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Conference Presentation Slides: A Guide for Success

In our experience, a common error when preparing a conference presentation is using designs that heavily rely on bullet points and massive chunks of text. A potential reason behind this slide design mistake is aiming to include as much information as possible in just one slide. In the end, slides become a sort of teleprompter for the speaker, and the audience recalls boredom instead of an informative experience.

As part of our mission to help presenters deliver their message effectively, we have summarized what makes a good conference presentation slide, as well as tips on how to design a successful conference slide.

Table of Contents

What is a conference presentation

Common mistakes presenters make when creating conference presentation slides, how can a well-crafted conference presentation help your professional life, how to start a conference presentation, how to end a conference presentation, tailoring your message to different audiences, visualizing data effectively, engaging with your audience, designing for impact, mastering slide transitions and animation, handling time constraints, incorporating multimedia elements, post-presentation engagement, crisis management during presentations, sustainability and green presentations, measuring presentation success, 13 tips to create stellar conference presentations, final thoughts.

The Britannica Dictionary defines conferences as 

A formal meeting in which many people gather in order to talk about ideas or problems related to a particular topic (such as medicine or business), usually for several days.

We can then define conference presentations as the combination of a speaker, a slide deck , and the required hardware to introduce an idea or topic in a conference setting. Some characteristics differentiate conference presentations from other formats.

Time-restricted

Conference presentations are bounded by a 15-30 minute time limit, which the event’s moderators establish. These restrictions are applied to allow a crowded agenda to be met on time, and it is common to count with over 10 speakers on the same day.

To that time limit, we have to add the time required for switching between speakers, which implies loading a new slide deck to the streaming platform, microphone testing, lighting effects, etc. Say it is around 10-15 minutes extra, so depending on the number of speakers per day during the event, the time available to deliver a presentation, plus the questions & answers time.

Delivery format

Conferences can be delivered in live event format or via webinars. Since this article is mainly intended to live event conferences, we will only mention that the requirements for webinars are as follows:

• Voice-over or, best, speaker layover the presentation slides so the speaker interacts with the audience.
• Quality graphics.
• Not abusing the amount of information to introduce per slide.

On the other hand, live event conferences will differ depending on the category under which they fall. Academic conferences have a structure in which there’s a previous poster session; then speakers start delivering their talks, then after 4-5 speakers, we have a coffee break. Those pauses help the AV crew to check the equipment, and they also become an opportunity for researchers to expand their network contacts. 

Business conferences are usually more dynamic. Some presenters opt not to use slide decks, giving a powerful speech instead, as they feel much more comfortable that way. Other speakers at business conferences adopt videos to summarize their ideas and then proceed to speak.

Overall, the format guidelines are sent to speakers before the event. Adapt your presentation style to meet the requirements of moderators so you can maximize the effect of your message.

The audience

Unlike other presentation settings, conferences gather a knowledgeable audience on the discussed topics. It is imperative to consider this, as tone, delivery format, information to include, and more depend on this sole factor. Moreover, the audience will participate in your presentation at the last minute, as it is a common practice to hold a Q&A session. 

Mistake #1 – Massive chunks of text

Do you intend your audience to read your slides instead of being seduced by your presentation? Presenters often add large amounts of text to each slide since they need help deciding which data to exclude. Another excuse for this practice is so the audience remembers the content exposed.

Research indicates images are much better retained than words, a phenomenon known as the Picture Superiority Effect ; therefore, opt to avoid this tendency and work into creating compelling graphics.

Mistake #2 – Not creating contrast between data and graphics

Have you tried to read a slide from 4 rows behind the presenter and not get a single number? This can happen if the presenter is not careful to work with the appropriate contrast between the color of the typeface and the background. Particularly if serif fonts are used.

Use online tools such as WebAIM’s Contrast Checker to make your slides legible for your audience. Creating an overlay with a white or black transparent tint can also help when you place text above images.

Mistake #3 – Not rehearsing the presentation

This is a sin in conference presentations, as when you don’t practice the content you intend to deliver, you don’t have a measure of how much time it is actually going to take. 

PowerPoint’s rehearse timing feature can help a great deal, as you can record yourself practising the presentation and observe areas for improvement. Remember, conference presentations are time-limited , don’t disrespect fellow speakers by overlapping their scheduled slot or, worse, have moderators trim your presentation after several warnings.

Mistake #4 – Lacking hierarchy for the presented content

Looking at a slide and not knowing where the main point is discouraging for the audience, especially if you introduce several pieces of content under the same slide. Instead, opt to create a hierarchy that comprehends both text and images. It helps to arrange the content according to your narrative, and we’ll see more on this later on.

Consider your conference presentation as your introduction card in the professional world. Maybe you have a broad network of colleagues, but be certain there are plenty of people out there that have yet to learn about who you are and the work you produce.

Conferences help businesspeople and academics alike to introduce the results of months of research on a specific topic in front of a knowledgeable audience. It is different from a product launch as you don’t need to present a “completed product” but rather your views or advances, in other words, your contribution with valuable insights to the field.

Putting dedication into your conference presentation, from the slide deck design to presentation skills , is definitely worth the effort. The audience can get valuable references from the quality of work you are able to produce, often leading to potential partnerships. In business conferences, securing an investor deal can happen after a powerful presentation that drives the audience to perceive your work as the very best thing that’s about to be launched. It is all about how your body language reflects your intent, how well-explained the concepts are, and the emotional impact you can drive from it.

There are multiple ways on how to start a presentation for a conference, but overall, we can recap a good approach as follows.

Present a fact

Nothing grabs the interest of an audience quicker than introducing an interesting fact during the first 30 seconds of your presentation. The said fact has to be pivotal to the content your conference presentation will discuss later on, but as an ice-breaker, it is a strategy worth applying from time to time.

Ask a question

The main point when starting a conference presentation is to make an impact on the audience. We cannot think of a better way to engage with the audience than to ask them a question relevant to your work or research. It grabs the viewer’s interest for the potential feedback you shall give to those answers received.

Use powerful graphics

The value of visual presentations cannot be neglected in conferences. Sometimes an image makes a bigger impact than a lengthy speech, hence why you should consider starting your conference presentation with a photo or visual element that speaks for itself.

For more tips and insights on how to start a presentation , we invite you to check this article.

Just as important as starting the presentation, the closure you give to your conference presentation matters a lot. This is the opportunity in which you can add your personal experience on the topic and reflect upon it with the audience or smoothly transition between the presentation and your Q&A session.

Below are some quick tips on how to end a presentation for a conference event.

End the presentation with a quote

Give your audience something to ruminate about with the help of a quote tailored to the topic you were discussing. There are plenty of resources for finding suitable quotes, and a great method for this is to design your penultimate slide with an image or black background plus a quote. Follow this with a final “thank you” slide.

Consider a video

If we say a video whose length is shorter than 1 minute, this is a fantastic resource to summarize the intent of your conference presentation. 

If you get the two-minute warning and you feel far off from finishing your presentation, first, don’t fret. Try to give a good closure when presenting in a conference without rushing information, as the audience wouldn’t get any concept clear that way. Mention that the information you presented will be available for further reading at the event’s platform site or your company’s digital business card , and proceed to your closure phase for the presentation.

It is better to miss some of the components of the conference than to get kicked out after several warnings for exceeding the allotted time.

Tailoring your conference presentation to suit your audience is crucial to delivering an impactful talk. Different audiences have varying levels of expertise, interests, and expectations. By customizing your content, tone, and examples, you can enhance the relevance and engagement of your presentation.

Understanding Audience Backgrounds and Expectations

Before crafting your presentation, research your audience’s backgrounds and interests. Are they professionals in your field, students, or a mix of both? Are they familiar with the topic, or must you provide more context? Understanding these factors will help you pitch your content correctly and avoid overwhelming or boring your audience.

Adapting Language and Tone for Relevance

Use language that resonates with your audience. Avoid jargon or technical terms that might confuse those unfamiliar with your field. Conversely, don’t oversimplify if your audience consists of experts. Adjust your tone to match the event’s formality and your listeners’ preferences.

Customizing Examples and Case Studies

Incorporate case studies, examples, and anecdotes that your audience can relate to. If you’re speaking to professionals, use real-world scenarios from their industry. For a more general audience, choose examples that are universally relatable. This personal touch makes your content relatable and memorable.

Effectively presenting data is essential for conveying complex information to your audience. Visualizations can help simplify intricate concepts and make your points more digestible.

Choosing the Right Data Representation

Select the appropriate type of graph or chart to illustrate your data. Bar graphs, pie charts, line charts, and scatter plots each serve specific purposes. Choose the one that best supports your message and ensures clarity.

Designing Graphs and Charts for Clarity

Ensure your graphs and charts are easily read. Use clear labels, appropriate color contrasts, and consistent scales. Avoid clutter and simplify the design to highlight the most important data points.

Incorporating Annotations and Explanations

Add annotations or callouts to your graphs to emphasize key findings. Explain the significance of each data point to guide your audience’s understanding. Utilize visual cues, such as arrows and labels, to direct attention.

Engaging your audience is a fundamental skill for a successful presentation for conference. Captivate their attention, encourage participation, and foster a positive connection.

Establishing Eye Contact and Body Language

Maintain eye contact with different audience parts to create a sense of connection. Effective body language, such as confident posture and expressive gestures, enhances your presence on stage.

Encouraging Participation and Interaction

Involve your audience through questions, polls, or interactive activities. Encourage them to share their thoughts or experiences related to your topic. This engagement fosters a more dynamic and memorable presentation.

Using Humor and Engaging Stories

Incorporate humor and relatable anecdotes to make your presentation more enjoyable. Well-timed jokes or personal stories can create a rapport with your audience and make your content more memorable.

The design of your conference presentation slides plays a crucial role in capturing and retaining your audience’s attention. Thoughtful design can amplify your message and reinforce key points. Take a look at these suggestions to boost the performance of your conference presentation slides, or create an entire slide deck in minutes by using SlideModel’s AI Presentation Maker from text .

