how to give an academic talk, v3 - uni-regensburg.de · how to give an academic talk, ... medium of...

HowtoGiveanAcademicTalk,v3.1

PaulN.EdwardsSchoolofInformationUniversityofMichigan

www.si.umich.edu/~pne/ 

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COPYRIGHT1998‐2008PAULN.EDWARDS.ALLRIGHTSRESERVED.

NB: I wrote this essay on behalf of bored audiences everywhere. It is widely circulated on the Internet. As a result, I receive large volumes of email requesting help with presentations. Unfortunately, my students here at the University of Michigan are about all I can handle, so please seek personal assistance elsewhere. The Awful Academic Talk You’veseenitahundredtimes.

Thespeakerapproachestheheadoftheroomandsitsdownatthetable.(You can’t see him/her through the heads in front of you.) S/hebeginstoreadfromapaper,speakinginasoftmonotone.(You can hardly hear. Soon you’re nodding off.) Sentencesarelong,complex,andfilledwithjargon.Thespeakeremphasizescomplicateddetails.(You rapidly lose the thread of the talk.) Withfiveminutesleftinthesession,thespeakersuddenlylooksathis/herwatch.S/heannounces—inapparentsurprise—thats/he’llhavetoomitthemostimportantpointsbecausetimeisrunningout.S/heshufflespapers,becomingflusteredandconfused.(So do you, if you’re still awake.)S/hedroneson.Fifteenminutesafterthescheduledendofthetalk,thehostremindsthespeakertofinishforthethirdtime.Thespeakertrailsoffinconclusivelyandasksforquestions.(Thin, polite applause finally rouses you from dreamland.)  

Whydootherwisebrilliantpeoplegivesuchsoporifictalks?Foronething,they’rescared.Thepatternisanunderstandable,ifdysfunctional,reactiontostagefright.It’seasiertohidebehindthearmorofawrittenpaper,whichyou’vehadplentyoftimetoworkthrough,thansimplytotalk.Butsecond,andmuchmoreimportant,it’spartofacademicculture—especiallyinthehumanities.It'sembeddedinourlanguage:wesaywe'regoingto"giveapaper."Asaeuphemismforatalk,that'sanoxymoron.Presentations are not journal articles.They'reacompletelydifferentmediumofcommunication,andtheyrequireadifferentsetofskills.Professorsoftenfailtorecognizethis.Evenmoreoften,theyfailtoteachittotheirgraduatestudents.Everybodyhastoconfrontstagefrightinhisorherownway.Butacademiccultureissomethingwecandeliberatelychange.Thispamphletattemptstojump‐startthatprocesswithsomepointersforeffectivepublicspeaking.Principles of Effective Talks Listeningishardwork.Especiallyatconferences,whereaudienceslistentomanytalksovermanyhours,people need the speaker’s helptomaintaintheirfocus.Therefore,anyeffectivetalkmustdothreethings:

(1)Communicateyourargumentsandevidence,(2)Persuadeyouraudiencethattheyaretrue,and(3)Beinterestingandentertaining.

Inourobsessionwithpersuasiveargumentsandevidence,academicssometimesforgetaboutthethirditemonthislist.Sometimeswethinkitfollowsautomaticallyfromthefirsttwo.(Itdoesn’t.)Sometimesweevenscoffatthegoalitself.Perversely,someofusseemtobelievethatifatalkisentertainingoreasytofollow,it’sprobablynotverydeep.Theseattitudesareseriouslymistaken.It is impossible to communicate and persuade effectively without entertaining as well.Keepingpeopleinterestedandinvolved—entertainingthem—mattersbecauseinordertocommunicateyourworkanditsvalue,youneedtheirfullattention.Thisisthetruemeaningandsignificanceof“entertainment.”Inanacademictalk,entertainmentisn’taboutmakingyouraudiencelaughordistractingthemfromtheirtroubles,butsimplyaboutkeepingthemfocusedonandinterestedinwhatyouhavetosay.Some Rules of Thumb Noruleappliesalwaysandeverywhere.Butthefollowingprinciplesworkalmostallthetime.

