FISH 6000: Week 6 - Oral Presentations

Revised Oct 10 2019

Transcript

1. Week 6: Oral Presentations FISH 6000: Science Communication for Fisheries Brett Favaro 2017 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
2. Land Acknowledgment We would like to respectfully acknowledge the territory in which we gather as the ancestral homelands of the Beothuk, and the island of Newfoundland as the ancestral homelands of the Mi’kmaq and Beothuk. We would also like to recognize the Inuit of Nunatsiavut and NunatuKavut and the Innu of Nitassinan, and their ancestors, as the original people of Labrador. We strive for respectful partnerships with all the peoples of this province as we search for collective healing and true reconciliation and honour this beautiful land together. http://www.mun.ca/aboriginal_affairs/
3. First… Power ¼ Hour! 15 minutes… Ready… GO!
4. Today: 1. The structure, function, and purpose of science conferences 2. Types of talks - speed, regular, and plenary 3. Understanding the audience 4. Focus: Slideshows - Fundamentals of slide design (big text, few words, great figures)
5. Today: 1. The structure, function, and purpose of science conferences 2. Types of talks - speed, regular, and plenary 3. Understanding the audience 4. Focus: Slideshows - Fundamentals of slide design (big text, few words, great figures)
6. What is a conference? A gathering of scientists presenting work, discussing research, and solving problems A networking opportunity – find jobs, mentors, etc Social opportunity. Build community with fellow fisheries researchers http://www.sciencemag.org/careers/2017/05/how-get-most- out-attending-conferences
7. Pre-conference workshops Contributed talks Poster session Plenary speaker(s) Business meeting Social events Post-conference events, field-trips Sometimes: • Panel discussions • Working group meetings • Lunchtime workshops https://dynamicecology.wordpress.com/2016/06/02/advice-to- get-you-ready-for-your-next-conference/
9. http://journal.front iersin.org/article/1 0.3389/fmars.2017 .00257/full Experience: % reporting Received new info to aid their research 58% … to aid conservation efforts 29% … to improve communication 46% … to improve management/policymaking 45% Gained new skills 64% … novel ideas 70% Met new contacts that improved research 91% … that led them to funding 36%
10. https://afstws2019.org/ Huge (~ 1000+ people) https://conbio.org/mini-sites/imcc6 https://esa.org/louisville/ Important science conferences re: fisheries and ecology https://afstws2019.org/
11. Ecological Society of America
12. Mid-sized (300-1000 people) http://www.csee-scee.ca/ http://www.sciencepolicy.ca/
13. Cozy (less than 300 people) https://aic.fisheries.org/ https://www.mun.ca/biology/bgsa/bgss/ http://ccffr2020. acadiau.ca/hom e.html
15. Non-academic things to consider before attending • Cost (Event AND Location) • Safety policies • Local laws • Student activities • Reputation of organization/organizers • Carbon cost • Stack multiple activities on the trip? • Take least-carbon mode of transportation? https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2016.00103/full https://labandfield.wordpress.com/category/opinion/page/2/
16. How conferences work: 1. Call for Abstracts Applicants write an abstract for their conference presentation
17. http://www.southernfriedscience.com/distracted-by-abstracts-tips-for-writing-a-good-abstract-for-a-scientific-conference/ An abstract is supposed to be a concise summary of your entire paper or study. Basically a written version of the 30 second “elevator pitch”. In these days of information overload there is so much emphasis on publishing, and so many journals willing to accommodate, the number of articles in scientific fields has increased rapidly. As a result, academics are increasingly reading no further than the abstract, and often only reading the title. … 90% of people who see your work probably won’t go beyond your abstract.
18. Typical presentation types: Oral, Short oral (‘speed talks’), poster There is ALWAYS an instruction document. Read it carefully. Conferences often have ‘sessions’ – talks organized around a theme. Sometimes these are by invitation.
19. Oral presentation Speed talk Poster ~12 min, 3 min for questions ~3-5 min, sometimes no questions, sometimes group questions Stand by a poster, speak to interested people for ~2 hrs Special presentation types (usually by invitation) Plenary ~45 min, 15 min for questions (similar to seminar talk) Panel discussion Formats vary (e.g. Canadian Science Policy Conference) Symposium Varies
20. Am I eligible to present at this conference? Content: - Look for conference themes, sessions, etc. Does your work fit? State of Research: - Some conferences require that you present finished research. Others accept ‘proposal talks’ - Read the instructions - If (ONLY if) the instructions do not answer your question, find a conference email address (ideally, the scientific program chair) and ask.
