ENDING ON TIME

Lewis Carroll (1866) in Through the Looking Glass warned ‘. . . Beware the Jabberwocky . . .’ The lack of good timing of your presentation could be your Jabberwocky. Beware.
You will be given a certain number of minutes in which to speak. Typically this is 20 minutes, which includes time for someone to introduce you and time at the end for you to answer questions. Be prepared to accept that whatever length of time you are given it will not be enough to explain your research in full detail. However, it is vital that you stay within your time limit. Vital.

Nothing angers the audience or the organizers more than a speaker who goes overtime. Either the next speaker will have less time or the schedule of the whole conference will be delayed – and you, you, will be the Jabberwocky who caused it.

Here is the way to stay within an allotted number of minutes: First you must force yourself to be realistic about how much you can explain, slowly and carefully, in the length of time you are given. Perhaps you have valuable, lengthy results, which need explanation of procedure, background, and future possibilities. Too bad, too bad, but that is how it is:You are given a limited number of minutes. You cannot tell them everything.You will 1) choose what is most important, 2) display it in clear, uncluttered slides, and 3) explain each slide in slow, simple, easy-to-understand English. Racing through a bewildering amount of rapid data is the worst mistake a presenter can make.

YOUR FINAL WORDS

At the end of your speech simply say ‘Thank you.’ This is the best and kindest way to let the audience know that you have finished. Do not worry about ending a bit early. No one has ever been upset when speakers end early but they are easily upset by those who speak too long. Should you end early, there is no embarrassment: You will have more time for comments and the next speaker will appreciate your courtesy.

FIELDING QUESTIONS

Usually after your talk, there is time for questions and comments from the audience. Ideally during the question period, the chair will repeat questions or comments so that they are clear. But this is not always an ideal world, so if this doesn’t happen, you ask the questioner to repeat the question so that the whole audience can hear it – and so you can hear it again and have additional time to think. Keep your voice up at this time, listen intently, and step toward the questioner.
Don’t back away. Take your time. You are the speaker; you are in control here, not the questioner.
You do not need to fear this question period because, for some psychological reason, by the end of a presentation, the audience is instinctively on your side. They have come to identify so thoroughly with you and your science that they will come to your aid to protect you from strange or difficult questions. So depend on the audience and be ready to ask:

 if someone in the audience will help you answer,
 the questioner to rephrase the question,
 the questioner to come talk to you after the session, or be ready to say:
 ‘I do not understand your question, please explain,
 ‘That is a good question; I will think about it,
 ‘I wish I could answer that.

Remember this period of questions and comments may be valuable to you. By listening intently to what people in the audience say, you may get important insights for your future research.
Stand straight, smile, and look confident, for you have now developed the persona of a fine presenter. You have taught yourself to keep your mind on your desire to 1) tell your story, 2) communicate ideas, and 3) make science a little bit bigger and better. You have learned to forget about yourself and concentrate on communicating with the audience.You are an accomplished and professional presenter.

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