EUPOP2014: Conference Papers - Top Tips
Panel presentations should be no longer than 20 mins.
If you are writing your paper, 3,000 words should be your upper limit. Ideally, you should play it safe and aim for 2,750 (ish). If you are using clips, then you should cut your word limit accordingly.
Whether you are a post-graduate student or an experienced lecturer, please try to make sure that your paper is an engaging presentation. Try to avoid simply reading out an essay or an extract of a chapter / thesis.
Top tips for good presentations:
Keep to your allocated 20 minutes.
Have a clear structure and focus.
Signpost throughout - what specifically will you be focusing on? Make it explicit when you are approaching the conclusion.
Keep it simple, there is only so much you can do in 20 minutes.
Try to make lots of eye contact with a range of people in the audience. If you are too nervous to do that, at least try to look up and at a point at the back of the room.
Slow down and try to speak as clearly as possible.
Drink water at intervals in your paper, to help slow yourself down and to make your speech clearer.
Vary your tone - think of yourself as an actor on the stage.
Convey your enthusiasm for the subject. Think about how your body language can convey a presence.
Images always help to focus the audience’s attention, particularly if they are not familiar with the topic / texts that you are discussing.
Please make sure that you have practiced / timed your paper (including any clips). In order to make sure that everyone gets equal time and there is time remaining for questions, chairs will be keeping all presenters to a strict time limit and will if needs be cut people short.
Conferences can be nerve racking for even the most seasoned academic, so please be nice, kind and supportive of all the presenters. Remember, as a European Popular Culture Association conference, many of our delegates will be presenting with English as their second language, so please be patient and understanding.
During the Q&A sessions at the end of each panel, try to ask short, focused and constructive questions. If you want to chat for longer, then use breaks, lunchtime and the evenings to do so.
If you have a critical point to make about a paper, please think carefully and be considerate how and where you do it. Please be sensitive, as a flippant or overly critical remark may squash someone’s confidence.
The panels should mark the beginning, not the end of the conversations. We hope that the papers will spark a range of conversations at and beyond the conference.
We want EUPOP2014 to be a friendly, supportive and inspiring conference. So, if you spot a delegate on their own, looking lost, or without anyone to talk to, please try and make the effort to chat to them. They could be the most interesting person you’ve spoken to that day.