21. Try to find instructions to reviewers: http://conbio.org/images/c ontent_conferences/IMCC4 _Note_to_Reviewers_FINAL. pdf
22. How conferences work: 2.
23. Be proactive with registration! Reduce registration costs by: • Registering early • Volunteering/working at the conference • Joining the society hosting the conference • Applying for student travel grants
25. How conferences work: 3. Prepare your talk or poster Read instructions: - What formats do they accept? - Do you submit in advance? - Are videos supported? - Mac or PC? We’ll discuss structuring the talks themselves in a moment…
26. 4. Sort out accommodation and transportation Accommodation: - Many conferences have preferred hotel with discount code - Know thyself: Do you need private space? Get a private room in a dorm, or at least a private bedroom. Are you ultra-social? Get a rental house. - Discuss budget with your supervisor. - Obtain discount rates at Canadian hotels (https://www.caubo.ca/discover-caubo/member- discounts/hotels/) Transportation: - MUN has a deal with LeGrow’s Travel (https://www.mun.ca/finance/contract_tenders_awards/airtravel.php) - Use the Hopper app to identify optimal times to buy https://www.hopper.com/ - Use https://www.kiwi.com/ca/ to find optimized discount routes and times - Marine Atlantic offers an Argentia  North Sydney ferry route in summertime. Fill up a minivan!
27. MUN travel policy: https://www.mun.ca/finance/travel/reimbursableexpense.php - Not all PI’s are willing or able to fund to these levels. ALWAYS discuss conference travel, budget, and accommodation with your supervisor prior to booking - No discussion  it won’t be paid for - Students must complete travel request forms in advance of travel: https://www.mun.ca/finance/forms/Travel_Request.pdf - Identify the least-cost option, and actively find ways to further reduce cost (e.g. buses instead of taxis. Ride-sharing. Staying with friends. Packing multiple students into a hotel room) - Travel advances can be issued for airfare - Don’t forget to budget for on-the-ground transportation at the conference itself! - KEEP ALL RECEIPTS
29. 5. Before the conference - Examine the program. Identify what talks you want to see. Support lab-mates! At big conferences, you will not see all talks.
30. 5. Before the conference - Examine the program. Identify what talks you want to see. Support lab-mates! - Download the meeting app - Register for relevant socials – especially student socials (discuss with your supervisor – these often aren’t reimbursed) - Pack properly. Is there a dresscode? What’s the climate? - Bring business cards
31. Bring business cards 1. 2. http://mi.mi.mun.ca/Services/pdf/fees%202007%202008/BusinessCardReq07.pdf https://www.vistaprint.ca/
32. Bring business cards Design ideas Firstname Lastname M.Sc Student / Ph.D Student / Ph.D Candidate Anticipated graduation: Fall 2019 Specialty: Data science, fisheries, fishing gear design, policy Firstname.lastname@mi.mun.ca Twitter: @FirstLast 709-xxx-xxxx Picture of study organism QR code to personal website or OrcID About.me/FirstLast
33. 5. Before the conference - Examine instructions – do you have to submit your talk in advance? Never prepare a talk from scratch at the conference. Tweaking is okay, starting from scratch detracts from the conference experience. You can’t network if you’re stuck in your hotel room planning your talk
34. 6. At the conference - Look for a student orientation http://www.esastudents.org/annual-meeting/
35. 6. At the conference - Look for a student orientation - Take care of your physical needs (eat, sleep, drink water, etc.) - Attend networking events, including the poster session - Practice your talk - Tip: Upload a PDF of your slides to your smartphone
36. Common formats Speed Plenary/seminar Regular 3-5 min 45 min 10-20 min (often 12) Length Questions Often bunched w/other presenters Solo: 3 min Solo: 15 min
37. Audience • Is the conference multidisciplinary, or single discipline? • Academics only, or mixed? • Are there likely sources of controversy? • How big will the audience be? • And where will they be located relative to you? • Will you be at a podium, or free to roam? • English proficiency • Is this an English-speaking conference? If not, are translation services available? • How proficient will your audience be? • Best advice is always to practice, practice, practice. It’s EVEN MORE IMPORTANT to design slides well to facilitate your talk if the conference language is not your preferred language