USUALLY BETTER  USUALLY WORSE 

Talk Read

Stand Sit

Move Standstill

Varythepitchofyourvoice Speakinamonotone

Speakloudly,facingtheaudience Mumble,facingdownward

Makeeyecontact Stareatyourlaptop

Focusonmainpoints Getlostindetails

Useoutlines,images,andcharts Havenovisualaids

Finishwithinyourtimelimit Runovertime

Rehearse Don’tpracticebecauseyou’retoobusyworkingontheslides

Summarizeyourmainpointsatthebeginningandend

Startwithoutanoverview;trailoffwithoutaconclusion

Noticeyouraudienceandrespondtoitsneeds

Ignoreaudiencebehavior

Emulateexcellentspeakers Emulateyouradvisor,evenifs/hegiveslousytalks

Thislistreallysaysitall,buthere'salittlediscussionaboutwhytheseprinciplesaresoimportant.

Talk,ratherthanread.Writtenacademiclanguageisusuallyquitecomplex—farmorecomplexthanordinaryspeech.Sentencestendtobelong,withmanyclausesandarcanevocabularythatbecomeimpossibletofollowwhenreadaloud.Sowhilegoodacademicstylecanmakebeautifulreading,thatdoesn'ttranslateintobeautifulspeaking.

Don't read. Just talk—you'llbeeasiertounderstand,andyou'llmakegenuinecontactwith

youraudience.Furthermore,ultimatelyyou'llthinkmoreclearly.Ifyoucan'tcommunicateyourpointsbytalking(withoutreading),howwelldoyoureallyknowwhatyouwanttosay?

Onethingmanynovicepresentersforgetisthatlisteningtosomeonereadbulletpointsoffa

slidecanbeevenmorestupefyingthanlisteningtothemreadapaper.Youraudiencewillusuallyreadtheentireslideinthefirst30secondsit'sonthescreen,farfasterthanyoucanreaditaloud.Don'tinsulttheirintelligencebyrecitingittothem.Instead,usethebulletpointsmainlyasmemoryjogs;speakaboutthemandfromthem,ratherthanreadingaloud.Ifyouabsolutelymustreadfromatext—andasabeginneryoumayfeelyouhavenootherchoice—keepyourtextseparatefromyourslides.

Standup.Ifpeoplearesittinginrows,standup,evenifthereareonlyafew.Thisletspeoplein

thebackrowsseeyourfaceandhearyoubetter.(Ruleofthumb:ifyoucan'tseetheirfaces,theycan'tseeyours.)Standingalsoputsyouinadominantposition.Thissoundspoliticallyincorrect,butit’snot.Remember,you’rethefocus.Theaudiencewantsyoutobeincharge,sogoaheadandtakethetop‐dogposition,physicallyabovetheirheads.

Exception:seminar‐stylepresentationsaroundatablewithonlyafewpeople(fewerthan

eightorten).Inthissituation,everyonecanseeyouandstandingupusuallyseemstooformal.

Movearound.It’seasiertokeepfocusedonsomeonewho’smovingthanonamotionless

talkinghead.Handgesturesaregood,too.Don'thesitatetoshowyourenthusiasmforyourtopic;it'sinfectious.

It’spossibletooverdothisone,though.Ifyouleaparoundlikearockstarorstabtheair

withraphands,you'lldistractpeoplefromthecontentofthetalk.Simplywalkingbackandforthfromonesideoftheroomtotheotherevery3‐4minutesisusuallyenough.

Varythepitchofyourvoice.Monotonesaresleep‐inducing.Manypeopledon’trealizetheydo

this.Getatrustedfriendorcolleaguetolistentoyourdeliveryandgiveyouhonestfeedback.(Thisisanimportantprincipleinitself!)Evenbetter,tapeorvideotapeyourselfandcheckouthowyousound.