Creating Memorable Opening Slides

Craft an opening slide that piques the audience’s curiosity and sets the tone for your presentation. Use an engaging visual, thought-provoking quote, or intriguing question to grab their attention from the start.

Using Visual Hierarchy for Emphasis

Employ visual hierarchy to guide your audience’s focus. Highlight key points with larger fonts, bold colors, or strategic placement. Organize information logically to enhance comprehension.

Designing a Powerful Closing Slide

End your presentation with a compelling closing slide that reinforces your main message. Summarize your key points, offer a memorable takeaway, or invite the audience to take action. Use visuals that resonate and leave a lasting impression.

Slide transitions and animations can enhance the flow of your presentation and emphasize important content. However, their use requires careful consideration to avoid distractions or confusion.

Enhancing Flow with Transitions

Select slide transitions that smoothly guide the audience from one point to the next. Avoid overly flashy transitions that detract from your content. Choose options that enhance, rather than disrupt, the presentation’s rhythm.

Using Animation to Highlight Points

Animate elements on your slides to draw attention to specific information. Animate text, images, or graphs to appear as you discuss them, helping the audience follow your narrative more effectively.

Avoiding Overuse of Effects

While animation can be engaging, avoid excessive use that might overwhelm or distract the audience. Maintain a balance between animated elements and static content for a polished presentation.

Effective time management is crucial for delivering a concise and impactful conference presentation within the allocated time frame.

Structuring for Short vs. Long Presentations

Adapt your content and pacing based on the duration of your presentation. Clearly outline the main points for shorter talks, and delve into more depth for longer sessions. Ensure your message aligns with the time available.

Prioritizing Key Information

Identify the core information you want your audience to take away. Focus on conveying these essential points, and be prepared to trim or elaborate on supporting details based on the available time.

Practicing Time Management

Rehearse your presentation while timing yourself to ensure you stay within the allocated time. Adjust your delivery speed to match your time limit, allowing for smooth transitions and adequate Q&A time.

Multimedia elements, such as videos, audio clips, and live demonstrations, can enrich your presentation and provide a dynamic experience for your audience.

Integrating Videos and Audio Clips

Use videos and audio clips strategically to reinforce your points or provide real-world examples. Ensure that the multimedia content is of high quality and directly supports your narrative.

Showcasing Live Demonstrations

Live demonstrations can engage the audience by showcasing practical applications of your topic. Practice the demonstration beforehand to ensure it runs smoothly and aligns with your message.

Using Hyperlinks for Additional Resources

Incorporate hyperlinks into your presentation to direct the audience to additional resources, references, or related content. This allows interested attendees to explore the topic further after the presentation.

Engaging with your audience after your presentation can extend the impact of your talk and foster valuable connections.

Leveraging Post-Presentation Materials

Make your presentation slides and related materials available to attendees after the event. Share them through email, a website, or a conference platform, allowing interested individuals to review the content.

Sharing Slides and Handouts

Provide downloadable versions of your slides and any handouts you used during the presentation. This helps attendees revisit key points and share the information with colleagues.

Networking and Following Up

Utilize networking opportunities during and after the conference to connect with attendees who are interested in your topic. Exchange contact information and follow up with personalized messages to continue the conversation.

Preparing for unexpected challenges during your presenting at a conference can help you maintain professionalism and composure, ensuring a seamless delivery.

Dealing with Technical Glitches

Technical issues can occur, from projector malfunctions to software crashes. Stay calm and have a backup plan, such as having your slides available on multiple devices or using printed handouts.

Handling Unexpected Interruptions

Interruptions, such as questions from the audience or unforeseen disruptions, are a normal part of live presentations. Address them politely, stay adaptable, and seamlessly return to your prepared content.

Staying Calm and Professional

Maintain a composed demeanor regardless of unexpected situations. Your ability to handle challenges gracefully reflects your professionalism and dedication to delivering a successful presentation.

Creating environmentally friendly presentations demonstrates your commitment to sustainability and responsible practices.

Designing Eco-Friendly Slides

Minimize the use of resources by designing slides with efficient layouts, avoiding unnecessary graphics or animations, and using eco-friendly color schemes.

Reducing Paper and Material Waste

Promote a paperless approach by encouraging attendees to access digital materials rather than printing handouts. If print materials are necessary, consider using recycled paper.

Promoting Sustainable Practices

Advocate for sustainability during your presentation by discussing relevant initiatives, practices, or innovations that align with environmentally conscious values.

Measuring the success of your conference presentation goes beyond the applause and immediate feedback. It involves assessing the impact of your presentation on your audience, goals, and growth as a presenter.

Collecting Audience Feedback

After presenting at a conference, gather feedback from attendees. Provide feedback forms or online surveys to capture their thoughts on the content, delivery, and visuals. Analyzing their feedback can reveal areas for improvement and give insights into audience preferences.

Evaluating Key Performance Metrics

Consider objective metrics such as audience engagement, participation, and post-presentation interactions. Did attendees ask questions? Did your content spark discussions? Tracking these metrics can help you gauge the effectiveness of your presentation in conveying your message.

Continuous Improvement Strategies

Use the feedback and insights gathered to enhance your future presentations. Identify strengths to build upon and weaknesses to address. Continuously refine your presentation skills , design choices, and content to create even more impactful presentations in the future.

Tip #1 – Exhibit a single idea per slide

Just one slide per concept, avoiding large text blocks. If you can compile the idea with an image, it’s better that way.

Research shows that people’s attention span is limited ; therefore, redirect your efforts in what concerns presentation slides so your ideas become crystal clear for the spectators.

Tip #2 – Avoid jargon whenever possible

Using complex terms does not directly imply you fully understand the concept you are about to discuss. In spite of your work being presented to a knowledgeable audience, avoid jargon as much as possible because you run the risk of people not understanding what you are saying.

Instead, opt to rehearse your presentation in front of a not-knowledgeable audience to measure the jargon volume you are adding to it. Technical terms are obviously expected in a conference situation, but archaic terms or purely jargon can be easily trimmed this way.

Tip #3 – Replace bulleted listings with structured layouts or diagrams

Bullet points are attention grabbers for the audience. People tend to instantly check what’s written in them, in contrast to waiting for you to introduce the point itself. 

Using bullet points as a way to expose elements of your presentation should be restricted. Opt for limiting the bullet points to non-avoidable facts to list or crucial information. 

Tip #4 – Customize presentation templates

Using presentation templates is a great idea to save time in design decisions. These pre-made slide decks are entirely customizable; however, many users fall into using them as they come, exposing themselves to design inconsistencies (especially with images) or that another presenter had the same idea (it is extremely rare, but it can happen).

Learning how to properly change color themes in PowerPoint is an advantageous asset. We also recommend you use your own images or royalty-free images selected by you rather than sticking to the ones included in a template.

Tip #5 – Displaying charts

Graphs and charts comprise around 80% of the information in most business and academic conferences. Since data visualization is important, avoid common pitfalls such as using 3D effects in bar charts. Depending on the audience’s point of view, those 3D effects can make the data hard to read or get an accurate interpretation of what it represents.

Tip #6 – Using images in the background

Use some of the images you were planning to expose as background for the slides – again, not all of them but relevant slides.

Be careful when placing text above the slides if they have a background image, as accessibility problems may arise due to contrast. Instead, apply an extra color layer above the image with reduced opacity – black or white, depending on the image and text requirements. This makes the text more legible for the audience, and you can use your images without any inconvenience.

Tip #7 – Embrace negative space

Negative space is a concept seen in design situations. If we consider positive space as the designed area, meaning the objects, shapes, etc., that are “your design,” negative space can be defined as the surrounding area. If we work on a white canvas, negative space is the remaining white area surrounding your design.

The main advantage of using negative space appropriately is to let your designs breathe. Stuffing charts, images and text makes it hard to get a proper understanding of what’s going on in the slide. Apply the “less is more” motto to your conference presentation slides, and embrace negative space as your new design asset.

Tip #8 – Use correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation

You would be surprised to see how many typos can be seen in slides at professional gatherings. Whereas typos can often pass by as a humor-relief moment, grammatical or awful spelling mistakes make you look unprofessional. 

Take 5 extra minutes before submitting your slide deck to proofread the grammar, spelling, and punctuation. If in doubt, browse dictionaries for complex technical words.

Tip #10 – Use an appropriate presentation style

The format of the conference will undoubtedly require its own presentation style. By this we mean that it is different from delivering a conference presentation in front of a live audience as a webinar conference. The interaction with the audience is different, the demands for the Q&A session will be different, and also during webinars the audience is closely looking at your slides.

Tip #11 – Control your speaking tone

Another huge mistake when delivering a conference presentation is to speak with a monotonous tone. The message you transmit to your attendees is that you simply do not care about your work. If you believe you fall into this category, get feedback from others: try pitching to them, and afterward, consider how you talk. 

Practicing breathing exercises can help to articulate your speech skills, especially if anxiety hinders your presentation performance.

Tip #12 – On eye contact and note reading

In order to connect with your audience, it is imperative to make eye contact. Not stare, but look at your spectators from time to time as the talk is directed at them.

If you struggle on this point, a good tip we can provide is to act like you’re looking at your viewers. Pick a good point a few centimeters above your viewer and direct your speech there. They will believe you are communicating directly with them. Shift your head slightly on the upcoming slide or bullet and choose a new location.

Regarding note reading, while it is an acceptable practice to check your notes, do not make the entire talk a lecture in which you simply read your notes to the audience. This goes hand-by-hand with the speaking tone in terms of demonstrating interest in the work you do. Practice as often as you need before the event to avoid constantly reading your notes. Reading a paragraph or two is okay, but not the entire presentation.

Tip #13 – Be ready for the Q&A session

Despite it being a requirement in most conference events, not all presenters get ready for the Q&A session. It is a part of the conference presentation itself, so you should pace your speech to give enough time for the audience to ask 1-3 questions and get a proper answer.

