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Learn essential techniques for delivering impactful academic presentations, from preparation to answering questions. Discover expert advice on engaging your audience and presenting with clarity and confidence.
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Some Thoughts on Academic Presentations Dan Quint University of Wisconsin November 16, 2016
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Introduction • Presenting well matters
Introduction • Preparing a good talk takes much longer than you think “Hofstadter’s Law: it always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account Hofstadter’s Law.”– Douglas Hofstadter 3
Introduction • Giving a good talk is hard… …and you’ll screw it up Your first practice talk will probably go worse than you expect, even when you account for this. 4
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Preparation • “Own your paper” 6
Preparation • Think about who your audience is • Assume we’re smart, but haven’t read your paper, or the one you’re extending 7
Preparation • Think about the best way to teach them your paper 8
Preparation • Start with a puzzle, or a story 9
Preparation • Make us understand, quickly: • What the question is • What you found • Why we should care 10
Preparation • Your lit review is terrible • Show you know the literature you’re supposed to • Put your paper in context and clarify its contribution easy hard good place to take advice from advisors, etc. 11
Preparation • Your lit review is terrible 12
Preparation • Get to your model FAST! 13
Preparation • Simplify! • You don’t need to present the most general case • Help us out with the “right” leading example 14
Preparation • Define things rigorously 15
Preparation • Have examples in mind 16
Preparation • Plan where you want to spend your time 17
Preparation • Plan where you want to spend your time 18
Preparation • PLAN WHERE YOU WANT TO SPEND YOUR TIME 19
Preparation • Highlight the things you want us to notice 20
Preparation • Don’t drown us in equations • Every equation you show should have a purpose 21
Preparation • Tables 22 source: A. Sengupta and S. Wiggins (2014), “Airline Pricing, Price Dispersion, and Ticket Characteristics On and Off the Internet,” AEJ: Economic Policy 6(1)
Preparation • Visuals good! 23 source: T. Piketty, E. Saez and S. Stantcheva (2014), “Optimal Taxation of Top Labor Incomes: A Tale of Three Elasticities,” AEJ: Economic Policy 6(1)
Preparation • Ask for advice – and follow it 24
Preparation • Practice! 25
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Delivery • Face the audience, and don’t laser-point every slide 27
Delivery • Go slow, except for the technical parts – then, go really slow 28
Delivery • Going slow is crucial for equations probability h of my opponents do one thing and the rest do another increase in probabilitystuff happens expected payoff I get if it happens 29
Delivery • I like dot points to appear one by one • Guides people through each point I make • Reinforces each point • (Means I can’t present without a clicker) 30
Delivery • But don’t “foreshadow” dot points You may think it looks cute But it makes people read ahead while you’re talking Which means they aren’t paying attention 31
Delivery • But don’t “foreshadow” dot points • You may think it looks cute But it makes people read ahead while you’re talking Which means they aren’t paying attention 32
Delivery • But don’t “foreshadow” dot points • You may think it looks cute • But it makes people read ahead while you’re talking Which means they aren’t paying attention 33
Delivery • But don’t “foreshadow” dot points • You may think it looks cute • But it makes people read ahead while you’re talking • Which means they aren’t paying attention 34
Delivery • Also, don’t put everything you want to say on your slide • If you do, then all you can do is read your slides • And that isn’t a very compelling way to present • Better to leave some things off your slide and just talk about them • And use your slides as an outline of the major points you want to cover… • …not every detail 35
Delivery • Don’t be limited by your slides • Control pace, adjust accordingly • Use white board as needed 36
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Answering questions • Anticipate likely questions 38
Answering questions • Don’t take it personally • Don’t get defensive • Don’t be a dick 39
Answering questions • Don’t interrupt someone askinga question 40
Answering questions • Don’t interrupt someone asking a question 41
Answering questions • DON’T INTERRUPT SOMEONE ASKINGA QUESTION 42
Answering questions • Be sure you understand the question before you start to answer 43
Answering questions • Don’t defer questions more than necessary • If you keep saying, “That will be clear when I show you the model”… maybe you should have gotten to the model sooner? 44
Answering questions • But don’t lose control of the seminar 45
Answering questions • Don’t be a bullshitter • But don’t undersell your work 46
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Almost freakish attention to detail • Minimize typos, incorrect notation, etc. • But don’t overreact if you catch one during your talk 48
Almost freakish attention to detail • If your dot points appear one by one, 49