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Welcome to Econnect Communication’s February 2007 newsletter –
‘Making conferences work for you’.
We welcome any comments or thoughts you might have on this
topic.
We’d also like to welcome our new Office Manager, Shonette
Wilder, who is adding youthful energy to our office. You’ll soon
be able to read more about Shonette on our website.
Regards,
Econnect Communication
Jenni Metcalfe, Michelle Riedlinger, Mary O’Callaghan, Sarah
Bartlett, Melanie McKenzie, Tara Thorne, and Shonette Wilder.
In this issue: Making
conferences work for you
Seven tips for getting the most out of
conferences
Powerpoint - love it or hate it?
Memorable
conferences
Media
publicity for your conference?
Surf club
Quotation of the month
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Seven tips for getting the most out of conferences
By Tara Thorne
Conferences can offer great opportunities for networking,
learning, and sharing knowledge. But a conference can be an
overwhelming (or worse, underwhelming) experience if you don’t
know what to expect. Read the following tips and make the most
of your next conference*.
-
Read the abstracts for each session and plan which ones
you’ll attend before the conference.
-
Focus on thinking about what the speaker is saying and being
involved (i.e. asking questions) rather than attempting to
write down every word. Pick up handouts and check whether
papers are available on the conference website.
-
Don’t try to attend every session — it’s about the quality
of your experience, not the quantity.
-
Introduce yourself to any of the speakers or other attendees
who interest you.
-
After you meet a new contact and receive their business
card, write brief notes on the back of the card. Note the
date and place of your meeting, a few words on what you
discussed, and whether you need to follow up on your
discussion. This will jog your memory and provide a good
starting point for future contact.
-
The relaxed atmosphere of social events is where you’ll gain
some of the most useful information and/or contacts of the
conference.
-
Share your conference experience with colleagues who
couldn’t attend. They will be grateful, and it will help you
to organise your thoughts.
*Some of these
tips were adapted from the
Australian Library and Information Association New
Librarians' Symposium website.
Powerpoint - love it or hate it?
By
Mary O'Callaghan
I’m sure you’ve seen them too. They stand with their
back to you, reading directly from slides crammed with
text. They tease you with one-at-a-time bullet points
that fly in with a swoosh. And by the time you’ve
figured out the graph, they’ve changed the topic, the
next dull slide is up and you’ve missed the crucial
point.
It’s all PowerPoint’s fault, right?
Not according to cognitive scientist Don Norman. In his
essay,
In Defense of PowerPoint,
he says we’ve been enduring dull and boring talks since
long before PowerPoint existed. Rather than blame the
tool, he suggests that speakers prepare three different
documents:
-
personal notes for the speaker’s eyes only
-
illustrative slides that add to the talk, not
distract (e.g. photographs, drawings, graphs)
-
handouts than can be taken away and studied
(designed for the reader, not the listener)
‘My favourite slide is one that is all black,’ says
Norman. ‘I ask the facilities people to turn up the
lights when that appears. Then I can communicate with
the audience.’
Memorable conferences
By Michelle Riedlinger
The best and most memorable conferences I have attended have
had:
-
controversial and provoking conference openers and keynotes
rather than the usual suspects (not too many sponsors or
ministers!)
-
a mixture of presentation and discussion sessions, including
panel discussions (they are more time consuming to organise
but they are some of the most memorable conference sessions
I have attended)
-
experienced session chairs that stick to time and encourage
discussion (don’t rely on volunteers — choose competent
chairs and brief them beforehand on what is required from
them)
-
unobtrusive audiovisuals (deal with speakers’ audiovisual
requirements early and be available the day before, or early
in the mornings, for speakers to check their presentations —
hire a professional if you can afford it)
-
time for unstructured interaction (the Barcelona Public
Communication of Science and Technology Conference had
wonderful two-hour lunches! Don’t try to pack too much into
the day)
-
a comfortable venue (visit the venue and check that seating
and air-conditioning is appropriate for the number of
attendees - and the session formats. Check noise levels)
-
good refreshments (provide plenty of fruit and salads — and
places to sit while eating)
-
internet facilities (otherwise attendees wander off in
search of them!)
Fun activities outside conference hours can
also help make a conference memorable for attendees.
Media publicity for your
conference?
By Jenni Metcalfe
At many conferences, speakers tell wonderful stories about their
research that the general public will never get to hear. To
share these stories with a much broader audience than the
conference crowd, you might think about promoting some of the
key speakers and topics to the media and inviting journalists to
attend. This can set the whole conference abuzz about the media
coverage coming out of each day’s sessions. It makes delegates
feel they are part of something bigger. If you want to promote
your conference to the media, you should consider:
-
hiring a media liaison officer to help you plan media
coverage, identify potential stories, and liaise with the
media
-
involving the media liaison officer in planning the
conference right from the beginning — they often have ideas
about good speakers and issues that will interest the media
-
inviting media representatives relevant to your field to
attend the conference and find their own stories, and having
people on hand to help them track down interviewees
-
organising a dedicated media room at your conference where
journalists can work
For more information on
media at conferences see
our website
or
contact us.
Surf club
The World Conference for Science Journalists
is for science communicators too! Check out the many workshops,
speakers, and other program details at:
www.scienceinmelbourne2007.org/
We hope to see you there.
Quotation of the month
‘All
my life I've had one dream: to achieve my many goals.’
Homer Simpson |