Don’t be lengthy or overbearing in replying to each question, as you may run out of time. It is preferable to give a general opinion and then reach the interested person with your contact information to discuss the topic in detail.

Observing what others do at conference events is good practice for learning a tip or two for improving your own work. As we have seen throughout this article, conference presentation slides have specific requirements to become a tool in your presentation rather than a mixture of information without order.

Employ these tips and suggestions to craft your upcoming conference presentation without any hurdles. Best of luck!

1. Conference PowerPoint Template

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2. Free Conference Presentation Template

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Conference Presentation: A comprehensive guide

In this guide learn how to choose a topic, develop content, deliver with confidence, and more.

Raja Bothra

Building presentations

Welcome to the world of conference presentations!

Whether you're an academic, a professional, or simply someone eager to share your knowledge, the art of delivering an effective conference presentation is a skill worth mastering.

In this comprehensive guide, we will walk you through the ins and outs of conference presentations, from understanding what they are to mastering the key elements that make them successful.

So, grab your "presentation slide" of inspiration and let's dive into the world of conference presentations.

What is a conference presentation?

A conference presentation is a means of conveying information, research findings, or ideas to an audience in a structured and engaging manner. It's a platform for individuals to showcase their expertise, share their insights, and foster discussions on topics ranging from academic research to professional insights. Whether you're presenting at an "academic conference" or a corporate gathering, the goal remains the same: to effectively communicate your message.

Types of Conference Presentations

Before we delve into the nitty-gritty details, let's explore the different types of conference presentations you might encounter:

Oral presentation

The quintessential "oral presentation" remains one of the most prominent formats across conferences, be it academic or professional. These presentations typically span a concise 15-20 minutes, providing a platform for presenters to delve into a wide array of topics:

• Research findings : Share your latest research discoveries.
• Completed works : Showcase your completed projects and their outcomes.
• Innovative concepts : Introduce groundbreaking ideas that push the boundaries.
• Theoretical Applications : Explore the theoretical underpinnings of your field.
• Methodologies : Explain the methodologies you've employed in your work.

The structure of an oral presentation allows for a systematic exploration of these topics, followed by a brief Q&A session, providing valuable interactions with the audience.

Poster presentation

On the flip side, "poster presentations" offer a more relaxed and interactive avenue to convey your work. This format involves creating a visual "poster presentation" that succinctly highlights your key points. Here's why poster presentations are worth considering:

• Concise and visually appealing : Posters condense your work into a visually engaging format.
• Informal interaction : Presenters stand by their posters in a common area, ready to engage with curious attendees.
• Networking opportunity : It's an excellent way to network with fellow researchers and gain valuable feedback on your work.

Poster presentations bridge the gap between the visual and the informative, making them an excellent choice for those looking to engage their audience in a more relaxed setting.

Beyond the basics

While oral and poster presentations are the cornerstone of many conferences, there are other presentation formats that cater to diverse objectives and preferences:

• Panel discussions : Experts gather to discuss a specific topic in front of an audience, offering varied perspectives and insights.
• Roundtables : In a more informal setting, a small group of individuals engage in in-depth discussions on a particular topic.
• Workshops : Attendees immerse themselves in hands-on activities to acquire new skills or knowledge.
• Keynote speeches : Prominent speakers take the stage to deliver inspiring talks on topics of paramount importance to the conference audience.
• Lightning talks : These brief, high-impact presentations, typically lasting 5-10 minutes, cover a wide array of topics in a succinct manner.

Selecting the most appropriate presentation format depends on the nature of the conference and your personal preferences. If you're unsure about which format aligns best with your objectives, don't hesitate to reach out to the conference organizers for guidance. After all, the key to a successful conference presentation is choosing the format that allows you to shine and effectively convey your message.

How to structure an effective conference presentation

A well-structured presentation is like a well-composed symphony - it captures the audience's attention and leaves a lasting impression. Here's a step-by-step guide to help you create a harmonious presentation:

1. Begin with a clear introduction

The beginning of your presentation is your chance to make a memorable first impression. Start by introducing yourself and your topic. Use a "clear outline" to provide a roadmap for your presentation. For instance, you can say, "Today, I'll discuss the key elements of a successful conference presentation, including effective structure, engaging visuals, and impactful delivery."

2. Create an engaging body

The body of your presentation should contain the main points you want to convey. Here's where your "slide deck" comes into play. Each slide should emphasize a single point, keeping it concise and visually appealing. Remember the "good rule of thumb" - one slide per key idea.

3. Emphasize with visuals

Visual aids, such as graphs and images, can help "emphasize" your message and make complex information easily understood. However, don't overload your slides with visuals; use them strategically to "get the message across."

4. Maintain audience engagement

Your "presentation style" plays a vital role in keeping your audience engaged. Practice "body language" that conveys confidence and enthusiasm. Maintain "eye contact with your audience" to establish a connection. Utilize gestures to "emphasize" key points and establish a rapport with your audience.

5. Summarize key takeaways

As you approach the "end of your presentation," allocate some time to summarize the key takeaways. This reinforces the main points and ensures your audience leaves with a clear understanding of your message.

Do’s and don'ts of a conference presentation

Now that you know how to structure your presentation effectively, let's explore some do's and don'ts that can make or break your presentation.

• Rehearse : "Rehearse your presentation" practise multiple times to ensure a smooth delivery.
• Use visuals : Incorporate visuals, but don't let them "distract the audience."
• Maintain eye contact : "Maintain eye contact with your audience" to establish a connection.
• Engage the audience : "Give your audience" opportunities to participate, ask questions, or share their thoughts.
• Time management : Stick to the allotted time. "Conference organizers" appreciate punctuality.

Don'ts:

• Overwhelm with text : Avoid adding slide after slide filled with font text. Remember, less is often more.
• Lack of preparation : Don't "rehearse" just once. The more you practice, the more confident you'll feel.
• Reading slides : Don't simply "read your paper" or slides. Your audience can do that themselves.
• Ignoring questions : Always address "questions from the audience" respectfully and thoughtfully. Avoid being unprofessional.
• Going off topic : Stay on track. "Unrelated tangents" can confuse your audience.

Summarizing Key Takeaways

In this comprehensive guide, we've covered the essentials of crafting an "effective conference presentation." From structuring your presentation to engaging your audience, you now have the tools to shine at your next conference.

• Conference Presentations are a means to share information or research effectively.
• Types include oral (concise talks) and poster (visual presentations).
• Other formats like panels, roundtables, workshops, keynotes, and lightning talks cater to different objectives.
• Structure your presentation with a clear intro, engaging body, visuals, audience engagement, and key takeaways.
• Do's: Rehearse, use visuals wisely, maintain eye contact, engage the audience, and manage time.
• Don'ts: Avoid overwhelming text, lack of preparation, reading slides, ignoring questions, and going off-topic.

Remember, a great presentation is not just about delivering information; it's about creating a memorable experience for your audience. Whether you're "presenting at a conference" for the first time or you're a seasoned pro, these tips for presenting will help you make a lasting impression.

1. How can I create the best presentation for my conference talk?

To craft an impactful presentation for your conference talk, consider beginning with a PowerPoint template tailored to the theme of the event. The right template, such as a specialized conference strategy presentation template , can provide a solid foundation for organizing your content. Ensure your presentation flows seamlessly, incorporating bullet points strategically to highlight key information. Moreover, delivering an effective conference paper necessitates practicing in front of a mirror and employing gestures to underscore essential points.

‍ 2. What is the typical length of a conference presentation?

The length of your effective presentation may vary depending on the conference committee's guidelines, but most conferences allocate around 15-20 minutes for each presentation. It's important to remember to keep track of time as you present, as you may run out of time if you're not careful.

3. Do I need to submit an abstract before presenting a paper at a conference?

Yes, you typically need to submit an abstract related to your topic before being accepted to present at a conference. The conference committee reviews these abstracts to determine which presentations are most suitable and interesting to the audience members interested in your research.

4. How can I make my conference presentation memorable?

To make your memorable presentation, use slide decks effectively, and consider the presentation technology available on the conference platform. Emphasize key points and use gestures to engage your audience. Also, e.g., include relevant images and graphs in your slides to help the audience understand your research paper.

5. What should I do if I'm presenting at a conference where the audience is unfamiliar with my field?

If you're presenting at a conference where the audience is unfamiliar with your field, make sure to use simple language and avoid jargon. Provide enough context and background information related to your topic to help the audience understand. Additionally, be prepared to ask a question or two to engage the audience and familiarize them with your work during the Q&A session.

Create your conference presentation with prezent

Before we conclude, here's a valuable tip: Consider using presentation software like Prezent to streamline your conference presentation creation process. Prezent offers:

• Time savings: Prezent can save you up to 70% of the time typically spent on crafting presentations, allowing you to focus on other critical conference preparations.
• Brand consistency: Access to brand-approved designs from Fortune companies ensures that your conference presentation maintains a professional and consistent look.
• Audience engagement: Prezent helps you understand your audience's preferences, enabling you to create presentations that resonate and engage effectively.
• Cost efficiency: By standardizing presentations and streamlining communication, Prezent can cut communication costs by up to 60%, a valuable advantage for conference budgets.
• Overnight service: Take advantage of Prezent's overnight presentation service for tight deadlines, ensuring you receive a polished presentation by the next business day.

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Ten simple rules for effective presentation slides

Kristen m. naegle.

Biomedical Engineering and the Center for Public Health Genomics, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, United States of America

Introduction

The “presentation slide” is the building block of all academic presentations, whether they are journal clubs, thesis committee meetings, short conference talks, or hour-long seminars. A slide is a single page projected on a screen, usually built on the premise of a title, body, and figures or tables and includes both what is shown and what is spoken about that slide. Multiple slides are strung together to tell the larger story of the presentation. While there have been excellent 10 simple rules on giving entire presentations [ 1 , 2 ], there was an absence in the fine details of how to design a slide for optimal effect—such as the design elements that allow slides to convey meaningful information, to keep the audience engaged and informed, and to deliver the information intended and in the time frame allowed. As all research presentations seek to teach, effective slide design borrows from the same principles as effective teaching, including the consideration of cognitive processing your audience is relying on to organize, process, and retain information. This is written for anyone who needs to prepare slides from any length scale and for most purposes of conveying research to broad audiences. The rules are broken into 3 primary areas. Rules 1 to 5 are about optimizing the scope of each slide. Rules 6 to 8 are about principles around designing elements of the slide. Rules 9 to 10 are about preparing for your presentation, with the slides as the central focus of that preparation.

