Subject: Conference protocols: 625 words is 5 minutes

Lacey was kind enough to type up her notes from our session on everything
you need to know for our Sunday conference.  I attach them here.

Please note, 1 page is 250 words (Courier 10 cpi, normal margin, full
double space).  2 1/2 pages is 625 words.  That should be exactly 5
minutes.

Thank you Lacey!  Here is it:  How to make a splash at our conference.

It will start at 8:30 in the morning with opening remarks, etc it will be
a real conference except in miniature, an exquisite little conference.
small but perfect and it is essential that everyone follows guidelines

There will be chairs, discussants and panelists... the assignments will be
made based on ppl's interests. 

Academics are by and large poor performers, you can find out a lot about a
person by their performance at a conference, the trick is to do a good
job. 

Prepare your oral presentation. it should be tight and delivered well.
no more than 625 words . 625 wds = 5 minutes. this is critically
important. Academics are usually scrupulous abt time. going over time is
the rudest thing you can do, it is theft. This is not an idle exercise, it
is abt the size of an abstract, the kind you would submit to places to
have pprs accepted for a conference.

Write concise, short sentences, be explicit from the outset about
the point, direct, very clearly organized, should have a good sense of
structure (complexity isnt an advantage here) It doesnt hurt to tell
audience what to anticipate.. also dont let a/v props and equipment
overwhelm your presentation, use a/v effectively. it should be completely
integrated

dont take presentation time to shwo video. sometimes if it isnt too
obtrusive you can have it run in the background with no sound... all of
this needs to be integrated and integral. also get a buddy to do your a/v
stuff for you, you should be worry free during your presentation and then
you can do the same for them

run slides through before you show them

use slides.etc appropriately so that you dont upstage yourself

(photographics on 17th will do slides for you, $5 each)

handouts are very effective way to convey point. menu, diagrams, charts,
lists, statistics, outlines, quotes... somethings work better as a handout
than a projection. 

humor appropriately used is always appreciated, when it is done well it is
called wit, not gratutitous. also abt presentation, rememebr spoken
language is differnt from written language... it has to be focused and you
cant present everything... need to convey sense of whole project and then
focus on one or two aspects. to give whole project and then something for
us to be concrete and specific about and vivid. do it in a way that
carries the argument 

good to repeat yourself: (1)tell them what you are going to tell them 
(2) tell them (3) tell them what you told them. 

 strategic, short pithy quotes sometimes help out

avoid passive voice -- it takes the agency out of the writing, it isnt
clear who did something. also avoid embedded , complicated sentences

delivery -- eye contact, mustnt rush and if you know you are within the
time limit you wont have to... even mark the point of emphasis on your
copy so to remind you while you are reading to slow down


should be engaged in what you are reading


CHAIR
ask individual panelist to give a sentence abt how they would like to be
introduced and then announce panel... say a few words abt the rationale of
the panel and introduce panel... chair is also time  keeper. digital watch
is best. You can pass a "one minute left note" one way of getting around
this is letting the chair know in advance that you are within the time
limit and for them not to worry. there will be 15-25 minutes of open
discusson moderated by the chair

DISCUSSANTS
academic improvisitory theatre .. listens and responds on the spot ... pl
need practice at this. bkg's favorite part of a conference... have to
listen carefully to everything. bkg will take notes in 2 columns..in one
side what she hears and the other what she is thinking. notes are a good
way to pay attention. usually towards the end of a panel you get a sense
of a sequence or idea or theme or project .... then you get 2 minutes to
present your thoughts. the discussants job is to prime the panel, to think
across papers. 

AUDIENCE 
important role. It is their job to make certain that all of the panelists
are being paid attention to. that questions are being directed to
everyone. chair can address question to someone also. you have a
responsibility to pose questions to others, your job to ask interesting
questions, avoid grandstanding (20 minute questions) this is
inappropriate, requires judgement abt how much airspace to take up. 

with bad papers you are in the position of the alchemist, to make gold out
of shit. you can use the opportunity to say something interesting,
generate discussion of what the topic could have said, a salvage operation

these presentations are their own worst punishment, they dont require any
more harm than necessary

a conference is a place to show supprt for collegues and for them to show
their support for you.  be there for each other, in body and spirit.

have fun!    -- Lacey Torge