Hi all,

I was hoping I might be able to tap the collective for some tips on a presentation I have to give at a conference (in the social sciences).

I will be presenting a paper which is very theoretical to an indisciplinary audience. To make things more challenging I only have fifteen minutes to speak.

The paper I'm presenting is currently around 7,000 words in length - I usually think 1500-2000 words is about right for a 15 minute presentation.


My own thoughts are:

aim to:
- present the theory in big picture terms without worrying too much about the finer details
- not dwell too much on the theory and instead focus on giving a range of examples of the theory in practice
- not try to achieve too much (try to stimulate rather than blow people away - the latter would know doubt fail anyway)

avoid;
- using words that need to be explained
- getting annoyed when everyone stares at me blankly (or at their feet) during the time allotted for questions

I need some serious confidence boosting tips as at the moment I'm worrying that I won't be able to get my points across in any comprehensible fashion, with the added pressure that I have someone else's reputation a little on the line since they recommended me to the organisers!

Thanks!

I had to do this recently - so hard to condense all that detail down! I think you've got it spot on - the piece of advice I was given by my supervisor was not to overcomplicate or overcrowd - just keep to your headliner points and that will leave space enough for people to have plenty of questions for you. Good luck!