Rule 1: Include only one idea per slide

Each slide should have one central objective to deliver—the main idea or question [ 3 – 5 ]. Often, this means breaking complex ideas down into manageable pieces (see Fig 1 , where “background” information has been split into 2 key concepts). In another example, if you are presenting a complex computational approach in a large flow diagram, introduce it in smaller units, building it up until you finish with the entire diagram. The progressive buildup of complex information means that audiences are prepared to understand the whole picture, once you have dedicated time to each of the parts. You can accomplish the buildup of components in several ways—for example, using presentation software to cover/uncover information. Personally, I choose to create separate slides for each piece of information content I introduce—where the final slide has the entire diagram, and I use cropping or a cover on duplicated slides that come before to hide what I’m not yet ready to include. I use this method in order to ensure that each slide in my deck truly presents one specific idea (the new content) and the amount of the new information on that slide can be described in 1 minute (Rule 2), but it comes with the trade-off—a change to the format of one of the slides in the series often means changes to all slides.

Top left: A background slide that describes the background material on a project from my lab. The slide was created using a PowerPoint Design Template, which had to be modified to increase default text sizes for this figure (i.e., the default text sizes are even worse than shown here). Bottom row: The 2 new slides that break up the content into 2 explicit ideas about the background, using a central graphic. In the first slide, the graphic is an explicit example of the SH2 domain of PI3-kinase interacting with a phosphorylation site (Y754) on the PDGFR to describe the important details of what an SH2 domain and phosphotyrosine ligand are and how they interact. I use that same graphic in the second slide to generalize all binding events and include redundant text to drive home the central message (a lot of possible interactions might occur in the human proteome, more than we can currently measure). Top right highlights which rules were used to move from the original slide to the new slide. Specific changes as highlighted by Rule 7 include increasing contrast by changing the background color, increasing font size, changing to sans serif fonts, and removing all capital text and underlining (using bold to draw attention). PDGFR, platelet-derived growth factor receptor.

Rule 2: Spend only 1 minute per slide

When you present your slide in the talk, it should take 1 minute or less to discuss. This rule is really helpful for planning purposes—a 20-minute presentation should have somewhere around 20 slides. Also, frequently giving your audience new information to feast on helps keep them engaged. During practice, if you find yourself spending more than a minute on a slide, there’s too much for that one slide—it’s time to break up the content into multiple slides or even remove information that is not wholly central to the story you are trying to tell. Reduce, reduce, reduce, until you get to a single message, clearly described, which takes less than 1 minute to present.

Rule 3: Make use of your heading

When each slide conveys only one message, use the heading of that slide to write exactly the message you are trying to deliver. Instead of titling the slide “Results,” try “CTNND1 is central to metastasis” or “False-positive rates are highly sample specific.” Use this landmark signpost to ensure that all the content on that slide is related exactly to the heading and only the heading. Think of the slide heading as the introductory or concluding sentence of a paragraph and the slide content the rest of the paragraph that supports the main point of the paragraph. An audience member should be able to follow along with you in the “paragraph” and come to the same conclusion sentence as your header at the end of the slide.

Rule 4: Include only essential points

While you are speaking, audience members’ eyes and minds will be wandering over your slide. If you have a comment, detail, or figure on a slide, have a plan to explicitly identify and talk about it. If you don’t think it’s important enough to spend time on, then don’t have it on your slide. This is especially important when faculty are present. I often tell students that thesis committee members are like cats: If you put a shiny bauble in front of them, they’ll go after it. Be sure to only put the shiny baubles on slides that you want them to focus on. Putting together a thesis meeting for only faculty is really an exercise in herding cats (if you have cats, you know this is no easy feat). Clear and concise slide design will go a long way in helping you corral those easily distracted faculty members.

Rule 5: Give credit, where credit is due

An exception to Rule 4 is to include proper citations or references to work on your slide. When adding citations, names of other researchers, or other types of credit, use a consistent style and method for adding this information to your slides. Your audience will then be able to easily partition this information from the other content. A common mistake people make is to think “I’ll add that reference later,” but I highly recommend you put the proper reference on the slide at the time you make it, before you forget where it came from. Finally, in certain kinds of presentations, credits can make it clear who did the work. For the faculty members heading labs, it is an effective way to connect your audience with the personnel in the lab who did the work, which is a great career booster for that person. For graduate students, it is an effective way to delineate your contribution to the work, especially in meetings where the goal is to establish your credentials for meeting the rigors of a PhD checkpoint.

Rule 6: Use graphics effectively

As a rule, you should almost never have slides that only contain text. Build your slides around good visualizations. It is a visual presentation after all, and as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. However, on the flip side, don’t muddy the point of the slide by putting too many complex graphics on a single slide. A multipanel figure that you might include in a manuscript should often be broken into 1 panel per slide (see Rule 1 ). One way to ensure that you use the graphics effectively is to make a point to introduce the figure and its elements to the audience verbally, especially for data figures. For example, you might say the following: “This graph here shows the measured false-positive rate for an experiment and each point is a replicate of the experiment, the graph demonstrates …” If you have put too much on one slide to present in 1 minute (see Rule 2 ), then the complexity or number of the visualizations is too much for just one slide.

Rule 7: Design to avoid cognitive overload

The type of slide elements, the number of them, and how you present them all impact the ability for the audience to intake, organize, and remember the content. For example, a frequent mistake in slide design is to include full sentences, but reading and verbal processing use the same cognitive channels—therefore, an audience member can either read the slide, listen to you, or do some part of both (each poorly), as a result of cognitive overload [ 4 ]. The visual channel is separate, allowing images/videos to be processed with auditory information without cognitive overload [ 6 ] (Rule 6). As presentations are an exercise in listening, and not reading, do what you can to optimize the ability of the audience to listen. Use words sparingly as “guide posts” to you and the audience about major points of the slide. In fact, you can add short text fragments, redundant with the verbal component of the presentation, which has been shown to improve retention [ 7 ] (see Fig 1 for an example of redundant text that avoids cognitive overload). Be careful in the selection of a slide template to minimize accidentally adding elements that the audience must process, but are unimportant. David JP Phillips argues (and effectively demonstrates in his TEDx talk [ 5 ]) that the human brain can easily interpret 6 elements and more than that requires a 500% increase in human cognition load—so keep the total number of elements on the slide to 6 or less. Finally, in addition to the use of short text, white space, and the effective use of graphics/images, you can improve ease of cognitive processing further by considering color choices and font type and size. Here are a few suggestions for improving the experience for your audience, highlighting the importance of these elements for some specific groups:

• Use high contrast colors and simple backgrounds with low to no color—for persons with dyslexia or visual impairment.
• Use sans serif fonts and large font sizes (including figure legends), avoid italics, underlining (use bold font instead for emphasis), and all capital letters—for persons with dyslexia or visual impairment [ 8 ].
• Use color combinations and palettes that can be understood by those with different forms of color blindness [ 9 ]. There are excellent tools available to identify colors to use and ways to simulate your presentation or figures as they might be seen by a person with color blindness (easily found by a web search).
• In this increasing world of virtual presentation tools, consider practicing your talk with a closed captioning system capture your words. Use this to identify how to improve your speaking pace, volume, and annunciation to improve understanding by all members of your audience, but especially those with a hearing impairment.

Rule 8: Design the slide so that a distracted person gets the main takeaway

It is very difficult to stay focused on a presentation, especially if it is long or if it is part of a longer series of talks at a conference. Audience members may get distracted by an important email, or they may start dreaming of lunch. So, it’s important to look at your slide and ask “If they heard nothing I said, will they understand the key concept of this slide?” The other rules are set up to help with this, including clarity of the single point of the slide (Rule 1), titling it with a major conclusion (Rule 3), and the use of figures (Rule 6) and short text redundant to your verbal description (Rule 7). However, with each slide, step back and ask whether its main conclusion is conveyed, even if someone didn’t hear your accompanying dialog. Importantly, ask if the information on the slide is at the right level of abstraction. For example, do you have too many details about the experiment, which hides the conclusion of the experiment (i.e., breaking Rule 1)? If you are worried about not having enough details, keep a slide at the end of your slide deck (after your conclusions and acknowledgments) with the more detailed information that you can refer to during a question and answer period.

Rule 9: Iteratively improve slide design through practice

Well-designed slides that follow the first 8 rules are intended to help you deliver the message you intend and in the amount of time you intend to deliver it in. The best way to ensure that you nailed slide design for your presentation is to practice, typically a lot. The most important aspects of practicing a new presentation, with an eye toward slide design, are the following 2 key points: (1) practice to ensure that you hit, each time through, the most important points (for example, the text guide posts you left yourself and the title of the slide); and (2) practice to ensure that as you conclude the end of one slide, it leads directly to the next slide. Slide transitions, what you say as you end one slide and begin the next, are important to keeping the flow of the “story.” Practice is when I discover that the order of my presentation is poor or that I left myself too few guideposts to remember what was coming next. Additionally, during practice, the most frequent things I have to improve relate to Rule 2 (the slide takes too long to present, usually because I broke Rule 1, and I’m delivering too much information for one slide), Rule 4 (I have a nonessential detail on the slide), and Rule 5 (I forgot to give a key reference). The very best type of practice is in front of an audience (for example, your lab or peers), where, with fresh perspectives, they can help you identify places for improving slide content, design, and connections across the entirety of your talk.

