How To Prepare For A Scientific Meeting

Emil Bogenmann, PhD, EdD

March 10, 2014

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Group Activity

Discuss with your group the reasons why scientists attend meetings

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Learn about new developments in your field

Broaden your knowledge of the your field

Get experience in presenting your research

Get feedback on your presentation and research

Develop your network and contacts

Many Reasons

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Learn about employment opportunities

Learn about steps important for your career

Learn about the latest research technology

Learn about possible funding opportunities

Meet with funding agency officials

Many Reasons

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Which Meeting To Go To?

Be selective

Know the purpose why you want to go

Consider the cost and time

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What Type Of Meetings Are There?

Small Size: 100 to 500 participants (i.e., Keystone Meetings, Gordon Conference),

Focused on a particular field

Highly selective

Limited number of acceptances

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Medium Size: 1,000 to 3,000 participants Small Society Meeting, TL1/KL2 National Meeting

Career Development Workshops

Many Different Topics

Plenary Sessions

Specialty Workshops

Oral and Poster Session

Advocacy and Funding Agency/Officials

Exhibits

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Large Size: More than 10, 000 participants

All of the above and much, much more, (Satellite Meetings)

Demanding

Exhausting

Easy to get lost

What To Do Before The Meeting

Register in time

Make travel arrangements

Make hotel reservation

Plan your meeting!

Prepare your presentation

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Planning Your Meeting

Know what the purpose is of going

Study the meeting program ahead and decide which sessions/workshops/meetings you want to go to

Be selective, do not plan too much

Build in some time for networking

Build in some time for relaxation and exercise

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Planning Ahead

Study the abstracts, know which presentations you want or need to see/attend

Know where your presentation will be, look up the room

Work with colleagues to share information, but go on your own, enhances possibilities to meet others

Arrange with a colleague if there are concurrent events you would like to see/attend

Arrange to meet each other to debrief

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Planning Ahead

Plan time for networking

Identify in advance who you want to meet, arrange a time

Ask your mentor for help with making connections

Be proactive, talk with people in the elevator, in a food line or someone sitting next to you at the table or meeting room

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Planning Ahead

Practice a 2-minute informal introduction!

Who are you and what do you do?

What is your research project?

How did you get interested in your research?

Why did you chose to work in this area?

What do you plan to do in the future?

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Planning Ahead

Assemble a conference binder, notebook that includes Information about your sessions you want/need to attend

Divide it into each day, have a schedule outlined Of the events and their locations

Have a notebook to write down information/contacts

Have printouts of your resume or bio-sketch

Have sufficient numbers of business cards to hand out

On A Personal Note

Study the city where the meeting is held

Look up opportunities to spend free time

Make sure you have the right clothing for the meeting and free time

Your Poster Presentation

Introduction

Methods

Research Question Hypothesis

Results Summary

Conclusions

Acknowledgments

Title Authors and Addresses

4-6 Figures

What makes for a successful Poster?

Adhere to specifications given by the meeting

Title: 120 Section Labels: 32-48

Font size

Do not include too much text

Your poster should be visual

Do not overload the poster

Use bullets, no sentences

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Pins

Extra Figures

Paper

A well prepared 3 min presentation explaining your research

What to Bring?

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Poster Presentation

Introduction 0.5 min

Internal Section Method Data Conclusion

2 min

Closing 0.5 min

Questions As requested

Turn off your cell phone

Be Proactive and take the initiative by asking: “Do you want me to walk through my poster?”

Speak slowly and concisely and make eye contact with the visitor

Introduce yourself

Listen carefully to the visitors comments

While At Your Poster

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While At Your Poster

Write comments down

Do not be defensive with your answers

Get contact information

Thank the visitor

Please stay at your poster the entire time

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Talking to Poster Presenters

Introduce yourself and be courteous Don’t be shy to talk with poster presenters

Ask “Could you please give me a brief overview of your poster?”

Feel free to ask probing questions, you may want to offer suggestions Thank the presenter

You may want to leave your contact information

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Introduction 2 min

Internal Section Method Data Conclusion

7 min

Closing 1 min

Questions As requested

Your Oral Presentation Generally a 10 min talk with 5 min for questions

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Your Oral Presentation

Remember you are telling a story!

Consider 2-3 points you want the audience to remember

Consider 1 slide per minute of your talk

Think how you transition from one point to the next

Repeat your main points at least twice

It’s a privilege to present an oral presentation

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Preparing Your Presentation

Outline your presentation before making slides

Know your talking points

Bullet the introduction with the big picture in mind

Give a Research Question and a Hypothesis

Give an abbreviated overview of your methods

Use graphs rather than tables when possible

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Preparing Your Presentation

Pay attention to the color schema you use

Use a sufficiently large font size for reading afar

Use sufficiently large font size for figures/graphs

Use questions for titles of data slides

Give a statement on the bottom of a data slide

Do not use animation

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Preparing Your Presentation

Write out your entire presentation

Make flashcards for help

Practice your presentation with mentors and peers

Time your presentation

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Presenting your Presentation

Gather yourself and thank the organizer

Speak slowly and with a natural flow

Make eye contact with the audience

Do not read your presentation!

Keep your pointer steady, point to what you want the audience to focus on

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Presenting your Presentation

Explain each data slide, define x and y axis

Provide a summary for each data slide

Thank your mentors and collaborators

Thank the audience for their attention

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Listen carefully to the questions. Repeat the question

Answer honestly. Don’t fake. Don’t be defensive!

Write any suggestion down

After Your Presentation

It is a good strategy to stay around after the session

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Asking Questions At Oral Presentations

Think carefully about your question

Be brief when asking a question

Don’t be overly critical

Thank the presenter

Introduce yourself

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Some Final Thoughts

Be an active participant of the meeting!

Ask questions and provide suggestions

Use your time effectively

Identify new ideas, novel data or research questions that you would like your colleagues to know

Remember, you are supported to attend the meeting!