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Some Thoughts on Academic Presentations

Some Thoughts on Academic Presentations. Dan Quint University of Wisconsin. November 16, 2016. Introduction Preparation Delivery Answering Questions Almost Freakish Attention to Detail. 1. Introduction. Presenting well matters. Introduction.

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Some Thoughts on Academic Presentations

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  1. Some Thoughts on Academic Presentations Dan Quint University of Wisconsin November 16, 2016

  2. IntroductionPreparationDeliveryAnswering QuestionsAlmost Freakish Attention to Detail 1

  3. Introduction • Presenting well matters

  4. Introduction • Preparing a good talk takes much longer than you think “Hofstadter’s Law: it always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account Hofstadter’s Law.”– Douglas Hofstadter 3

  5. Introduction • Giving a good talk is hard… …and you’ll screw it up Your first practice talk will probably go worse than you expect, even when you account for this. 4

  6. IntroductionPreparationDeliveryAnswering QuestionsAlmost Freakish Attention to Detail 5

  7. Preparation • “Own your paper” 6

  8. Preparation • Think about who your audience is • Assume we’re smart, but haven’t read your paper, or the one you’re extending 7

  9. Preparation • Think about the best way to teach them your paper 8

  10. Preparation • Start with a puzzle, or a story 9

  11. Preparation • Make us understand, quickly: • What the question is • What you found • Why we should care 10

  12. Preparation • Your lit review is terrible • Show you know the literature you’re supposed to • Put your paper in context and clarify its contribution easy hard good place to take advice from advisors, etc. 11

  13. Preparation • Your lit review is terrible 12

  14. Preparation • Get to your model FAST! 13

  15. Preparation • Simplify! • You don’t need to present the most general case • Help us out with the “right” leading example 14

  16. Preparation • Define things rigorously 15

  17. Preparation • Have examples in mind 16

  18. Preparation • Plan where you want to spend your time 17

  19. Preparation • Plan where you want to spend your time 18

  20. Preparation • PLAN WHERE YOU WANT TO SPEND YOUR TIME 19

  21. Preparation • Highlight the things you want us to notice 20

  22. Preparation • Don’t drown us in equations • Every equation you show should have a purpose 21

  23. Preparation • Tables 22 source: A. Sengupta and S. Wiggins (2014), “Airline Pricing, Price Dispersion, and Ticket Characteristics On and Off the Internet,” AEJ: Economic Policy 6(1)

  24. Preparation • Visuals good! 23 source: T. Piketty, E. Saez and S. Stantcheva (2014), “Optimal Taxation of Top Labor Incomes: A Tale of Three Elasticities,” AEJ: Economic Policy 6(1)

  25. Preparation • Ask for advice – and follow it 24

  26. Preparation • Practice! 25

  27. IntroductionPreparationDeliveryAnswering QuestionsAlmost Freakish Attention to Detail 26

  28. Delivery • Face the audience, and don’t laser-point every slide 27

  29. Delivery • Go slow, except for the technical parts – then, go really slow 28

  30. Delivery • Going slow is crucial for equations probability h of my opponents do one thing and the rest do another increase in probabilitystuff happens expected payoff I get if it happens 29

  31. Delivery • I like dot points to appear one by one • Guides people through each point I make • Reinforces each point • (Means I can’t present without a clicker) 30

  32. Delivery • But don’t “foreshadow” dot points You may think it looks cute But it makes people read ahead while you’re talking Which means they aren’t paying attention 31

  33. Delivery • But don’t “foreshadow” dot points • You may think it looks cute But it makes people read ahead while you’re talking Which means they aren’t paying attention 32

  34. Delivery • But don’t “foreshadow” dot points • You may think it looks cute • But it makes people read ahead while you’re talking Which means they aren’t paying attention 33

  35. Delivery • But don’t “foreshadow” dot points • You may think it looks cute • But it makes people read ahead while you’re talking • Which means they aren’t paying attention 34

  36. Delivery • Also, don’t put everything you want to say on your slide • If you do, then all you can do is read your slides • And that isn’t a very compelling way to present • Better to leave some things off your slide and just talk about them • And use your slides as an outline of the major points you want to cover… • …not every detail 35

  37. Delivery • Don’t be limited by your slides • Control pace, adjust accordingly • Use white board as needed 36

  38. IntroductionPreparationDeliveryAnswering QuestionsAlmost Freakish Attention to Detail 37

  39. Answering questions • Anticipate likely questions 38

  40. Answering questions • Don’t take it personally • Don’t get defensive • Don’t be a dick 39

  41. Answering questions • Don’t interrupt someone askinga question 40

  42. Answering questions • Don’t interrupt someone asking a question 41

  43. Answering questions • DON’T INTERRUPT SOMEONE ASKINGA QUESTION 42

  44. Answering questions • Be sure you understand the question before you start to answer 43

  45. Answering questions • Don’t defer questions more than necessary • If you keep saying, “That will be clear when I show you the model”… maybe you should have gotten to the model sooner? 44

  46. Answering questions • But don’t lose control of the seminar 45

  47. Answering questions • Don’t be a bullshitter • But don’t undersell your work 46

  48. IntroductionPreparationDeliveryAnswering QuestionsAlmost Freakish Attention to Detail 47

  49. Almost freakish attention to detail • Minimize typos, incorrect notation, etc. • But don’t overreact if you catch one during your talk 48

  50. Almost freakish attention to detail • If your dot points appear one by one, 49

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