Rule 10: Design to mitigate the impact of technical disasters

The real presentation almost never goes as we planned in our heads or during our practice. Maybe the speaker before you went over time and now you need to adjust. Maybe the computer the organizer is having you use won’t show your video. Maybe your internet is poor on the day you are giving a virtual presentation at a conference. Technical problems are routinely part of the practice of sharing your work through presentations. Hence, you can design your slides to limit the impact certain kinds of technical disasters create and also prepare alternate approaches. Here are just a few examples of the preparation you can do that will take you a long way toward avoiding a complete fiasco:

• Save your presentation as a PDF—if the version of Keynote or PowerPoint on a host computer cause issues, you still have a functional copy that has a higher guarantee of compatibility.
• In using videos, create a backup slide with screen shots of key results. For example, if I have a video of cell migration, I’ll be sure to have a copy of the start and end of the video, in case the video doesn’t play. Even if the video worked, you can pause on this backup slide and take the time to highlight the key results in words if someone could not see or understand the video.
• Avoid animations, such as figures or text that flash/fly-in/etc. Surveys suggest that no one likes movement in presentations [ 3 , 4 ]. There is likely a cognitive underpinning to the almost universal distaste of pointless animations that relates to the idea proposed by Kosslyn and colleagues that animations are salient perceptual units that captures direct attention [ 4 ]. Although perceptual salience can be used to draw attention to and improve retention of specific points, if you use this approach for unnecessary/unimportant things (like animation of your bullet point text, fly-ins of figures, etc.), then you will distract your audience from the important content. Finally, animations cause additional processing burdens for people with visual impairments [ 10 ] and create opportunities for technical disasters if the software on the host system is not compatible with your planned animation.

Conclusions

These rules are just a start in creating more engaging presentations that increase audience retention of your material. However, there are wonderful resources on continuing on the journey of becoming an amazing public speaker, which includes understanding the psychology and neuroscience behind human perception and learning. For example, as highlighted in Rule 7, David JP Phillips has a wonderful TEDx talk on the subject [ 5 ], and “PowerPoint presentation flaws and failures: A psychological analysis,” by Kosslyn and colleagues is deeply detailed about a number of aspects of human cognition and presentation style [ 4 ]. There are many books on the topic, including the popular “Presentation Zen” by Garr Reynolds [ 11 ]. Finally, although briefly touched on here, the visualization of data is an entire topic of its own that is worth perfecting for both written and oral presentations of work, with fantastic resources like Edward Tufte’s “The Visual Display of Quantitative Information” [ 12 ] or the article “Visualization of Biomedical Data” by O’Donoghue and colleagues [ 13 ].

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank the countless presenters, colleagues, students, and mentors from which I have learned a great deal from on effective presentations. Also, a thank you to the wonderful resources published by organizations on how to increase inclusivity. A special thanks to Dr. Jason Papin and Dr. Michael Guertin on early feedback of this editorial.

Funding Statement

The author received no specific funding for this work.

Guidelines for Presenters

This page contains information for scholars presenting papers at IAMCR Annual Conferences. Please remember these are suggested guidelines intended to be helpful on a voluntary basis; they are not strict rules and practices may vary among the various sections and working groups.

IAMCR does not have association-wide guidelines regarding paper style or length. If you have questions regarding style or length, you are encouraged to contact the heads of the section or working group where you will be presenting.

The majority of IAMCR scholarly presentations take place in Paper Presentation Sessions. However, we encourage alternative formats to facilitate scholarly exchange. For more information on the different types of sessions at IAMCR conferences, please see the Types of submissions for IAMCR conferences. You may also wish to consult the page on submission review processes and criteria . 

Academic Standards for Presenters

IAMCR strives to hold high academic standards for its conference, while also encouraging both established and new scholars to present new ideas and new works. Individual scholars are encouraged to attend sessions organized by different Sections and Working Groups to help build and grow ideas and make connections with other scholars.

Individuals may submit 1 paper per Section or Working Group as lead author, and a maximum of 2 papers to a single IAMCR conference in general. Presenters are expected to bring fully developed work to the conference. Prior to the conference, it is expected that a completed paper will be submitted to Section, Working Group, Session Chairs, and/or Discussants. This is especially important for panels with discussants. A developed work typically includes an introduction with a problem statement, a review of relevant literature, analysis, conclusion, and references.

Preparing a Paper Presentation

Most paper presentations are 10-12 minutes in length, although some sessions—such as high intensity sessions—have presentations 5-7 minutes in length. Session chairs should inform presenters of the session type and length of presentations. Because presentation time is limited, scholars should not expect to read their papers in full. Instead presenters are encouraged to talk about their work (i.e. work from an outline) and describe it, with the aim of encouraging audience members to seek a copy to read or to have a discussion with the presenter after the session.

If a presenter wishes to read from a short presentation script, here are some rough guidelines. For presenters reading scripts: 300 words of typed text takes about 2 minutes to read. Also, presenters should look up every so often to make eye contact with the audience and especially with the session chair who will be giving time signals during the presenter’s allotted time.

For individuals whose native language is not one of the three official IAMCR languages, or who are programmed into a panel where they will not be presenting in their native language, it can be helpful to prepare a short abstract written in one of the official languages, to communicate the key ideas of the presentation.  It can also be  useful to employ a PowerPoint presentation to present the key ideas in the language best understood by most of the anticipated audience, emphasizing research questions, methods used, summary of main findings, and discussion (See also the Scholarly Review Committee’s Note on Language ).

Things to Remember

• Going over the time limit only prevents further discussion (it cuts into the session's time, which cannot be extended), and is disrespectful to the other presenters and the audience.
• Session chairs are encouraged to be strict with time. Presenters will be interrupted and stopped by the session chair if they do not keep to their allotted time.
• Technology should be used appropriately: technology should enhance a presentation, not be the presentation. Presenters should account for the setup of technology in the presentation time limit, or should set up before the session begins.
• Presenters should usually avoid telling the audience too much biographical information - this cuts into the time allotted to the presentation and the content of the paper. Also, it is understood that presentations are based upon larger works (full papers, book projects, dissertations, etc.) and that they will not capture all of the nuances of the author's ideas. It is therefore unnecessary for presenters to inform the audience of how difficult it is to condense ideas into 12-15 minutes, since most audience members are also scholars and already understand that preparing a presentation is a difficult task. There are many opportunities for authors to talk about their work after the session with interested individuals.
• It is often helpful for presenters to have hard copies of their papers available to distribute to interested audience members.

Preparing a Poster Presentation

An effective poster presentation functions in a similar fashion to a traditional paper presentation: it serves to promote scholars' work and stimulate scholarly discussion. A poster should concisely present the major points of the author's research and should also provide information on how one might contact the author. Because a poster session will contain many poster presentations, it is important for scholars to have a poster that is easy to read, and that can facilitate discussion about the research project.

A poster should take approximately 5 minutes for a viewer to read. The amount of text should be limited, and the language on the poster should be simplified and clear. Photographs, charts, graphs, and tables should be used when possible. The font of the poster should be larger - it should be legible from about 4-6 feet away (usually, this is a font size of 18-24 in a font such as Arial or Helvetica).

Posters should contain the major components of an article. Conventional sections in a poster include an abstract, introduction (which will include objectives & hypotheses), methodology, results, conclusion, and contact information.

• Although it is tempting to put more information on a poster, too much information can become confusing for viewers and distract them from further inquiry into the research project.
• Presenters are responsible for providing their own push-pins.

Commitment to Present (No Show/Cancellation Standards)

If a paper proposal is accepted for presentation to an IAMCR conference, the author (or at least one of the authors for a multi-authored paper) is expected to attend.

It is understood that the availability of travel funding is not always known to scholars before annual deadlines for IAMCR proposal submissions, which are typically in February. For this reason, scholars who submit a proposal and have it accepted sometimes cannot or do not attend the conference. 

Nevertheless, on submitting papers to IAMCR, authors must agree that if their paper is accepted for presentation, but they are unable to attend the conference, they will immediately inform the heads of the respective Section or Working Group. Failure to do so can result in being barred from participation in future IAMCR conferences.

Presenters who do not appear to present their paper and do not inform the heads of the section or working group can cause considerable disarray, lowering the quality of panel sessions and conferences as a whole and impacting negatively on their relationships with other scholars.

Papers accepted for presentation at IAMCR conference are accepted for presentation by their authors. If the authors are unable to attend, IAMCR's policy is that the papers will NOT be presented. We do not allow papers to be presented by anyone who is not the author.

The pages in this section of the website contain some resources for IAMCR participants and for heads of sections and working groups as they prepare for the conference.

• Session Types at IAMCR Conferences describes the two main types of sessions (Paper Presentation Session and Basic Panel Session) as well as a number of alternative session types that heads or participants might want to employ.
• Submission Review describes the different types of review processes used by IAMCR's sections and working groups as well as the criteria that are most often used to evaluate proposals.
• Guidelines for Presenters provides some suggested guidelines for scholars presenting papers at IAMCR conferences. These are suggested guidelines intended to be helpful on a voluntary basis; they are not strict rules and practices may vary among the various sections and working groups.
• Tips for Session Chairs & Discussants offers ideas for how session chairs and discussants can ensure that sessions run smoothly, highlight scholarship, and encourage discussion.

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How to prepare and deliver an effective oral presentation

• Related content
• Peer review
• Lucia Hartigan , registrar 1 ,
• Fionnuala Mone , fellow in maternal fetal medicine 1 ,
• Mary Higgins , consultant obstetrician 2
• 1 National Maternity Hospital, Dublin, Ireland
• 2 National Maternity Hospital, Dublin; Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Medicine and Medical Sciences, University College Dublin
• luciahartigan{at}hotmail.com

The success of an oral presentation lies in the speaker’s ability to transmit information to the audience. Lucia Hartigan and colleagues describe what they have learnt about delivering an effective scientific oral presentation from their own experiences, and their mistakes

The objective of an oral presentation is to portray large amounts of often complex information in a clear, bite sized fashion. Although some of the success lies in the content, the rest lies in the speaker’s skills in transmitting the information to the audience. 1

Preparation

It is important to be as well prepared as possible. Look at the venue in person, and find out the time allowed for your presentation and for questions, and the size of the audience and their backgrounds, which will allow the presentation to be pitched at the appropriate level.

