This workshop will help you prepare for and successfully attend a scientific meeting.

1. How To Prepare For A
Scientific Meeting
Emil Bogenmann, PhD, EdD
March 10, 2014

2. 2
Group Activity
Discuss with your group the reasons
why scientists attend meetings

3. 3
Learn about new developments in your field
Broaden your knowledge of the your field
Get experience in presenting your research
Get feedback on your presentation and research
Develop your network and contacts
Many Reasons

4. 4
Learn about employment opportunities
Learn about steps important for your career
Learn about the latest research technology
Learn about possible funding opportunities
Meet with funding agency officials
Many Reasons

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Which Meeting To Go To?
Be selective
Know the purpose why you want to go
Consider the cost and time

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What Type Of Meetings
Are There?
Small Size: 100 to 500 participants
(i.e., Keystone Meetings, Gordon Conference),
Focused on a particular field
Highly selective
Limited number of acceptances

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Medium Size: 1,000 to 3,000 participants
Small Society Meeting, TL1/KL2 National Meeting
Career Development Workshops
Many Different Topics
Plenary Sessions
Specialty Workshops
Oral and Poster Session
Advocacy and Funding Agency/Officials
Exhibits

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Large Size: More than 10, 000 participants
All of the above and much, much more,
(Satellite Meetings)
Demanding
Exhausting
Easy to get lost

9. What To Do Before The Meeting
Register in time
Make travel arrangements
Make hotel reservation
Plan your meeting!
Prepare your presentation

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Planning Your Meeting
Know what the purpose is of going
Study the meeting program ahead and decide
which sessions/workshops/meetings you want to go to
Be selective, do not plan too much
Build in some time for networking
Build in some time for relaxation and exercise

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Planning Ahead
Study the abstracts, know which presentations you want
or need to see/attend
Know where your presentation will be, look up the room
Work with colleagues to share information, but go on your own,
enhances possibilities to meet others
Arrange with a colleague if there are concurrent events you
would like to see/attend
Arrange to meet each other to debrief

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Planning Ahead
Plan time for networking
Identify in advance who you want to meet,
arrange a time
Ask your mentor for help with making connections
Be proactive, talk with people in the elevator, in a
food line or someone sitting next to you at the
table or meeting room

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Planning Ahead
Practice a 2-minute informal introduction!
Who are you and what do you do?
What is your research project?
How did you get interested in your research?
Why did you chose to work in this area?
What do you plan to do in the future?

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Planning Ahead
Assemble a conference binder, notebook that includes
Information about your sessions you want/need to attend
Divide it into each day, have a schedule outlined
Of the events and their locations
Have a notebook to write down information/contacts
Have printouts of your resume or bio-sketch
Have sufficient numbers of business cards to hand out

15. On A Personal Note
Study the city where the meeting is held
Look up opportunities to spend free time
Make sure you have the right clothing
for the meeting and free time

16. Your Poster Presentation
Introduction
Methods
Research Question
Hypothesis
Results Summary
Conclusions
Acknowledgments
Title
Authors and Addresses
4-6 Figures

17. What makes for a successful
Poster?
Adhere to specifications given by the meeting
Title: 120
Section Labels: 32-48
Font size
Do not include too much text
Your poster should be visual
Do not overload the poster
Use bullets, no sentences

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Pins
Extra Figures
Paper
A well prepared 3 min presentation
explaining your research
What to Bring?

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Poster Presentation
Introduction 0.5 min
Internal Section
Method
Data
Conclusion
2 min
Closing 0.5 min
Questions As requested
Turn off your cell phone

20. Be Proactive and take the initiative by asking:
“Do you want me to walk through my poster?”
Speak slowly and concisely and make eye
contact with the visitor
Introduce yourself
Listen carefully to the visitors comments
While At Your Poster

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While At Your Poster
Write comments down
Do not be defensive with your answers
Get contact information
Thank the visitor
Please stay at your poster the entire time

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Talking to Poster Presenters
Introduce yourself and be courteous
Don’t be shy to talk with poster presenters
Ask “Could you please give me a brief overview
of your poster?”
Feel free to ask probing questions, you may want
to offer suggestions
Thank the presenter
You may want to leave your contact information

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Introduction 2 min
Internal Section
Method
Data
Conclusion
7 min
Closing 1 min
Questions As requested
Your Oral Presentation
Generally a 10 min talk with 5 min for questions

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Your Oral Presentation
Remember you are telling a story!
Consider 2-3 points you want the audience to remember
Consider 1 slide per minute of your talk
Think how you transition from one point to the next
Repeat your main points at least twice
It’s a privilege to present an oral presentation

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Preparing Your Presentation
Outline your presentation before making slides
Know your talking points
Bullet the introduction with the big picture in mind
Give a Research Question and a Hypothesis
Give an abbreviated overview of your methods
Use graphs rather than tables when possible

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Preparing Your Presentation
Pay attention to the color schema you use
Use a sufficiently large font size for reading afar
Use sufficiently large font size for figures/graphs
Use questions for titles of data slides
Give a statement on the bottom of a data slide
Do not use animation

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Preparing Your Presentation
Write out your entire presentation
Make flashcards for help
Practice your presentation with mentors and peers
Time your presentation

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Presenting your Presentation
Gather yourself and thank the organizer
Speak slowly and with a natural flow
Make eye contact with the audience
Do not read your presentation!
Keep your pointer steady, point to what you want
the audience to focus on

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Presenting your Presentation
Explain each data slide, define x and y axis
Provide a summary for each data slide
Thank your mentors and collaborators
Thank the audience for their attention

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Listen carefully to the questions. Repeat the question
Answer honestly. Don’t fake. Don’t be defensive!
Write any suggestion down
After Your Presentation
It is a good strategy to stay around after the session

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Asking Questions At Oral Presentations
Think carefully about your question
Be brief when asking a question
Don’t be overly critical
Thank the presenter
Introduce yourself

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Some Final Thoughts
Be an active participant of the meeting!
Ask questions and provide suggestions
Use your time effectively
Identify new ideas, novel data or research questions
that you would like your colleagues to know
Remember, you are supported to attend the meeting!