Academic Conference Networking for
Professional Success
What you can control and what you cannot control…
Chetan Tiwari
Sean Tierney
Steve Wolverton
UNT Department of Geography
You are not alone!
Chronicle of Higher Education
Submitting papers
• Approach your mentors and other experts
– Organized sessions
– Gambling on placement
www.aims-international.org
The Title
• Contrast these two titles
– “Sanitary landfills in Denton, Texas”
– “Location matters for sanitary landfills: an example”
swamplot.com
Abstracting
• Abstract appropriately
– Don’t simply summarize
– Point out the impact of your work to experts
– See handout
scienceblogs.com
Preconference networking
• Be proactive, but also polite
– Send your abstract to your anticipated audience
– Assume experts are nice people
www.getentrepreneurial.com
Example email
Dear Dr. Expert:
I read your recent paper in the Journal of Expert
Science, and it helped me frame some of my own
ideas. I am presenting a paper at the Association of
Expert Scientists conference in May, and I have
attached a copy of the abstract. I would like to make
your acquaintance at the conference and to buy you
a cup of coffee.
– Sincerely, Rufus
Preconference networking
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Seek out opportunities
Go on field trips
Volunteer, perhaps
Make colleagues
mgmoses.com
At the conference
• Network, network, network!
– Academic opportunities
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Meet key academics and listen to them
Introduce yourself and tell them your elevator story
Invite them to your talk – tell them where & when
You may be invited to
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Guest lectures
Visit a campus or a lab
Participate in a project
Become a reviewer
At the conference
• Network, network, network!
– Academic opportunities
• Meet other graduate students
• Be part of specialty groups (or take on an
administrative position)
• Look for graduate student councils
• Dress well (and don’t wear a cap!)
At the conference
• Network, network, network!
– Job opportunities
• Career boards
• Company tables & booths
• Remember, you are talking directly to a potential
recruiter
• Take copies of your resume
• Give your business card and take theirs
• Makes notes
At the conference
• At the presentation
– Similar topics
– Approach co-presenters: introduce yourself, hand
out your business card
– Listen and build on work of previous speakers
– Make sure you provide contact information – build
a website; make your PPT available online
– Be sure your presentation works as intended (Mac
vs. Windows). Use PDFs.
At the conference
• Breakfast!
– Get up early and have breakfast!
– Good time to have a short, informal chat
– Do not hesitate to join bigger groups
• Lunch!
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Many people have commitments
There are also people who don’t!
Build your network of fellow graduate students
Take your tag off outside
At the conference
• Dinner
– Look for special events (sometime they are free!)
– And, don’t drink too much (especially if someone
else is paying!)
At the conference
• Others
– Make sure you follow-up: someone may have
asked for a paper, or a copy of your PPT, …
– Take some time to visit places. Take a conference
organized tour if there is one.
A really ineffective slide
• Today we want to establish a loose environment to offer you a
detailed perspective on what the conference experience often
is and can become. We will cover topics from how to choose
a conference, to how to prepare a presentation, to how to
network, to how to think of funding opportunities. Really,
what we are trying to get at are the do’s and do nots of
conferences not from a geographic perspective, but from a
professional perspective. We hope that you gain from the
presentation. Along the way, if you have questions, ask them.
This is an example of a terrible slide, and if you are still awake
by the end… you get the point. Peace out!
Where do you want their attention
• Bullet points
– Provide structure
• You provide the substance
– Keywords and phrases
• You want your audience to look at you
– Not the screen
– Not at the conference program
– Nor their phones
• Remember to look to your audience
– Not at the screen
Color and font coordination
• Using a font color that does not contrast with the
background color is hard to read
• Using color for decoration is:
– Distracting and annoying.
• Using a different color for each point is
unnecessary
– Using a different color for secondary points
demonstrates
• you have way too much time on your hands.
• Trying to be creative can also be bad
• Is your font big enough for all
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Not just people in the front row
The suspense is not captivating
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OK, I have something to say
Bet you want to know what it is
Psych, not this time
Not this time either
OK, I have a secret
Knock, Knock
Who’s there?
Nobody
Nobody who?
……………. (get it?)
If you must use animation..be
consistent
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He hits a fly ball
To deep left field
Its going back
Back
Back
.. And its caught on the warning track
And he’s out!
And I’m dizzy!
An effective use of transitions
Cool picture
• But what is my point
• Are you sure your audience can read it???
Industrial Agriculture
• Historical productivity of farmers
– 1900: 20 people
– 1950: 75 people
– Today: 150 people
Background – Bad
• Avoid backgrounds that are distracting or
difficult to read from
• Always be consistent with the background
that you use
Don’t make your audience guess
What would Sigmund Freud think?
Actually
processing
what is
being said
10%
Audience attention
Thinking
about sex
49%
Not
listening
17%
Listening
but not
absorbing
24%
Proff reed you’re sideshow
• Spell right and do good grammer
– Nothing discredits you fasster than then riting like a 3rd
grader
– Don’t thrust spill-chick
• Avoid don’t use extra repeated additional words text
• u r oblgtd to spll evrythg out.
– Twitter wrtg not accptbl.
• English is your second language?
– seek help
Substance
• Practice
– In the mirror
– In front of friends / colleagues / advisor
• Timing
– Don’t try and fill the entire time slot
• People love short and sweet
– Ensure you leave time for questions
• Slide Maximum
– What is appropriate (10 for a 20 minute talk)
A simple rule
• Academic writing is not a ‘who dun it’
• If they are bored at the beginning
– They will have checked out by the end
• So
– Tell ‘em what you’re going to tell ‘em
– Tell ‘em
– And then, Tell ‘em what you told ‘em
Conclusion
• Simplicity
– Paragraphs provide napping opportunities
– Omit bells and whistles
• Objectives are “eyes on you” & “ears on you”
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Pictures good, words bad
Slide limits
Don’t trust spell-check
Color schemes; fonts, et cetera
• Know the conference operating system
– Use pdf format
Potential crises & disappointments
• What if you mess up in your presentation?
– Relax, and keep going…
• What if you get criticized… by an angry expert?
– You should not argue, you may not know…
– Suggest that you talk after the presentation
• What if you spill coffee on an expert?
– Try not to…
• What if you throw up?