First time presenting a conference paper

[Adelaide9216]

Hello,

I will be presenting a conference paper at the end of August for the first time ever. It's 20 minutes. I have to admit that I am a bit nervous because I have made a first draft of what I want to say, but my supervisor has not given me any feedback on it yet... I am not nervous about the public speaking aspect of it as I am a public speaker in general, but more about the content because it'll be the first time that I'd be presenting something that a conference as a student-researcher.

any tips?

[jujubea]

Find what you feel most confident about in your work and remind yourself why you're confident in it, and also why you're passionate about it. This will give you the poise and energy to deliver, it will also sustain you if anyone questions you harshly (has never happened to me, just neutral questions usually intent on strengthening the argument).

Go with an open mind and think of it like a brainstorming session to improve your paper or work with some new friends and colleagues who also care about improving their own work. 

Good luck!

[Adelaide9216]

I did it. It went okay (I believe), I had only a little data to show them, not much... 

At the panel, I got zero questions at the end of my presentation

[placeinspace]

Congrats on getting it done! I wouldn't sweat it, you'll have it on your CV for applications and it was good practice. I wish I could redo my first conference presentation over, but instead, I just used it as a learning opportunity. Sometimes that's all you can do!

[pyramidstuds]

On 8/31/2018 at 11:01 AM, placeinspace said:

Congrats on getting it done! I wouldn't sweat it, you'll have it on your CV for applications and it was good practice. I wish I could redo my first conference presentation over, but instead, I just used it as a learning opportunity. Sometimes that's all you can do!

I know now this is an old thread, but, to both of you--I am doing my first presentation in one month. What would you have done differently? Mine's a 20 minute talk.

[Adelaide9216]

1 hour ago, pyramidstuds said:

I know now this is an old thread, but, to both of you--I am doing my first presentation in one month. What would you have done differently? Mine's a 20 minute talk.

Mine was also 20 minutes. It went well, but I definitely felt like I did not have enough data to present because I was very early into my research project. I guess I would've liked to have more data to present. However, if you have something to present, even if it's not complete, don't hinder yourself from having an opportunity to present.

[lincoln.hawks]

Just found this thread. 

I am leading a panel at a conference this month for the first time. It's helpful to see other people felt nervous about it. It's my first noteworthy "academic" accomplishment so I am pretty excited.