Speakloudlyandclearly,facingtheaudience.Becareful,especiallywhenusingvisualaids,that

youcontinuetofacetheaudiencewhenyouspeak.Turningaroundtolookatyourownslidescanleadyoutospeaktothescreen.Thismutesyourvoiceandbreaksyourcontactwiththeaudience.Instead,trainyourselftolookatslidesonyourlaptopscreen(andbesureitisinfrontofyou,notofftoonesideorbehindyou.)Ifyouabsolutelymustlookatthemainscreen,trainyourselftoglanceatitbrieflyandthenturnbacktotheaudience.

Thisisonereasonwhysimple,unclutteredslideswithminimal textarecrucial.Ifyouhavetoomuchtext,you'llhavetroublekeepingtrackofwhereyouareinthetalk.

About Vocal Technique Publicspeakingismuchlikesinging.Ittakesalotofair.You'regoingforvolume,range,andeffect.Youwanttofillthewholeroomwithyourvoice;peopleinthebackrowsmustbeabletohearyouclearly.Makearecordingofyourselfspeakinginalargeroom.Doyoutalkinamonotone?Doyoumumble?Doyouspeaktoofast?Doyouprojectconfidenceandauthority,ordoeseverystatementcomeoutsoundinglikeaquestion?Speakfromthegut,notthethroat.Learnabout,andpractice,diaphragmaticbreathing(breathingfromthebelly,ratherthanthechest).Nervousnesstendstomakebreathingshallowandrapid,butwhatyouneedisexactlytheopposite.Breathedeeply—it’snecessarytogeneratevolume,andwillalsohelpyoukeepyourmindclear.Ifyoudon't,youcanactuallypassoutfromlackofoxygen.Really.Usethebottomofyourvocalrange,itsdeepestpitch.Thisisalsoyourloudestandmostcommandingtone,andithelpsestablishyourlegitimacyandauthority.(Thiscanbeespeciallyimportantforwomen.)Mostpeopledon'trealizehowquietlytheyspeak.Whenyouhitanadequatevolume,youmayfeellikeyou'reshouting.It'sbettertobeabittooloudthantooquiet.Aimyourvoiceatthepeopleinthelastrow,notthoseinthefront.Thistakesconsiderablepractice,especiallytomaintainasufficientvolumethroughoutatalk.Ifsoundreinforcement(amicrophone)isavailable,itusuallymakessensetouseit.Silenceisacrucialelementofspeech.Acontinuousflowofspeechsoonbecomessoporific.Stoptheflowofsoundfrequentlybypausingbrieflyattheendsofsentences,orbetweenslides.Sometimespeopledroneonbecausetheyfearbeinginterrupted.Remember:you'reincontrolduringatalk,soyoudon'thavetoacceptinterruptionsiftheydohappen.Tip:usevocal“specialeffects."Forexample:(1)Echokeyphrases.Whenyouhitaphraseyouwantpeopletoremember,"echo"it:repeatit,once,thenmoveon.(2)Pauseforafewseconds—that'slongerthanyoumayrealize—atseveralpointsinyourtalk.Thisgivesyouachancetosipsomewater,whichwilllubricateyourthroat.Theselongpauseswillre‐awakenanyonewho'stunedout.

Makeeyecontactwithyouraudience.Ifthisisanxiety‐inducingforyou,atleastpretendto

makeeyecontactbycastingyourgazetowardthebackandsidesoftheroom.Peoplewillthinkyouarelookingatsomeone,evenifyouonlylookatthewalljustabovetheirheads.Anothertechniqueistolocateafewfriendlyindividuals,atdifferentplacesintheroom,andspeakdirectlytothem,switchingfrequentlyfromonetoanother.

Avoid "siding." Becarefulnottoignoreonesideoftheaudience.Manyspeakers“side”

unconsciously,lookingalwaystotheleftortotherighthalf,oronlytothefrontortheback,oftheroom.Becauseitforcesyoutostandfartoonesideortheother,usingaprojector

tendstoamplifythiseffect.Movingbackandforthperiodically,fromonesideofthescreentotheother,canminimizethiseffect.