See what the ambience and temperature are like and check that the format of your presentation is compatible with the available computer. This is particularly important when embedding videos. Before you begin, look at the video on stand-by and make sure the lights are dimmed and the speakers are functioning.

For visual aids, Microsoft PowerPoint or Apple Mac Keynote programmes are usual, although Prezi is increasing in popularity. Save the presentation on a USB stick, with email or cloud storage backup to avoid last minute disasters.

When preparing the presentation, start with an opening slide containing the title of the study, your name, and the date. Begin by addressing and thanking the audience and the organisation that has invited you to speak. Typically, the format includes background, study aims, methodology, results, strengths and weaknesses of the study, and conclusions.

If the study takes a lecturing format, consider including “any questions?” on a slide before you conclude, which will allow the audience to remember the take home messages. Ideally, the audience should remember three of the main points from the presentation. 2

Have a maximum of four short points per slide. If you can display something as a diagram, video, or a graph, use this instead of text and talk around it.

Animation is available in both Microsoft PowerPoint and the Apple Mac Keynote programme, and its use in presentations has been demonstrated to assist in the retention and recall of facts. 3 Do not overuse it, though, as it could make you appear unprofessional. If you show a video or diagram don’t just sit back—use a laser pointer to explain what is happening.

Rehearse your presentation in front of at least one person. Request feedback and amend accordingly. If possible, practise in the venue itself so things will not be unfamiliar on the day. If you appear comfortable, the audience will feel comfortable. Ask colleagues and seniors what questions they would ask and prepare responses to these questions.

It is important to dress appropriately, stand up straight, and project your voice towards the back of the room. Practise using a microphone, or any other presentation aids, in advance. If you don’t have your own presenting style, think of the style of inspirational scientific speakers you have seen and imitate it.

Try to present slides at the rate of around one slide a minute. If you talk too much, you will lose your audience’s attention. The slides or videos should be an adjunct to your presentation, so do not hide behind them, and be proud of the work you are presenting. You should avoid reading the wording on the slides, but instead talk around the content on them.

Maintain eye contact with the audience and remember to smile and pause after each comment, giving your nerves time to settle. Speak slowly and concisely, highlighting key points.

Do not assume that the audience is completely familiar with the topic you are passionate about, but don’t patronise them either. Use every presentation as an opportunity to teach, even your seniors. The information you are presenting may be new to them, but it is always important to know your audience’s background. You can then ensure you do not patronise world experts.

To maintain the audience’s attention, vary the tone and inflection of your voice. If appropriate, use humour, though you should run any comments or jokes past others beforehand and make sure they are culturally appropriate. Check every now and again that the audience is following and offer them the opportunity to ask questions.

Finishing up is the most important part, as this is when you send your take home message with the audience. Slow down, even though time is important at this stage. Conclude with the three key points from the study and leave the slide up for a further few seconds. Do not ramble on. Give the audience a chance to digest the presentation. Conclude by acknowledging those who assisted you in the study, and thank the audience and organisation. If you are presenting in North America, it is usual practice to conclude with an image of the team. If you wish to show references, insert a text box on the appropriate slide with the primary author, year, and paper, although this is not always required.

Answering questions can often feel like the most daunting part, but don’t look upon this as negative. Assume that the audience has listened and is interested in your research. Listen carefully, and if you are unsure about what someone is saying, ask for the question to be rephrased. Thank the audience member for asking the question and keep responses brief and concise. If you are unsure of the answer you can say that the questioner has raised an interesting point that you will have to investigate further. Have someone in the audience who will write down the questions for you, and remember that this is effectively free peer review.

Be proud of your achievements and try to do justice to the work that you and the rest of your group have done. You deserve to be up on that stage, so show off what you have achieved.

Competing interests: We have read and understood the BMJ Group policy on declaration of interests and declare the following interests: None.

• ↵ Rovira A, Auger C, Naidich TP. How to prepare an oral presentation and a conference. Radiologica 2013 ; 55 (suppl 1): 2 -7S. OpenUrl
• ↵ Bourne PE. Ten simple rules for making good oral presentations. PLos Comput Biol 2007 ; 3 : e77 . OpenUrl PubMed
• ↵ Naqvi SH, Mobasher F, Afzal MA, Umair M, Kohli AN, Bukhari MH. Effectiveness of teaching methods in a medical institute: perceptions of medical students to teaching aids. J Pak Med Assoc 2013 ; 63 : 859 -64. OpenUrl

Academic Conference Presentations

A Step-by-Step Guide

• © 2022
• Mark R. Freiermuth 0

Gunma Prefectural Women’s University, Tamamura-machi, Japan

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• Takes the presenter on a journey from initial idea to conference presentation
• Addresses topics such as abstract writing, choosing a conference, posters and online versus face-to-face presentations
• Based on the author's own experiences

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Table of contents (9 chapters)

Front matter, next up on stage….

Mark R. Freiermuth

Conferences: Choose Wisely Grasshopper

Getting started: the precise abstract, after the excitement fades: preparing for the presentation, tea for two or more: the group presentation, conferences: live and in-person, ghosts in the machine: the virtual presentation, the seven deadly sins: what not to do, the top five, back matter.

• English for Academic Purposes
• public speaking
• research presentation
• academic skills
• conferences
• poster presentations

About this book

This book provides a step-by-step journey to giving a successful academic conference presentation, taking readers through all of the potential steps along the way—from the initial idea and the abstract submission all the way up to the presentation itself. Drawing on the author's own experiences, the book highlights good and bad practices while explaining each introduced feature in a very accessible style. It provides tips on a wide range of issues such as writing up an abstract, choosing the right conference, negotiating group presentations, giving a poster presentation, what to include in a good presentation, conference proceedings and presenting at virtual or hybrid events. This book will be of particular interest to graduate students, early-career researchers and non-native speakers of English, as well as students and scholars who are interested in English for Academic Purposes, Applied Linguistics, Communication Studies and generally speaking, most of the Social Sciences. With that said, because of the book’s theme, many of the principles included within will appeal to broad spectrum of academic disciplines.

-Sarah Mercer , Professor for Foreign Language Teaching and the Head of the ELT Research and Methodology Department, University of Graz, Austria

Authors and Affiliations

About the author.

Mark R. Freiermuth  is Professor of Applied Linguistics at Gunma Prefectural Women's University, Japan. 

Bibliographic Information

Book Title : Academic Conference Presentations

Book Subtitle : A Step-by-Step Guide

Authors : Mark R. Freiermuth

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-21124-9

Publisher : Palgrave Macmillan Cham

eBook Packages : Social Sciences , Social Sciences (R0)

Copyright Information : The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022

Hardcover ISBN : 978-3-031-21123-2 Published: 05 January 2023

eBook ISBN : 978-3-031-21124-9 Published: 04 January 2023

Edition Number : 1

Number of Pages : VII, 159

Number of Illustrations : 45 b/w illustrations

Topics : Applied Linguistics , Research Skills , Career Skills , Sociology of Education

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Conference Participant Guidelines

General guidelines.

These guidelines are for all APPAM conference participants ( presenters , chairs , and discussants ) to establish expectations. Poster guidelines can be found here .  In order to encourage interdisciplinary discussion among conference participants and audience members, we want to encourage:

• Interaction among session participants beforehand in order to maximize audience participation on the day of the session.
• Distillation of the research, by the discussant(s), to identify its unique contribution to policy.
• Identification of relationships among the research presented, either by the presenters themselves or by the discussants.
• Give and take among participants—especially between researchers and practitioners.
• Creation of an environment to enhance understanding of issues and the attendant research informing them.

Here are some helpful best practices to a great presentation!

As you prepare for your session at the conference, please keep the following points in mind:

• APPAM members like to talk and react. Members include many experts; session participants consistently praise APPAM conferences for the exceptional amount of professional interaction that occurs. Much of this interaction happens within or is stimulated by the session discussions. With this in mind, please allow a full 20 minutes for audience questions and commentary. This 20-minute period is separate from the time normally accorded to panelists responding to the discussant's comments.
• Presentations should last no longer than 15 minutes in panels with three presenters or 12 minutes if there are four presenters. The discussant should be granted roughly as much time as a presenter. Multiple discussants should divide this allotted time among themselves.
• If they are to provide useful insight to authors and serve as stimulants for audience follow-on, discussants must receive papers no later than two weeks prior to the conference. This will allow for adequate time for discussants to read the session papers. Presenters will receive instructions on how to upload papers to APPAM.org and are urged to do so by the deadline provided so discussants have enough time to read the papers and prepare comments before the conference.  
• An excellent panel session is one in which the presenters focus on the more important issues in their research, and collectively, with the aid of the discussant(s), highlight connections among the presented papers. The conference should be an opportunity for professional development in which presenters and session audiences interact to enhance understanding of the issues. Your cooperation with the guidelines in this memorandum will help create an environment for this to occur.

Dates to Remember

August 30 - All changes to submissions, including authors, titles, and abstracts, must be complete.

September 27 - All presenters must be registered for the conference.  Any presenter not registered by this date is subject to removal from the program.

October 25 - All papers must be uploaded to submission system through the Speaker Center received via email.  Please contact Tristanne Staudt if you have not received this link.

November 7 - 9 - APPAM Fall Research Conference in Denver, Colorado.

Session Formats

Below are guidelines for well- timed sessions; these sample sessions run from 10:15 – 11:45 am.

If you have any questions, please contact [email protected] .

Below are specific guidelines for presenters, chairs, and discussants.

Guidelines for presenters.

You received an email with contact information for all the people taking part in your session (other presenters, chair and discussant(s)). Please reach out to your chair and let them know the status of your paper and when you plan on uploading it for the discussant. If your paper is not ready to be posted publicly, you can share it with the discussant privately but you must share it with them by the submission deadline to give them adequate time to prepare comments.

