Thank you to all who submitted proposals for the C2020 conference. If you will be presenting at the June conference, you may be interested in some tips on creating presentations to help get you started.

While you will need to prepare a standalone presentation for posting in the CES Grey Literature database after your presentation, the in-session presentation (e.g., PowerPoint) ideally should be a pared down version of your presentation. In essence, it should serve as a memory aide that you speak to. You want the focus to be on what you are saying. People are not good at reading and listening attentively at the same time.

Another tip is to have both a strong beginning and ending. You want your audience to sit up and take notice, to be actively engaged in listening right from the start. Repeating the title of your presentation or giving a brief summary of what you are going to say typically doesn’t answer the question, “Why should I listen?” If you can, give them a compelling reason to listen.

A strong, well-rehearsed ending is just as important. If for some reason you need to end your presentation sooner than anticipated, having a strong, well-rehearsed ending will help you finish on a high note.

See the C2020 blog post for some more suggestions. We look forward to your presentation in June!