Speakersalsotendtoconcentrateonthosewhoseemtoberespondingwell(nodding,

smiling,etc.).This can be a trap.Inprofessionalsituations,it’softenthepeoplewhoarefrowning,fallingasleep,orseemingboredwhomyoumostneedtodrawin.Iflookingatthemdirectlymakesyouuneasy—anditcanbeextremelyflustering—usethetechniqueofcastingyourgazejustabovetheirheadstowardthebackoftheroom.

Focusonmainpoints.Especiallyinaconferencesituation,wheretalksareshortandyoursis

justoneofmany,youraudienceisnotgoingtorememberdetails.Insuchasituation,lessismore.Givethemshort,striking“punchlines”thatthey’llremember.Theycanalwaysreadyourwrittenworklater,butifyoudon’tgettheminterestedandshowthemwhyit’simportant,theywon'tlearnenoughtowanttoreadit.

Usevisualaids.Amongthemostimportantprinciplesofall.Ataminimum,haveanoutlineof

yourtalk.Somespeakersseemtothinkthey’regivingeverythingawaybyshowingpeoplewhatthey’regoingtosaybeforethey’vesaidit.Instead,theeffectofagoodtalkoutline,wellpresented,isexactlytheopposite:itmakesyouraudiencecurioustohearthedetails.Atthesametime,ithelpsthemfollowthestructureofyourthinking.

Slidesshouldbeextremelyconciseandvisuallyuncluttered.Slidesaremaps,notterritories;

theyaretrackingdevicesthatletbothyouandyouraudiencefollowtheflowofthetalk.Therefore,theymustnotbeoverfilled.6linesoftextperslideisgood;9linesisalot;12linesisprettymuchunreadable.Bulletpointsshouldbenomorethanafewwords—NOTcompletesentences.

Ifyouneedmorespace,usemoreslides.OneofthebeautiesofPowerPointisthatyoucan

haveasmanyslidesasyouwant.I'veseenextremelyeffectivepresentationswithonlyonewordonmostslides,onlyoneimageonmanyothers.

Alwayschoosewhiteorlight‐coloredslidebackgrounds.Why?Toseelighttextondark

slides,you’llhavetoturndownthelights,oreventurnthemoff.Thismakesithardtoseeyournotes,thepodium,etc.Worse,itwilltendtoputyouraudiencetosleep.Really.Darktextonlight‐coloredslidescanusuallybereadwithlightsonandshadesopen.Don'tletyourhost,oranyoneelse,managethelightingforyou—tellthemyouprefertoleavethelightson.Ifyoucanseeit,youraudiencecanprobablyseeittoo.Ifindoubt,walktothebackoftheroomandcheck.

Peoplearevisualcreatures,andtheoldadagethatapictureisworthathousandwordsis

especiallyaproposhere.Pictures,graphs,charts,cartoons,andotherimagescanbeextremelyhelpful.Aswithtext,keepthemsimpleanduncluttered.Also,avoiddarkimagesthatwon'tshowupwellonascreen.

Avoidthepitfallsofvideo.Inthecontextofa45‐minutetalk,evenone3‐minutevideoclip

canseeminterminable.Morethanonecanmakepeoplewanttoscream.Theyalsobreaktheflow,andeatuptimebettersavedforyourpresentation.Ifyoureallyneedvideoforyourtopic,editclipstoanabsoluteminimumlength.30‐40secondsisagoodgoal.

About Powerpoint 

Powerpoint,Keynote,andotherpresentationsoftware—standardissueinmanysettings—canbeagreattool,notleastbecauseitsdefaultformatsencouragebrevity.Butbeware:PowerPoint’sfades,transitions,backgrounds,soundeffects,andsooncanbearealpitfall.Glitzingupyourpresentationscanturnintoaserioustimesink,detractingfromthefarmoreimportanttimeyouspendoncontent.Also,theycangiveyouraudiencetheimpressionthatyoucaremoreaboutsurfacethansubstance.Finally,theycancausebreakdownsduringthepresentationiftheydon'tworkasyouexpectthemto.Whichisoften.Andnothingirritatesanaudiencemorethanwatchingsomebodyfiddlefranticallywithacomputerinthemiddleofatalk.So—keepeverythingbasic,atleastuntilyou'vecompletelymasteredthesoftware..

