first conference. first paper presentation. first time flying international

[closetgeek]

Hi all.

Over the summer I participated in an REU. My advisor and I wrote a paper on our work and it was accepted to an IEEE conference -- in Paris!! I'm the first author, and will be presenting the paper. The only thing is, I've never been to a conference (I'm still an undergrad). I'm scared out of my mind about presenting in front of seasoned researchers. Especially since my advisor won't be attending! I'm going to be in Paris for a week by myself. I don't even know if that should be exciting (I'm more scared than happy about this, that's for sure). Anybody have any tips? I'm especially afraid of landing in France and having absolutely no idea where to go/what to do...for a whole week. Am I supposed to attend every day of the conference series? Should I stay and listen to everyone on the day of my presentation? How do I avoid people from scaring the heck out of me when I present? I don't even know what I'm supposed to wear

[robot_hamster]

Whatever you do, don't walk around in shorts and sandals. You'll look like a tourist! Hehehe! Sorry, this was something a professor of mine joked about when he went to France to do some research. The first few days he was there, he dressed like... well, a tourist. The professors he went to work with there apparently made fun of him. As for the conference, best to lean on the conservative side if you're not sure.

Sorry I can't be of more help! Congrats BTW! That is one heck of an accomplishment! You should be proud!

Edited March 29, 2011 by robot_hamster

[fuzzylogician]

Congratulations on the conference!

Some basic tips for your own presentation include to practice giving it until you feel comfortable and confident. Try to give a formal practice talk in front of your research group, if possible, but also find friends who will be willing to sit and listen to you talk. Get comments on your slides and talk for clarity, and time yourself so you know what time each slide should come at. It's a good idea to have in mind places that you could skip or shorten in case you see that you are falling behind. I assume that you'll be working on the content of the presentation with your professor, but if not then definitely get him/her to comment on the content too. Make sure you stay within your allotted time. There's nothing worse than a speaker who can't finish their talk on time.

At the conference - technically you're supposed to be there and attend the talks. In practice, if you want to go explore the city (and you totally should!) I think that's perfectly acceptable. Conferences are a great place to make connections, but you don't need to be there the whole time to do that. For your own session - you should be present for the entire session, out of respect for the other speakers. Dress codes can vary by field and location so ask professors or more experienced students in your department. Make sure that you feel comfortable in your clothes, though, it's important for your confidence. As for not being intimidated, well, I don't expect anyone will be trying to do that on purpose. If your work is engaging then people will want to talk to you after the talk, but that's a good thing. During the questions period, expect to be surprised. There will always be that one question that you absolutely did not expect. It's perfectly ok to reply 'that's an excellent question, I don't know the answer right now. Thank you for asking,' or some such. I would even say that if no one manages to challenge you and your research, you're missing one of the key points of presenting to peers, namely getting fresh perspective on the work. Make friends with other students. Many will be there alone and kind of lost, that's part of the nature of these gatherings. On the other hand, that makes it easier to meet people. Maybe you could even go with some of the people you meet out on the town lastly and most importantly - enjoy yourself! It's a great opportunity and you're going to a great city.

Edited March 29, 2011 by fuzzylogician

[beanbagchairs]

Congrats..

I think fuzzylogician covered all already.. I am impressed fuzzy! I am not sure if I can add anything else.

Well, I guess I can tell you this:

My professor always said that "You are the expert of your talk/particular research; you know your research problem better than anyone else. There's nothing to be afraid of when you talk about it in front of a large audience. You are the expert"

That helps me when I was presenting for my first conference.

[Safferz]

I'm in the same boat! I'm off to London this weekend to present a paper, and I'll also be going on my own. My situation is a bit different though - I have relatives in the city that I can reach if I need to, and everyone in London speaks English! Although I've never been to Paris, I'm sure that they see enough tourists that you'll be able to navigate the city just fine. I'm headed to an interdisciplinary conference (papers are all linked by theme), so I only plan on attending the first day, which is when I'm scheduled to present, and presentations on other days that seem relevant to the research I'm doing. In conferences where everyone belongs to the same field, it can be a great opportunity to network and find out what scholars in your field are doing, so you may want to stick around for most of it.