The following format is suggested as it has been found to work well within the 12-15 minute time frame you are allotted for your presentation.

Here's a helpful Best Practices Guide to presenting at APPAM!

Organization.

Begin with a one-minute overview summary of the paper that includes the central question addressed and the major conclusions. To the extent possible, these conclusions should include policy implications. 

Explanation

Follow with the reasons listeners ought to accept the paper's conclusions: the underlying theory, description of the evidence, methodological defense of the evidence, and connection to (and improvement upon) the existing literature. This manner of exposition differs from that of a journal article but it is more appropriate to a conference format. Speaking is a more effective way to get an explanation across than reading. 

Presentation Technology

It is highly encouraged to utilize PowerPoint to prepare and display presentations. APPAM will provide LCD projectors and screens in all meeting rooms for use during conference sessions. Presenters will need to provide their own computers. The Program Committee urges all conference participants to ensure that use of this technology does not interrupt or delay a session. With a strict 90 minutes for panel sessions, even a minor delay can greatly hamper the success of a panel. Remember that there will be less than 15 minutes available for setting up computer equipment prior to the start of most sessions. All presenters on a session may wish to put their presentations on a single computer or flash drive to simplify matters during the panel.

Contents and Format of Presentation Slides

Try to economize on the number of slides in a presentation. Slides should be readable from at least 30 feet (some of the presentation rooms are quite large, some are small), and should be displayed long enough for viewers actually to comprehend the message they are supposed to convey. A good rule of thumb is one substantive slide (a key exhibit, not an outline page) for every two minutes of presentation (or no more than 6 or 7 total slides per presentation). Slides should serve as an aid but should not be read from directly.

Published Book Display

All presenters are invited to have their published book exhibited at the conference.  To take advantage of this offer, please provide the title, author and publisher information on this form .  The form  can be emailed directly to Association Book Exhibit who will contact the publisher directly. Every effort will be made to display titles but this is ultimately the deicison of the publisher.  Authors are also able to personally provide copies of the books for display.

For more information on this display, please contact Association Book Exhibit at [email protected]

Guidelines for Chairs

The chair can be critical to the success of a session. The principal challenge for a chair is to enforce time allotments. A presenter that runs over his or her allotted time is using time that belongs to another presenter or to the audience. APPAM asks chairs to do the following: 

• Monitor paper progress before the meetings and encourage timely distribution of session papers to all discussant(s). 
• Ensure that presenters upload papers to APPAM.org for discussants to read in advance of the conference. If they have not, please bring this to the attention of the APPAM office.
• Convene the panel, either by email or conference call, in advance to make introductions and develop some rapport. 
• You are encouraged to consider an alternative format if the panelists agree; for example, having a discussant summarize all the papers at the beginning of the session. These alternative formats can help facilitate audience participation and discussion.
• Start the session on time and state the ground rules at the beginning of the discussion, including timing and commitment to discussion. Note that observing stated time limits shows respect for other presenters and for the audience. 
• Introduce all participants at the beginning of the session. 
• Monitor the clock. Presenters who appear to be off-track for completion on time should be cautioned mid-presentation. APPAM will supply chairs with four signs that read, "5 minutes" "2 minutes", "1 minute", and "Stop" to help alert presenters to their timing. 
• Chairs should sit in the front row of the audience, facing the presenters, rather than at the head table, while the presentations are in progress. 
• Do not ask the panelists to respond to the discussant(s) comments. Instead, move quickly to an open discussion that involves the audience. 
• Be prepared to initiate the question period if the audience is not engaged and ensure that questions and statements from the audience are short and to the point.

Guidelines for Discussants

Discussants play a critical role in determining the quality of audience participation in the session. Discussants should be aware of the above time limits. Please allow yourself at least two weeks to read the papers for the sessions and formulate comments tying the papers together before the conference. If the presenter(s) have not uploaded their paper(s) or sent them to you privately by the paper submission deadline, please let the APPAM office know at [email protected] .

The bulk of the time in the session should be spent encouraging audience participation. Discussants should also keep the following in mind:

• Discussants are asked to make integrative comments rather than paper-by-paper critiques. In many cases, very specific or detailed critics can be shared with paper authors outside of the session. Your comments should be no more than 12 minutes – 15 minutes long.
• If there are two discussants for a session, please contact the other discussant and determine how you will split the responsibility of reading/providing commentary for the papers in your session.
• Discussant remarks about each paper should deal with the major issues that enhance or undermine the paper' contributions, reserving minor issues for direct communication with the authors.
• Discussants are encouraged to help shape the audience participation in the session by identifying key points worthy of further analysis and discussion. 
• Does the research inform policy in the most timely and useful way? If not, what could be to done to improve the contribution of research to policy?
• Are methods used in the research and analysis properly aligned to the nature of current policy problems?
• Do we need to rethink the roots of the policy problems we are researching? Are we missing research opportunities because we have become too comfortable with our research designs and communities?
• How can we use the expertise of those in public management, and those who study the political process, to inform our research?
• Are there emerging policy problems for which we are not producing useful research, but for which we could direct new research?
• Are there limitations of information, data and research designs that prevent their research from being used by policymakers?
• What common challenges have researchers encountered when studying the issue?
• How can we address these challenges in future research?

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You will probably wish to prepare some PowerPoint slides to support your presentation. Prepare your slides as a PowerPoint file or a PDF and bring them with you to the conference. You will need to load your presentation onto the computer  before your stream, to facilitate a smooth transition between speakers. We recommend that you also bring  your presentation on a data stick or other portable memory device. You will not generally be able to plug your own laptop into the conference projection system.

If you require special technology for your presentation please email [email protected] as soon as you can and we will do our best to help you.

Guidelines for Academic Presentations

The time allocated for a presentation is 15 minutes, with a further 5 minutes allowed for discussion. Think in terms of the following slides:

• A title slide – Name, Title and what the paper is about
• One slide with the hypothesis you want to investigate
• 2 or 3 slides covering your current research plan
• You should not require any more than an absolute maximum of 10 slides – this would mean talking to each slide for only two minutes.
• It is generally distracting to the audience to have too many slides in a short presentation
• Do not put too much text on a slide – you want the audience to listen to you and not to be reading your slides!

Guidelines for PhD Presentations

The PhD sessions will be grouped into 4 or 5 papers. Each presenter is given 10 minutes to present their work. There will be no questions between presentations, but after all the presentations have been made there will then be a 15-20 minute discussion period for the session chairs/discussants and all those present to provide feedback. The session chairs will have read your paper, but the other members of the group will not. You need to keep the number of slides in your presentation to 5. You should cover the following:

• Title slide – Name, Title and what the paper is about
• One slide with the research question and any hypothesis you are investigating
• 2 or 3 slides covering your research plan
• A concluding slide – a summary of what you have said and your next steps.

A Researcher’s Guide to Making the Most of Academic Conferences

Academics know the importance of attending conferences as part of their career. Conferences provide valuable opportunities for networking, sharing research, and learning about new developments. However, until now, conferences have not had clear guidelines surrounding publishing practices. Academic journals have strict and well-defined processes for submission and peer review. But sometimes, standards at conferences run directly counter to the best practices in academic publishing . In addition, there has been a rise in “predatory conferences” that take money from hard-working researchers. In response to these trends, several groups of researchers and publishing experts in academia have created guidelines on best publishing practices for academic conferences. In this article, we will talk about these new guidelines and what they mean for you, as well as look at how to avoid predatory conferences.

Conference Publishing: What is GPCAP and Why is it Necessary?

Research sponsored by industry groups is often the focus of conference presentations, particularly in the scientific and medicine fields. However, each industry group has their own set of practices they prefer to follow which do not always support important research values such as data transparency. To address this problem, a group of publication professionals created the Good Practice for Conference Abstracts and Presentations ( GPCAP ) guidelines. These guidelines were conceived during a presentation regarding the Good Publication Practice (GPP3) for industry-sponsored research. During the presentation, many attendees had questions about how to apply these guidelines to conferences , and the presenters realized a separate guideline was necessary.

So, what is different between the research we see at conferences and journal publications? For one thing, the logistics of conferences make applying journal publication standards difficult. For example, different researchers than the authors of the paper might participate in creating conference materials such as posters.  The peer review process is also different. One advantage of conferences is they allow researchers to present research still in progress. Conference organizers review abstracts and decide which presentations will be interesting and important for conference participants. But this review is not as intensive or as substantive as the peer review which takes place at academic journals. Because of this, it is critical for conferences to ensure that presenters are very open about who sponsors their research financially and who is involved in the process.

GPCAP Guidelines: A Summary

The GPCAP guidelines cover numerous different scenarios and considerations that should be made when formulating conference publication guidelines. The GPCAP is divided into six sections: authorship, conference abstracts, conference presentations (posters and slides), encore abstracts and presentations, copyright considerations, and citing conference material. Some key takeaways of each section are summarized below.

Authorship : All authors should be involved in the creation of materials such as abstracts, slides, etc. Authors should disclose any conflicts of interest. Any assistance from medical writers, translators, etc. should also be acknowledged.

Conference Abstracts: Abstracts should include the study identifier (i.e., clinical trial registration number) to facilitate linkage between conference presentations and future publications. Conferences should not count authorship, financial sponsorship disclosures, study identifiers, etc. towards the abstract word count.

Conference Presentations: Presentations should list all authors and detail their contributions. Study identifiers and financial sponsorship should also be disclosed on presentation materials. If new findings are made between the time of abstract submission and the time of presentation, this should be clearly stated.

Encore Abstracts and Presentations: When research is presented at more than one conference, previous presentations should be noted. Before making an encore presentation, researchers should make sure such presentation won’t endanger journal acceptance and publication.

Copyright Considerations: Copyright should apply only to the abstract, not all of the research. If a conference wants to hold copyrights to a conference publication, they should consider making it open access and use a Creative Commons license.

Citing Conference Material: Conference abstracts may be cited and should be available somewhere permanent and accessible. However, once the research is published in a journal, the abstract should no longer be cited. If a conference presentation includes findings not present in the journal article, this should be made available as supplementary material.