  Talk to the audience, not the screen.Oneoftheworstpresentermistakesistofacethe

screenwhiletalking.Ifyoudothis,theaudiencewillbelookingatyourback,andtheywon'tbeabletohearyou.Instead,haveyourlaptop,orapaperversionofyournotes,infrontofyou.Speakfromthat,ratherthanfromtheslidesonthescreen. This takes practice, practice, and more practice. Everyoneelseisstaringatthescreen,soyoumayfindyourselfdrawntostareatittoo.

Plan for Disaster: Computers and Murphy's Law Computersintroducemanypossiblepointsoffailureintopresentations,soMurphy'sLaw—"whatevercangowrong,willgowrong"—appliesinspades.Somethingcan,andusuallydoes,gowrongwiththecomputer,theprojector,thesoftware,theconnectorcables,yourthumbdrive,oryourpresentationitself.NeverassumethatwhatworksonaPCwillworkonaMac,orviceversa.Youalsocan'tassumeyourhostwillhavethesameversionofPowerPointthatyoudo.Inquireinadvance.Bringbackup.Evenifyoubringyourowncomputer,badnesscanhappen.Myharddiskdriveoncecrashed—permanently—onslidenumber3ofaone‐hourtalk.Thiskindofthingnotonlycanhappentoyou,itwillhappentoyou.Thequestionisn'twhether,butwhen.So:ifyouuseacomputer,alwaysbringbackup.That'sbackup,backup,backup.Beginmakingbackupsseveraldaysbeforethetalk.UseaUSBthumbdrive,aCD‐ROM,orsomeothercommonmedium;networkbackupisn'treliable,sinceyoucan'tbesureyou'llhaveaconnection.Youcankeepthumbdrivesinapocketorhangthemaroundyourneck.Thatway,evenifsomebodystealsyourbagoryourlaptop,you’vestillgotthebackup.Planfordisaster.Bringprintednotesoroutlines.Ifthecomputerortheprojectorcommitssuicideinthemiddleofyourtalk,you'llhavenotimeatalltofixit.None.So:alwaysbepreparedtodeliveryourtalkwithouttheslides,asalastresort.Thisiswhereyouwillreallybegladyoubroughtprintednotes.Speakingwithoutslidesisonething,butspeakingwithoutANYnotesisaskillonlythegreatestpresentersevermaster.

Summarizeyourtalkatthebeginningandagainattheend.“Tell‘emwhatyou’regonnatell‘em;tell‘em;andtell‘emwhatyoutold‘em”:thisancientprinciplestillholds.Followingthisrulehelpsyouraudiencegetyourmainpoints.Evenmoreimportant,ithelpsthemrememberwhatyousaid.Whichis,afterall,whyyou’rethere.Youcanbecreativeabouthowyougivesuchanoutline;afewphrasescandothewholejob,posingapuzzleoraproblemyou'reabouttosolveandshowingthewaytothesolution.

Noticeyouraudienceandrespondtoneeds.Ifpeopleseemtobefallingasleep,orgetting

restlessordistracted,theproblemmaynotbeyouoryourtalk.Istheroomtoohotortoocold?Isittoodark,ortoonoisy?Canpeopleseeyou?Isthemicrophoneon?Issomethingoutsidetheroomdistractingpeople?Don’thesitatetostoptalkinginordertosolvetheseproblems.

Alternatively,youmayhavegoneontoolong,oryoumayneedtospeaklouder.Whatever

thecase,noticewhat’shappeninganduseitasfeedback.Ifyoucan’tfigureoutwhyyouraudienceisrespondingpoorly,asksomebodylaterandfixtheproblemnexttime.

Ifyou’renotsurewhetherpeoplecanseeorhear,asksomeoneinthebackrowdirectly.

(Thisisalsoagoodtechniqueforsettingupinitialcommunicationwithyouraudience.Itmakeslistenersfeelincluded,andputsyouintouchwiththemashumanbeings.)