Presentations vary widely by field, so I suggest you speak to your professor about the usual format in your discipline. I also found these threads on the CHE forums quite helpful while I was preparing:

First time presenting

Paper Presentations: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

So you're presenting at a conference (a few suggestions)

And rehearse, rehearse, rehearse! Fuzzylogician gave some great tips. Remember that you're the expert of your own paper, and that people present at conferences as a way of developing their own ideas. You might have someone raise a question or introduce a perspective you've never considered, and that only helps you strengthen your own paper. As far as clothing goes, I think business casual is the way to go - a nice button-up shirt or blouse, slacks or a skirt, and dress shoes would be best. Good luck!

[ogopo]

Definitely be excited, not nervous. This is an excellent opportunity!!

I've presented at a few conferences now (one locally and one in France) so let me speak from my experiences. Bear with me if this gets long, I tend to ramble at this hour.

No one will be judging you (unless there is some sort of student competition, but that's another bag of worms). They are there to hear the content of your talk. People will definitely realize that you are young and that this is likely your first conference presentation. You will be surprised at how friendly people will be. I was certainly surprised at how many people who watched my first talk actually wanted to speak to me. Take advantage of those opportunities and meet people If this happens, get people's contact information and follow up with them. If you don't know the answer to something, get their emails and get back to them later.

On that note, if someone asks you a question you cannot answer, or is too complicated to answer, just tell them that you will talk to them after. Then use the same approach as above. There is plenty of time for mingling.

Mingling can be difficult, especially when you see a bunch of senior professor types who seem to be old buddies. If you find yourself alone, just scan the room find other young people who seem as lost and confused as you and chat them up. Ask them what they study. Also, if you go to a talk that is interesting, approach the speaker after the talk and ask them questions. Really, this is what conferences are all about.

I would recommend going to as many talks as possible. You should hopefully be interested in the topic. However, no one will notice if you take a little time off too. Frick, Paris is awesome. Make sure you have a map (the best one I had was a little tourist pamphlet I got for free at a train station) and walk around. Everyone in Paris speaks English. And don't believe everything you hear about Parisians being rude. Just make sure you approach them politely and if you can, try to say a few things in French. They may laugh/roll their eyes at you and then proceed to speak English with you. Make sure you enjoy the cheese, wine and bread. It is all to DIE FOR.

In terms of dress, business casual is the way to go. Maybe dress more nicely the day you are presenting. I actually wore (dark) jeans and a cardigan both times I spoke and that was fine but if my dress pants weren't too tight for me, I would have worn those. Make sure you're comfortable!

If you have any France/Paris specific questions or anything else, lemme know

[closetgeek]

Wow, thank you everyone for all of your great answers!! My sister just decided (It's been up in the air) that she will be going with me! So I won't be alone anymore!! (BTW, I had to reduce some of your (and my) emoticons lol. Who knew there was a limit!)

Whatever you do, don't walk around in shorts and sandals. You'll look like a tourist! Hehehe! Sorry, this was something a professor of mine joked about when he went to France to do some research. The first few days he was there, he dressed like... well, a tourist. The professors he went to work with there apparently made fun of him. As for the conference, best to lean on the conservative side if you're not sure.

Sorry I can't be of more help! Congrats BTW! That is one heck of an accomplishment! You should be proud!

Thank you, robot_hamster! Hehe, I plan on looking into all the latest French fashions. Or at least wearing dresses the majority of the time I'm there! I don't really mind looking like a tourist, lol. Although it would be fun to pretend.

Congratulations on the conference!

Some basic tips for your own presentation include to practice giving it until you feel comfortable and confident. Try to give a formal practice talk in front of your research group, if possible, but also find friends who will be willing to sit and listen to you talk. Get comments on your slides and talk for clarity, and time yourself so you know what time each slide should come at. It's a good idea to have in mind places that you could skip or shorten in case you see that you are falling behind. I assume that you'll be working on the content of the presentation with your professor, but if not then definitely get him/her to comment on the content too. Make sure you stay within your allotted time. There's nothing worse than a speaker who can't finish their talk on time.