It is clear that the authors of the GPCAP worked hard to make their guidelines comprehensive. The full guidelines can be found here and are important reading for any researcher or institution.

What About Predatory Conferences?

As global research collaboration and sharing increases and conferences become more common, predatory conferences have also begun to emerge. As a researcher, it is important to not focus so much on your research presentation that you forget to check the conference itself. The group Knowledge E has introduced an easy way for researchers to make sure they are applying to present at reputable and good conferences with its Think, Check, Attend initiative. Think, Check, Attend provides researchers an easy checklist for considering a conference.

“Think” encourages you to consider whether the conference is the best venue to present your research in. “Check” provides a detailed checklist of how you can be sure the conference is legitimate. Some of the checklist items include:

• Has the conference been held before?
• Is it easy to see all the details about the schedule, venue, and fees on their website?
• Do speakers have their fees waived?
• Have you heard of the keynote speakers?

If you can answer yes to the majority of the questions in the “check” section, then you can move to the third step of “attend.” However, if you cannot, then you are encouraged to look more deeply into the conference before applying or not apply at all.

Conferences are a great way for researchers to network and learn about new research. Presenting your own research at a big conference can be a great boost to your career. But it is important to make sure that the conference you are attending is reputable. It is also important to make sure that your presentation materials adhere to best publication practices and encourage data and financial sponsorship transparency. With these new guidelines and tools, you can make sure that you are making all the right decisions when it comes to attending and presenting at a conference.

What do you think of the GPCAP? Do you have any other tips for researchers who want to attend a conference? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

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Oral presentation instructions

Prepare your oral presentation

Instructions on preparing your slides for presentation and publication are below. Oral speakers will attend the conference and present live to an audience. After your live presentation is finished, SPIE will publish the in-person recording of your talk (slide capture with audio, no camera footage of speaker). Your presentation recording will be published and archived in the conference proceedings on the SPIE Digital Library.

Important dates

*Contact author or speaker must register prior to uploading **After this date slides must be uploaded onsite at Speaker Check-in

Step-by-step guide to a successful oral presentation

Create your slide presentation

The most successful presentation slides are graphically rich presentations of your research that both highlight the main points and fill in the most interesting details.

Your presentation slides should include:

• All slides formatted for easy understanding of the information on each slide
• Explanations for each graph, picture, and table
• Media file(s) embedded in your primary presentation as a slide
• No automatic slide advance timings

Fonts The session computer will have the standard font sets included in Mac OSX, Windows 10, as well as PowerPoint and Keynote. Please refrain from using custom or purchased fonts, as these will not be available and may impact how your presentation looks.

Aspect ratio The meeting will be utilizing 16:9 aspect ratio projectors (widescreen) in all rooms. To utilize the full screen, you should create your presentation in “widescreen” format. The standard 4:3 format will work but it will not fill the entire screen when in presentation mode.

Media files As a precaution, bring all media files with to the meeting, even though you’ve embedded them in your slide presentation. While we can help with many aspects of your talk on-site, we can’t “fix” a missing media file.

Presentation file types LaunchPad accepts all file types except LibreOffice, and there are no file size restrictions. The session computer will run both Mac and Windows files natively. The computer has the following software installed.

• PowerPoint for Windows
• PowerPoint for Mac
• Keynote (latest version)
• Adobe Reader for Mac
• Google Chrome for Mac

In PowerPoint, save your file as a .pptx. Do not use .ppt, .pps, or other formats, as this will affect your file’s ability to open correctly.

Upload your slide presentation

All in-person presentations are handled by our onsite presentation management system, LaunchPad. All presenters must upload their slide presentation to LaunchPad before going to their conference room. There will not be an option to use your own device. Should you require assistance with uploading or presenting, technicians will be available at Speaker Check-In. Always bring a back-up copy of your slide presentation and media files with you to your session onsite.

There are two options to upload your slide presentation:

1. Upload in advance

Upload slides to LaunchPad

Advance upload deadline: 11:59 PM Pacific Time on Thursday 24 January 2025

2. Upload onsite at SPIE Photonics West

Bring your USB device to Speaker Check-In at least two hours before your session begins, or the day before if presenting in the first morning session.

Web links and online presentation formats

• If your presentation is web based (e.g., Google Presentations), instead of using the upload portal above you may email [email protected] the publicly accessible link to your presentation
• WarpSpeed will send you a confirmation email letting you know that your presentation is successfully uploaded and accessible
• If you are using Prezi, your presentation should be downloaded for offline viewing and the zip file should be uploaded to LaunchPad

Preview and test presentation onsite at Speaker Check-In

• Visit Speaker Check-In and test your presentation at least two hours prior to the start of your session
• If you find a mistake, you may submit a revision
• Speaker Check-In is open during registration hours
• Location: Moscone North, Lobby (Saturday-Thursday)
• Location: Moscone West, Level 2, Overlook 2 (Sunday - Thursday)

Present in person

• Bring a back-up copy of your presentation file and any media files to your session
• Arrive in the conference room at least 10 minutes prior to the start of your session
• Locate the session chair for your session and check in with them so they know you have arrived
• When it’s time to present, simply walk to the lectern and click on your name
• If the person before you left their talk on the screen, press the “Refresh” button on the lectern, and that will clear out the screen and bring up the list of speakers for your session

Audiovisual equipment in meeting rooms

• Apple MacBook - supports files created on either Mac or Windows
• LCD projection - 16:9 aspect ratio; 1920 x 1080 resolution
• Lapel microphone
• Audio connection from the laptop
• Laser pointer and slide advancer

Publication of your presentation

• After your live presentation is finished, SPIE will publish the in-person recording of your talk (slide capture with audio, no camera footage of presenter). Your presentation recording will be published and archived in the conference proceedings on the SPIE Digital Library.
• SPIE retains rights to distribute and market the official published SPIE recording of the presentation; the presenter retains copyright of all presented content

Contact your program coordinator (listed in your SPIE.org account )

Official Homepage of the 2018 IEEE International Ultrasonics Symposium

Oral Presentation Guidelines

Observing Your Allotted Time

• The total time allotted to each speaker is 15 minutes. You should plan to speak for 12 minutes and leave 3 minutes for questions.
• Invited speakers have twice this time, 30 minutes in total, and they should plan to speak for about 25 min, leaving 5 min. for questions.
• There is NO EXCUSE for using more than your allotted time. Rehearse your presentation several times; projecting slides and doing anything else you would otherwise expect to do at the meeting. It is a discourtesy to your audience, the Session Chair and the other speakers to exceed your allotted time. The Session Chairs are instructed to adhere to the printed schedule for the session. With parallel sessions this is critical to the overall success of the conference.

Organization of Oral Sessions

• There are eight parallel sessions in the conference and the Technical Program Committee will try to minimize conflicts of topics between parallel sessions.
• The conference will be equipped with a computer video projector and a computer that is connected to the projector for each oral presentation room. Normal audio equipment such as microphones will be provided.
• The computers are equipped with Windows 10 as well as Microsoft PowerPoint 2016 (Office) , Internet Explorer/Edge (latest), Adobe Acrobat Reader DC/Flash Player , Windows Media Player 12 and QuickTime 7 .
• To submit (upload) the presentation data, use the unique (personalized) link to the paper management system. The unique link to the paper management system will be emailed to the presenting author. Please upload the presentation materials no later than 24:00 (PST), Thursday, 18 October 2018 .
• All the authors are requested to (a) visit the Speaker Ready Room at least one day prior to the session, (b) verify their presentation for compatibility and proper operation. If necessary, especially if you have embedded multi-media content, you will have the final opportunity to adjust or tweak your presentation at that time. We suggest the presenting author to bring his/her own computer and a USB thumb drive with presentation materials as backup.
• Since your computer may have sophisticated fonts (such as special equation symbols) that the conference computers may not have, it is suggested that when you save your PowerPoint presentations, use “Save As” from your “File” pull-down menu. When a dialog box pops up, click on the “Tools” menu on that dialog box and select “Save Options”. Then, check the option “Embed true type fonts”. Click “OK” and then click “Save”. This allows you to include the fonts you are using in your presentations to minimize the font incompatibility problems. Otherwise, any fonts that are not recognized by the conference computers will be incomprehensible. In addition to the default “.pptx” file format, we suggest that you also save a copy of your presentations in the “.ppsx” (PowerPoint Show) format (the “.ppsx” version may also include some of the special fonts in your presentations). If you have a full version of Adobe Acrobat, we suggest you also save (or print) your presentations into a “.pdf” format and thus you will be able to use the free Adobe Reader software to present in case nothing else would work.

Good Practices

• Show no more than 1 slide per minute of speaking time. This means approximately 10-12 slides MAXIMUM for the 12 minutes presentation at the symposium. Remember, the last three minutes of the presentation are for questions from the audience. It detracts from the quality of the presentation to flash numerous graphs, equations, or tables on the screen in rapid sequence in an effort to squeeze a presentation into its allotted time.
• We recommend a presentation format of 16:9, 4:3 is also acceptable.
• Make the letters on your slides BIG ENOUGH. Suggested minimum font is 14.
• Put no more than 12 lines of text or 4 curves on any slide.
• Avoid lengthy tabulations of numerical data and limit equations to those for which the terms can be properly defined.
• Your audience needs time to interpret the data that you present. While you are very familiar with the data displayed, the audience is not. Describe the abscissa, coordinates, units and the legend for each curve.
• When you display a curve, tell the audience what they should be looking for in order to grasp the point you are trying to make. The audience will not have time to figure it out for themselves.
• Use repetition in your talk to ensure the facts are understood by the audience.
• In addition to the body of the talk, present an introduction and a summary or conclusion.
• Include only information or data that can be properly explained in the allotted time.
• Repeat any questions that are posed to you.
• If a question requires a lengthy reply, suggest that you and the person asking the question meet after the presentation. Then take the discussion out of the meeting room.