Tip:Takingchargeofthetalkenvironmentispartofyourjobasaspeaker.Neverletothers

controlroomconditions.Many"helpful"audiencemembersreacttotheuseofaprojectorbyjumpinguptoturnofflightsandclosewindowshades.Unlessthisistrulynecessary,avoiditatallcosts,especiallyatconferences,whichoftentakeplaceinexceedinglydimhotelmeetingrooms.

Finishwithinyourtimelimit.Don'tdissyouraudiencebyrunningovertime.Nevergolonger

than45minutes—mostpeople’smaximumattentionspan.Ifyouexceedthislimit,you’lllosethematthecrucialpoint,namelyyourconclusion.Whateverthetimelimit,respectit.

Inconferencesettings,exceedingyourtimelimitisalsoincrediblyrude,sinceitcutsinto

otherspeakers’allottedtimeand/orthediscussionperiod.Ifanineffectivepanelchairfailstorestrainaspeakerwhorunsover,waitacoupleofminutes,theninterrupt(politely)andsaysomethinglike"I'msorry,butI'dliketobesurewehaveenoughtimeformytalkaswell."Noonewillholdthatagainstyou.

Ifyoudorunshortontime,trytoavoidsayinganythingaboutit.Talkingaboutyourown

timingwasteswordsanddrawsunwantedattentiontoyourapparentlackofpreparation.Justpause,makesomeadjustmentssoyoucanfinishontime:skipslides,saylessabouteachone,jumptotheconclusion.

About timing Timingatalkwellisamongthemostcrucialofpresentationskills.Nothing'smoreembarrassingthangettingonlyhalfwaythroughyourtalkbeforehittingthetimelimit.Practice,practice,practice.Theonlywaytobesureyoutimethingsrightistorehearseyourtalk:everywordofit,exactlyasyouplantodeliverit.Timingisacomplicated,learnedskillthatrequiresalotofpractice—sopracticewhereit'seasyandcomfortable,i.e.athome,orwithotherstudents.Haveatimingdevice.Youare(oryou'rebecoming)aprofessionalpresenter.Soinvestinawatchespeciallyforthispurpose.Somedigitalwatcheshavecountdowntimers,betterthanordinarywatchesbecauseyoudon'thavetoperformmentalmathtoknowhowmuchtimeremains.Buttheseonlyworkif(a)youremembertousethetimer,(b)thenumbersarelargeenoughtoreadeasilywhileyou'retalking,and(c)you'repayingattention,soyoucanturnoffthetimerbeforeitbeginstobeep.Ananalogwatchwithlarge,easy‐to‐readhandscanbebetter,butstillrequiresmentalmath.PowerPoint’s“PresenterTools”hasastopwatch.Thisisagreatwaytokeepclosetrackofyourtime.Theproblem,onceagain,isrememberingtostartthestopwatchatthebeginningofyourtalk.Personally,Ifinditeasiesttouseananalogwatch.Youcandevelopyoursenseoftimingbyalwaysusingthesameslideformat.Afteryou’vegivenafewtalkswiththesameformat,alittlequickmathwilltellyouhowmanyminutesitusuallytakesyoutotalkthroughoneslide.Fromthere,youcanestimatethelengthofanewtalkfromthenumberofslides.Decideinadvancewhatyoucanskip.Makeasmallmarkondispensableslides,ifyouneedto.Ifyoudorunshortontime,ALWAYSskipslidesinthemiddleandjumptotheconclusionsoyoucanspendenoughtimeonthat.NEVERjustplowahead,talkingfasterandfasterandtryingtocramitallin.You'llonlysucceedinirritatingyouraudienceandforcingyourhosttocutyoushort;thiscanonlyendbadly.Tip:Sayyouhave20minutestotalk.Whenyou'rerehearsing,markyournotesorslideswhenyouhitthe5,10,and15minutepoints,maybealsothe18‐minutepoint.Thatwayyouwon'tbecaughtbysurpriseifyoustarttorunovertime.Anothertip:untilyou'vereallymasteredpresenting,never, evertrytoimproviseduringatalk.Thisdoesn'tmeanyoucan'tinterruptyourselftotellajokeorastory,ordigressabitfromthemainthread—thosecanbeimportanttechniquesforentertainingyouraudience,keepingtheirattention,andshowingyourhumanside.Whatitdoesmeanisthatyou must rehearse those things as well, because they take time.Ifyouhaven'tpracticedthem,youwon'thaveanyideahowlongtheytake(usuallyalotlongerthanyouthink).Likeaprofessionalcomedianoractor,youneedtopracticeeverythingyouplantodo—includingthingsyouwantyouraudiencetothinkyou’reimprovising.