At the conference - technically you're supposed to be there and attend the talks. In practice, if you want to go explore the city (and you totally should!) I think that's perfectly acceptable. Conferences are a great place to make connections, but you don't need to be there the whole time to do that. For your own session - you should be present for the entire session, out of respect for the other speakers. Dress codes can vary by field and location so ask professors or more experienced students in your department. Make sure that you feel comfortable in your clothes, though, it's important for your confidence. As for not being intimidated, well, I don't expect anyone will be trying to do that on purpose. If your work is engaging then people will want to talk to you after the talk, but that's a good thing. During the questions period, expect to be surprised. There will always be that one question that you absolutely did not expect. It's perfectly ok to reply 'that's an excellent question, I don't know the answer right now. Thank you for asking,' or some such. I would even say that if no one manages to challenge you and your research, you're missing one of the key points of presenting to peers, namely getting fresh perspective on the work. Make friends with other students. Many will be there alone and kind of lost, that's part of the nature of these gatherings. On the other hand, that makes it easier to meet people. Maybe you could even go with some of the people you meet out on the town lastly and most importantly - enjoy yourself! It's a great opportunity and you're going to a great city.

Hi Fuzzylogician! Thanks for all of the info! I don't actually have a research group to practice with, but I will practice a lot with my professor. Luckily, I already have a presentation prepared that I presented in front of a research lab, which my professor says will work fine, though I do not know the presenting time for the conference. This presentation was almost an hour, which I'm sure is too long.

Now that I know that my sister will be there, I definitely know I will be exploring the city, hehe. But I will make sure I attend a good amount of the other talks, and stay for my own session!

As for intimidation, my professor has pretty much taught me how to answer when I don't know what to say , which is pretty much along the lines of what you've told me. I'll still try to make friends with other students, as I'm sure I will be bumping into them in the future!

Congrats..

I think fuzzylogician covered all already.. I am impressed fuzzy! I am not sure if I can add anything else.

Well, I guess I can tell you this:

My professor always said that "You are the expert of your talk/particular research; you know your research problem better than anyone else. There's nothing to be afraid of when you talk about it in front of a large audience. You are the expert"

That helps me when I was presenting for my first conference.

Hi beanbagchairs . Yes, fuzzy did give a lot of good information! That is a very good quote, though. Maybe I'll print it out and read it over and over on the plane! Hehe, jk. But it will definitely be useful to recall this in case I get nervous.

I'm in the same boat! I'm off to London this weekend to present a paper, and I'll also be going on my own. My situation is a bit different though - I have relatives in the city that I can reach if I need to, and everyone in London speaks English! Although I've never been to Paris, I'm sure that they see enough tourists that you'll be able to navigate the city just fine. I'm headed to an interdisciplinary conference (papers are all linked by theme), so I only plan on attending the first day, which is when I'm scheduled to present, and presentations on other days that seem relevant to the research I'm doing. In conferences where everyone belongs to the same field, it can be a great opportunity to network and find out what scholars in your field are doing, so you may want to stick around for most of it.

Presentations vary widely by field, so I suggest you speak to your professor about the usual format in your discipline. I also found these threads on the CHE forums quite helpful while I was preparing:

First time presenting

Paper Presentations: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

So you're presenting at a conference (a few suggestions)

And rehearse, rehearse, rehearse! Fuzzylogician gave some great tips. Remember that you're the expert of your own paper, and that people present at conferences as a way of developing their own ideas. You might have someone raise a question or introduce a perspective you've never considered, and that only helps you strengthen your own paper. As far as clothing goes, I think business casual is the way to go - a nice button-up shirt or blouse, slacks or a skirt, and dress shoes would be best. Good luck!

Hi Safferz! Congratulations to you and good luck! I took 4 years of French in high school, but I've forgotten it all! I've been using rosetta stone to help bring me back up to speed, so hopefully once I get there, I can at least remember how to say "I'M LOST!! HELP ME!!!" . Thank you for the links! They will definitely come in handy. For some odd reason, I'm not big on rehearsing! I tend to do much better at presenting if I haven't rehearsed it that much, as long as I know the information. But perhaps it would be better if I rehearse too much, rather than rehearse too little . We shall see. Also, business casual sounds good.

