Preparing for International Science Conferences

Everyone loves a good story. You should be using your data to tell one every chance you get. The importance of narrative in scientific communication cannot be understated. And that includes communication in traditionally technical environments! One thing that gets beaten into you in graduate school is that a scientific presentation is a technical affair. Communicating science is fact based, it's black and white, here's the data, this is the conclusion, do you have any questions? Actually, I do. Did you think about what story your data could tell before you put your slides together? I know this is a somewhat provocative question because a lot of scientists overlook the importance of telling a story when they present results. But if you want to keep your audience engaged and interested in what you have to say, you should think about your narrative! This is true for a presentation at 'The Mountain Lake Lodge Meeting on Post-Initiation Activities of RNA Polymerases,' the 'ACMG Annual Clinical Genetics Meeting,' or to a class of 16 year old AP Biology Students. The narrative doesn't need to be the same for all of those audiences, BUT IT SHOULD EXIST! There is nothing more frustrating to me than seeing someone give a presentation filled with killer data only to watch them blow it by putting the entire audience to sleep with an arcane technical overview of the scientific method. Please. Tell. A. Story. With. Your. Data. Here's how: 1. Plot - the series of events that drive the story forward to its resolution. What sets the scene, the hypothesis or initial observation? How can the data be arranged to create a beginning, middle, and end? 2. Theme - Good vs Evil, Human vs Virus, Day in the life of a microbe? Have fun with this (even just as a thought experiment) because it makes a big difference. 3. Character development - the team, the protein, gene, or model system 4. Conflict - What were the blockers and obstacles? Needed a new technique? Refuting a previous finding? 5. Climax - the height of the struggle. Use your data to build to a climax. How did one question lead to another and how were any problems overcome? 6. Resolution - What's the final overall conclusion and how was the conflict that was setup in the beginning resolved by what you found? By taking the time to work through what story you can tell, you can engage your entire audience and they'll actually remember what you had to say!

Getting the opportunity to present on big stages at conferences is easier if you have a plan. During a 1:1 with a leader on my team, she brought up that some team members want to present at large user conferences such as re:Invent and AWS Summits. However, those speaking slots are very hard to obtain and usually go to speakers with proven sessions—ones that have been presented multiple times and have solid ratings. I'm not only a public speaker but also serve as a Speaker Bar Raiser, coaching others on public speaking and presenting. I've delivered dozens of sessions at large events worldwide and learned valuable lessons about getting ideas onto big stages. (Spoiler alert: It isn't enough to submit an abstract and hope for the best) It seems like a Catch-22, but there is a process that can tilt the odds in the aspiring speaker's favor. Content - Ensure your content is new, unique, relevant, insightful, timely, and/or important to your target audience. Irrelevant content is a non-starter. Structure - Have a framework for presenting the content that makes it easy to follow and understand. There is a science behind using the "Rule of Three" in public speaking. Keep things simple and interesting. Repetition - Give your presentation as many times as possible. Ask to present at brown bag lunches, weekly team calls, stand-alone learning sessions, your local Toastmaster's club meetings—even to your family and friends. After each presentation, ask for feedback and explore other presentation opportunities. These "at-bats" will improve your speaking skills and provide valuable feedback to enhance your session. (Hint: when presenting to larger groups, ask them to complete a survey capturing CSAT data. You can use this later when submitting for the biggest stages) Refine - Use all feedback to improve your presentation and make it more impactful. Collect notes from audience members and look for ways to incorporate their suggestions. If a joke or anecdote doesn't land, try something else. If your closing statement falls flat, take a different approach. Continuous iteration leads to improvement. Marketing - Once you have a relevant topic that you can present in a structured format, refined and updated through multiple presentations, you'll still need to market it effectively to track owners. Share data about your presentation frequency, CSAT scores, and audience testimonials. Don't let rejection discourage you—keep going until you get a "Yes." Developing and following a plan like this will help increase your chances of getting on big stages, more often.

On delivering a great conference presentation. Conference presentations are tricky. Whether your content is good or not, may or may not matter. However. Where it is a good presentation or not will open and close doors on your career. And. A bad one, esp. as a senior PhD student, can close minds and doors on the ejob market. So five quick points to consider as you plan your talk. 1. Structure your talk like a SHORT story You have just 15 to 20 minutes. So use a simple structure to describe your research, like this: Hook – A question, puzzle, or surprising insight Background – What we know, what we don’t Research question – The gap you address Method – How you explored it Key findings – What you discovered Implications – Why it matters for research or practice Example: “We wanted to know why remote teams struggle with onboarding. So we interviewed 22 tech firms. What we found challenges how we think about informal mentorship.” 2. Design slides that focus attention on you. One idea per slide. Keep it visual. Define key terms and highlight relevance. Let your voice do the explaining. Example: Instead of pasting your abstract on a slide, show a graph, a quote, or a concept map. 3. Practice, practice, practice Rehearse with time limits. Ask peers to simulate Q&A. Emulate having people come in and out of the room. Example: If your session is 15 minutes, aim to finish in 12. Have a friend play the "skeptical reviewer" in practice and push back on your logic. 4. Deliver with intention Speak slowly and clearly. Make eye contact. Pause for breath. Think before answering questions. Example: Nervous speakers rush. A short pause after your main point helps your audience absorb it—and makes you sound more confident. 5. Respect the room Visit the room before the talk. Know the room layout. Hook up your computer to present. Bring your slides on a USB stick. Finish 1–2 minutes early. Example: If you’re speaking in a hybrid session, arrive early to check audio levels and screen sharing. Even if you are a great speaker, things go wrong. The more prepared you are, the less you will be put off by things going wrong. So. Practice. Build your confidence. Visualize greatness! Then execute. Best of luck! #conference #academicjourney