Keepcontrolofthetalksituation.Sometimespeoplewillinterruptyouduringyourtalk.Ifit’sjustaclarifyingquestionandit’sshort,fine.Justansweritandmoveon.Butmuchmoretime‐consumingandflusteringsituationscanoccur—forexample,somebodykeepsburstinginwithlong,loudcomments,orbeginstoarguewithyouinthemiddleofyourtalk.Thiskindofthingcanbeextremelydisturbing,especiallyearlyinyourcareerasagradstudentorprofessor.

Unlikesoccergames,talkperiodsdon’tgetextendedtomakeupfortime‐outscausedby

theaudience.Soyoucan'taffordtoletsomebodyupstageyouforfiveortenminutes,becauseyouwon'tgetthattimeback.Thetrickistoplanforthistohappenanddevelopastrategyformaintainingcontrol.

ThebesttechniquesI'vefoundarethefollowing.First,castaglanceatwhomeverischairing

theconferencesession,oryoursponsoratajobtalk.Ifyou’relucky,thatpersonwillintervene.Second,youcanwaitpolitelyforabreakintheoutburst,thensayascalmlyaspossiblesomethinglike:“Thankyouforyourcomment.I’dliketorespond,butifyoudon’tmindI’llholdthatforthequestionperiod.”

Yourlastalternativetakessteelnerves,butsometimesthere’snootherchoice.For

example,yourtormentorwon'tquit.S/heseemsdeterminedtodroneonfortenminutesandnobodyseemswillingtostophim/her.Thisiswhenyouneedtosayloudlybutfirmly,asauthoritativelyasyoucan:“Sir(ormadam),pleaseallowmetofinishmytalk.”Thenimmediately,withoutwaitingforananswer,proceedandignorefurtherinterruptionsfromthatperson.Remember,everyoneintheaudienceisprobablyfeelingyourpainandwishingsomebodywouldshutthispersonup.Ifyoucanmusterthecouragetoclosethehecklerdown,otherswillpileon,andyou'llbesaved.

Emulateexcellentspeakers.Theverybestwaytobecomeanexcellentspeakeryourselfisto

watchreallygood,experiencedspeakersandmodelyourtalksontheirs.I'msureyouradvisorisagreatthinkerorscientist,butthisdoesnotnecessarilytranslateautomaticallyintogreatpublicspeaking.Academiaisfulloflousyspeakers,soyoumayhavetolookhardtofindatrulygreatrolemodel.

Whenyoudofindrolemodels,noticenotjustwhattheysay,butwhattheydo:howthey

move,howtheyusetheirvoices,howtheylookattheaudience,howtheyhandletimingandquestions.(Caution:it'simportanttofindsomeoneinyourfieldtoemulate.Greatpoliticalspeakingstyles,television‐personalitystyles,etc.don'tusuallyworkwellinacademicsettings.Respectthespeakingconventionsofyourownsocialworld.)

Ifyoufindanexcellentmodelandworkhardtoemulatethatperson,youcan'tgowrong.

Yourownstylewillcomeintime.

Last words: Practiceeverything.Testeverything.Planfordisaster.Showupatthetalksiteatleast15

minutesearly—30minutesifpossible—tocheckequipment,mountandtestyourslides,scopeouttheroom,andgetcomfortableinthesetting.