Thread View: comp.org.usenix
6 messages
6 total messages
Started by Henry Spencer
Wed, 06 Jan 1993 17:21
thoughts for paper presenters
Author: Henry Spencer
Date: Wed, 06 Jan 1993 17:21
Date: Wed, 06 Jan 1993 17:21
29 lines
2050 bytes
2050 bytes
In a continuing effort to make Usenix papers more worth listening to :-),
some thoughts for the presenter, especially the first-time presenter...
(These are my own opinions as a long-time attendee and sometime presenter,
and don't necessarily reflect the views of Usenix or anybody else.)
Run through your talk at least once in advance so you know how long it
will take. It probably needs to be cut down. My talks usually need to
be cut by at least a factor of two. Doing this in advance is far superior
to improvising when you discover you only have five more minutes.
Say something interesting. If you're short of time, pick one subtopic
and say something interesting about it, and forget the rest. Few things
annoy an audience more than hearing "well, the rest of that's in the paper"
every two minutes. Especially since it usually comes just as you were
starting to talk about something in enough detail to actually be worth
listening to. If there isn't time to cover everything well, *don't try*.
(This is especially true if you find yourself *unexpectedly* short of
time. Dashing through half a dozen topics in five minutes means you
can't say anything interesting about any of them.)
Say something your competitors would find fascinating. If they wouldn't
find your talk interesting, the rest of the audience probably won't either.
Plan your slides for visual content. Pictures should be worth a thousand
words. If a slide doesn't make sense shown backwards, it has too many
words and not enough picture -- take it out.
--
"God willing... we shall return." | Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology
-Gene Cernan, the Moon, Dec 1972 | henry@zoo.toronto.edu utzoo!henry
Re: thoughts for paper presenters
Author: Ken Mayer
Date: Thu, 07 Jan 1993 14:46
Date: Thu, 07 Jan 1993 14:46
28 lines
1670 bytes
1670 bytes
-->On Wed, 6 Jan 1993 17:21:32 GMT, henry@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer) said: Henry> In a continuing effort to make Usenix papers more worth Henry> listening to :-), some thoughts for the presenter, especially Henry> the first-time presenter... Henry> Run through your talk at least once in advance ... Practise in front of the mirror in the hotel room. It may look funny, but you'll get a much better idea of how you "present" yourself (do you wave your hands around, etc.); you'll be much less self conscious. Henry> Say something interesting. Yes. Absolutely. One thing everyone should keep in mind: All of us can read. [I hope!] I would prefer to hear something that you didn't put in the paper because it didn't fit in, or maybe that war story you've been dying to tell. Add some color. That's not the same as fluff. Papers have a tendancy to report the results of an investigation. I personally find the history behind the research fascinating and it gives me a much better understanding of what's going on. Ken -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ken Mayer Visix Software Inc./703.758.8230 ken@visix.com Fight Fire with Marshmellows
Re: thoughts for paper presenters
Author: Win Bent
Date: Thu, 07 Jan 1993 18:19
Date: Thu, 07 Jan 1993 18:19
24 lines
1707 bytes
1707 bytes
In article <C0Hnq5.9DD@visix.com> ken@visix.com writes: >-->On Wed, 6 Jan 1993 17:21:32 GMT, henry@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer) said: > Henry> In a continuing effort to make Usenix papers more worth > Henry> listening to :-), some thoughts for the presenter, especially > Henry> the first-time presenter... >Practise in front of the mirror in the hotel room. It was just a matter of time - a few weeks before Usenix, Henry reminds us of how to speak to an audience, and someone responds with the stuff Henry forgot to mention. Just like clockwork. Please note that I am NOT against these suggestions! I, too, have suffered through bad speakers, and I remember one particularly scary occasion when I managed to talk too fast and had nothing to say for the last ten minutes of a half-hour talk... Perhaps Henry could write up something for the Usenix program committees to give to the authors of accepted papers or put in the "how to submit a paper" packet or something. -- Wilson H. Bent, Jr. whb@hoh-2.ATT.COM AT&T - Bell Laboratories (908) 888-7129 Disclaimer: My company has not authorized me to issue a disclaimer.
Re: thoughts for paper presenters
Author: Henry Spencer
Date: Sun, 10 Jan 1993 07:25
Date: Sun, 10 Jan 1993 07:25
13 lines
1156 bytes
1156 bytes
In article <1993Jan7.181913.1307@cbnewsi.cb.att.com> whb@att.com (Win Bent) writes:
>Perhaps Henry could write up something for the Usenix program
>committees to give to the authors of accepted papers or put in
>the "how to submit a paper" packet or something.
At least some of the program committees already touch on one or two of
these things in their handouts on how to prepare the paper. I'd be
happy to prepare such a thing, but it's up to them whether they want it.
They may feel that people don't read the preparation instructions as
it is...
--
"God willing... we shall return." | Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology
-Gene Cernan, the Moon, Dec 1972 | henry@zoo.toronto.edu utzoo!henry
Re: thoughts for paper presenters
Author: Ozan Yigit
Date: Mon, 11 Jan 1993 20:49
Date: Mon, 11 Jan 1993 20:49
9 lines
916 bytes
916 bytes
Henry's points are well-worth attending to. But what about the audience and their questions? [I recall a fascinating, albeit somewhat sarcastic summary by Barry Shein... Barry? ;-)] oz --- Truth doesn't always win friends, | electric: oz@nexus.yorku.ca but influences people.-Batty Koda | pho: [416] 736 2100 x 33976
Re: thoughts for paper presenters
Author: Barry Shein
Date: Mon, 11 Jan 1993 22:43
Date: Mon, 11 Jan 1993 22:43
17 lines
1052 bytes
1052 bytes
From: oz@ursa.sis.yorku.ca (Ozan Yigit)
>Henry's points are well-worth attending to. But what about the audience
>and their questions? [I recall a fascinating, albeit somewhat sarcastic
>summary by Barry Shein... Barry? ;-)]
I never read what I write, there's no point in every one of us being
bored.
(seriously, I don't think I saved the message you're referring to, but
I do remember it vaguely.)
--
-Barry Shein
Software Tool & Die | bzs@world.std.com | uunet!world!bzs
Purveyors to the Trade | Voice: 617-739-0202 | Login: 617-739-WRLD
Thread Navigation
This is a paginated view of messages in the thread with full content displayed inline.
Messages are displayed in chronological order, with the original post highlighted in green.
Use pagination controls to navigate through all messages in large threads.
Back to All Threads