Definitely be excited, not nervous. This is an excellent opportunity!!

I've presented at a few conferences now (one locally and one in France) so let me speak from my experiences. Bear with me if this gets long, I tend to ramble at this hour.

No one will be judging you (unless there is some sort of student competition, but that's another bag of worms). They are there to hear the content of your talk. People will definitely realize that you are young and that this is likely your first conference presentation. You will be surprised at how friendly people will be. I was certainly surprised at how many people who watched my first talk actually wanted to speak to me. Take advantage of those opportunities and meet people If this happens, get people's contact information and follow up with them. If you don't know the answer to something, get their emails and get back to them later.

On that note, if someone asks you a question you cannot answer, or is too complicated to answer, just tell them that you will talk to them after. Then use the same approach as above. There is plenty of time for mingling.

Mingling can be difficult, especially when you see a bunch of senior professor types who seem to be old buddies. If you find yourself alone, just scan the room find other young people who seem as lost and confused as you and chat them up. Ask them what they study. Also, if you go to a talk that is interesting, approach the speaker after the talk and ask them questions. Really, this is what conferences are all about.

I would recommend going to as many talks as possible. You should hopefully be interested in the topic. However, no one will notice if you take a little time off too. Frick, Paris is awesome. Make sure you have a map (the best one I had was a little tourist pamphlet I got for free at a train station) and walk around. Everyone in Paris speaks English. And don't believe everything you hear about Parisians being rude. Just make sure you approach them politely and if you can, try to say a few things in French. They may laugh/roll their eyes at you and then proceed to speak English with you. Make sure you enjoy the cheese, wine and bread. It is all to DIE FOR.

In terms of dress, business casual is the way to go. Maybe dress more nicely the day you are presenting. I actually wore (dark) jeans and a cardigan both times I spoke and that was fine but if my dress pants weren't too tight for me, I would have worn those. Make sure you're comfortable!

If you have any France/Paris specific questions or anything else, lemme know

Thanks Ogopo! All of you guys have helped bring my confidence up (and I won't be travelling alone), so I think by excitement has almost surpassed my fear! I've definitely heard some good tips for reducing the intimidation!

As for mingling, I like meeting new people, so hopefully I will be able to spot some young faces! Actually, that brings up another question. There is time to mingle after each talk? Or do they go back to back?

I definitely will have a map with me! (I want to use the GPS on my phone, but I don't think the battery will last .. I don't even know if it would work actually lol ). And it's good to know that everyone speaks English. I understand some French, so hopefully I'll be able to have a slightly coherent conversation without them rolling their eyes! Also, I love cheese and I love wine, so I will be enjoying that for sure!!

Do you have any tips of good restaurants to go to? Best places to shop? Or any resources that I can find that tell me all of the touristy things to do? Thanks!

[ogopo]

In terms of time to mingle, no, you can't mingle after every talk. Usually there will be several in a session back-to-back (depending on the length, 5 seems normal) and then there will be a coffee break. It's at that point that you can mingle and also make your way to another room if there is another talk that you really want to see. You can also leave between talks in a session and it's nice when they can keep talks exactly on schedule so you can see all of those you're interested in.

Dresses will be good, especially if you are there during the summer. It can get HOT in Paris. But be careful about grates to the subway. You don't want the air blowing up and lifting your skirt up. I know it sounds silly, but really. It's not as glamorous as when it happened to Marilyn.

There is just so much to do and see in Paris it is hard to say. I mostly just walked around a lot. There is all sorts of shopping and beautiful sites. Also, there seems to always be things going on. It's a big city. Are you taking some extra time to be a tourist or do you just have the time of the conference? If you have extra time, maybe get a guidebook. Or at least look online.

In terms of food, we had a friend of a friend who took us to some great places. These places seemed more like bars than restaurants. The food was amazing and very reasonably priced. Do not go into a restaurant if the people working there grab you and pull you in, then it is likely a tourist trap. This only means that the food might cost more but it is pretty hard to actually find bad food. We had one stale baguette the entire time we were in France. Now I want to go back. Maybe you could take me instead of your sister??

[robot_hamster]

Speaking of fashion, I hear that berets are not considered fashionable.