38. Always use the microphone …and if you’re organizing, make one available!
39. If you want to organize a conference: • Come chat with me. I’ve done two big ones (IMCC4 and DecarbonizeNL). • Have a clear mission for the event. WHY have this conference? If you don’t know why, don’t do it. • Especially as a grad student, ensure a robust support network • This will take more time and effort than you could ever have dreamed of • Don’t touch money – have the University collect payment • Establish a means for online participation and recording • Centralize accessibility, inclusion, and justice in your organizational ethos • Make it so the event itself has an impact
40. Goal setting • At every class meeting, you will assemble with your goal setting team. • Discuss with each of your teammates: • What were your goals last week? • Did you achieve them? Why or why not? • What is your goal for THIS week? • Sample template available on FISH 6000 website • Write these down (one entry per class). At the end of the semester, you will receive a completion grade Goal-setting, peer support, reflection Examination, blame, fault, bragging Time ~ 10 minutes
41. Today: 1. The structure, function, and purpose of science conferences 2. Types of talks - speed, regular, and plenary 3. Understanding the audience 4. Focus: Slideshows - Fundamentals of slide design (big text, few words, great figures)
42. Paper Talk Must include ALL information Include only what is critical to the narrative Take as much time and space as you need to tell the story Time is constrained Readership is potentially infinite. Tailor readers based on language Audience is finite, ephemeral Communication is unidirectional Communication is bidirectional (directly: Q&A, indirectly, audience reactions) Papers and talks are not the same These rules apply both to science conferences AND general public
43. 12 minute science conference 3 min Public talk
44. Papers follow the strict IMRaD design Talks are similar – but you need to decide what to emphasize
45. Background What’s the problem? Often: What’s the knowledge gap producing the problem? Methods How are you solving it? Results Critical findings. NEED these to understand the story Discussion Who cares? What’s next? Also: Acknowledgments slide Answers questions posed in Intro
46. Focus: Slide design •Everything must have meaning •Make fonts and figures big and clear •Add complexity incrementally
48. Clarity • Everything must have meaning • Avoid Powerpoint backgrounds, superfluous images, etc. • Use a solid-coloured background, with high-contrast font • Yellow on dark-blue • White on black • Black on white (like this) • Do you want people to listen to you or read? Adjust text accordingly (These lecture slides are not a good guide – They’re meant to be standalone) • One slide = one idea
49. SCHOOL OF FISHERIES THIS IS A POORLY DESIGNED SLIDE Yes it is terrible
50. http://www.nfl.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/folios/00226/docs/2017-Rec-Groundfish-Presentation-eng.pdf Corporate logos should appear on title and acknowledgments only Good: font is big Bad: Full sentences, but you can’t interpret them (extended from what?) Point form generally best, but if not, give enough info
51. Respect your audience Typos, different font sizes, erratic spacing, etc. not cool Be minimalist, but still precise. What does this mean? Careful with acronyms. Will your audience know them? Was this the best way to present this information?
52. What is the GOAL of the slide? Here, presumably, to direct people to more information You are sitting in the audience. Would you be able to write these URLs down? Consider tinyurl.com – it shortens URLs
54. Focus: Presenting graphs • Graphs often carry the most important messages of your talk • Present them one element at a time…
62. Example:
63. Other quick tips • No table of contents slide • No handwritten notes • (Usually) • At end of talk, on last slide. • “Thank you,” not “thanks and I am happy to answer questions.” • Avoid awkward pause-clap delay. • Also, it’s up to the moderator to decide whether you take questions
64. Recap • Slides should be MINIMAL, and CLEAR, with BIG FONTS and FEW WORDS • Contrast should be HIGH and backgrounds should be SIMPLE (Solid colour is best) • There should be no decoration – all elements should have meaning • Don’t make it UGLY, just make everything have a purpose • It can and should still look nice! • Graphs should be HUGE and presented step-by-step •You are telling a story!
65. Introduce: 3MT https://threeminutethesis.uq.edu.au/
66. Examples https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvjPzsLIyGw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0K9iYUBCG_o Good resource: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_1MK3Ub9QM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hK-i-7P6Bwg
67. 3 Minute Proposal • Your task is to create a three minute proposal talk. • Talk length = 3 minutes or less. • Talk includes a PowerPoint, 3 slides max • Include one figure, showing anticipated results in graphical form. • Hand-drawn okay! • Necessary elements: 1) What’s the problem? 2) How will you solve it? 3) What do you think you’ll find? 4) Why does it matter? • Week 7: Present rough draft to peers • Week 8: Present rehearsal talk to class. We will film these and I’ll give the videos to you. Optional one-on- one coaching during rest of week 8 • Week 9: Present final talk to class. We will film these too, and I’ll give them to you for personal use