly clued up I asked my proferssor (who has been to this conference many times and is also going) what I should wear.

I don't want to be "too dressed up " in a suit if everyone else is in cagouls (yes that is a possibility) but equally I don't want to be in jeans and converses if everyone else is in trousers and a jacket. So yes I am taking three different outfits of varying degrees of smartness (but as my session is first thing on day one I will have no chance to check out what everyone else is wearing). I think I am going to go for dark trousers, white top and a long (smart) cardigan - it's all comfy (OMG I am sounding like my grannie) but looks sufficiently dressy if that's what eveyone else has gone for but not too corporate suit if everyone else is casual. (Prior to being in academia I was in finance in a corporate environment and so black sharp suits with killer heels and killer lipstick were the order of the day when presenting)