Research Guide: Conferences and Presentations

Here are two sources that you can use to find the best conference to present your work at or even just to have a look at what is out there:

• Conal Conference Alerts (Recommended by the NRF)
• Global Conference Directory

Tips for presenting:

• Smile and exude confidence, even if you don’t feel it.
• Practice, practice, practice!!
• To relax, ask the audience questions and have a ‘conversation’ with them before you begin with the presentation
• Know and engage your audience- Information is great but people tend to lose focus after listening to facts for extended periods of time. To take a break from the facts, engage your audience with a story to wake them up and keep them interested. A story every 10-15 minutes will keep your audience listening.
• Bring it! Do as much research on your topic of presentation as you possibly can
• Attend other presentations to get tips of how to do presentations and learn from their mistakes
• Know your material and do not rely on your slides

Tips for creating amazing presentations

• Limit the number of words used on slides (use keywords only). People cannot read and listen simultaneously- while they are reading the text on the slides their attention shifts from what are saying
• Make use of attention-grabbing relevant pictures and diagrams- Keeps the audience interested and say more than words do
• Use colour cautiously
• Use an appropriate font size
• Make use of MS PowerPoint add-ons to enhance your slides