tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2971081717687612908.post1361436395515457872..comments2024-03-18T05:08:29.201-07:00Comments on Publishing Archaeology: How to give a bad conference talk!Michael E. Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03942595266312225661noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2971081717687612908.post-59046152101835777302013-12-02T18:16:58.713-07:002013-12-02T18:16:58.713-07:00Ha-ha-ha, this is hilarious! I can assure you,many...Ha-ha-ha, this is hilarious! I can assure you,many participants in conferences I've attended followed your instructions to the letter. Good work!Aristotle Koskinashttp://aristotleguide.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2971081717687612908.post-64997702904849036252011-11-26T09:40:46.446-07:002011-11-26T09:40:46.446-07:00A couple of days ago I "heard" a confere...A couple of days ago I "heard" a conference paper by a guy who literally slumped over the lectern. The microphone was quite close to his mouth, but you still couldn't make out the words because they were directed at his boots. He never noticed the mass exodus, because he didn't look at the audience ...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2971081717687612908.post-51021551959006678982011-11-26T08:48:56.937-07:002011-11-26T08:48:56.937-07:00honestly, reading makes me a lot more nervous than...honestly, reading makes me a lot more nervous than not reading.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2971081717687612908.post-34924956504734245352011-11-20T15:03:50.556-07:002011-11-20T15:03:50.556-07:00Job talks? I guess I could do a post on that topic...Job talks? I guess I could do a post on that topic. After eight academic job talks, I hope I am retired from this genre.Michael E. Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03942595266312225661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2971081717687612908.post-10370838657603763442011-11-20T13:49:31.686-07:002011-11-20T13:49:31.686-07:00What about job talks?What about job talks?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2971081717687612908.post-50767579656426858652011-11-20T11:05:20.557-07:002011-11-20T11:05:20.557-07:00Ryan, Lee, and Chris-
Nice comments. There are se...Ryan, Lee, and Chris-<br /><br />Nice comments. There are several reasons why I strongly favor NOT reading a presentation. (1) The boring talks I heard at my first SAA meetings. (2) A talk I heard David Freidel give at the Puleston memorial conference in Minnesota, where he talked directly to the audience without notes. It was one of the best talks I've ever heard (in terms of presentaiton style), and pretty good intellectually also. (3) When I first tried talking without a prepared text (my 2nd or 3rd talk), as a student at the AAA meetings, TWO strangers came up to me and said it was the best talk they had heard at the meetings (and Robert Carneiro also came up and said that most of my ideas were wrong!). (4) A friend and colleague who shall remain unidentified here often gives boring, read-from-a-text talks. They are technically and intellectually fine, but boring to listen to. At one SAA, this person's slides were lost by the airline (in pre-Powerpoint days), and they had to talk without them. It was the BEST talk I had ever heard by this colleague, who just drew a few things on a blackboard and talked, semi-converstionally, directly to the audience. (5)Early on, my wife Cindy made me practice, practice, practice my talks, sometimes to her, sometimes to our toddler kids, and even to "Mr. Mask" (a Guerrero carved wood mask who has long hung on our wall). Practice make perfect. I don't think I'm being overly egotistical to claim that I give pretty darn good professional talks.Michael E. Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03942595266312225661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2971081717687612908.post-7034122441180203472011-11-20T08:10:08.672-07:002011-11-20T08:10:08.672-07:00These are really good points for my students. I am...These are really good points for my students. I am designing my arch theory class for next semester and am including a section on blogs in archaeology. So, it is good that they will get some practical knowledge out of this section in addition to seeing how the field is represented in this medium.<br /><br />In terms of conferences, the absolutely worst talks I have ever seen have always been by experienced professors. Of course, I have seen really bad ones by students, but the worst ones have always been by the established profs. I always felt it is because, well, they don't care much about the quality of their talks. I organized a session with a friend in Sacramento, and I was sweating as chair as every well established participant went way over in time. <br /><br />You can read a talk. But there are effective ways to read and ineffective ways to read. I think it should be treated as a skill and an art. Also, reading a written talk is good because you come to a conference with a shortened version of a possible pub. <br /><br />However, when I do it, I channel my days as a thespian. (1) A fifteen minute talk should be no more than 8 double spaced pages, at the most. I get nervous if I push 8 pages. Shooting for 6-7 is better. This is so important. Going over is not just poor form, it is rude and obnoxious. (2) Write to read aloud. Avoid long sentences and dense prose. Avoid jargon unless the jargon is intrinsic to a concept you are talking about.(3) This is real important: Script your talk. I treat my talks like scripts. I bold face some words and passages. I underline others. I know where I should emphasize points and to what extent. (4) Practice for time, content, and display. Know your script. (5) Don't read boringly. Be energetic.<br /><br />Of course, I always see great talks that are not written, but they usually lack an overall narrative and focus on "we did this, then that, found this, then that." Also, I absolutely hate it when I see someone giving a talk without reading but use flash cards or clearly use the powerpoint entries to jog their memory. <br /><br />I have seem wonderful talks with crappy research and atrocious talks that cloud quality research. Giving a talk is performance, whether it is read or not. <br /><br />Oh yes, it sometimes helps to quietly play Eye of the Tiger on your Ipod right before you go on stage...Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07060583923594250781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2971081717687612908.post-11170576095648398882011-11-20T07:15:47.509-07:002011-11-20T07:15:47.509-07:00Another time related issue -- Show up early enough...Another time related issue -- Show up early enough to make sure all the tech is working and your presentation will be projected correctly. Principle #6: “If you’re not early, you’re late.” (http://www.breakingmurphyslaw.com/the-principles/)It's not respectful to ask the audience to watch you deal with AV issues that could have easily been addressed ahead of time.Lee Pottshttp://www.breakingmurphyslaw.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2971081717687612908.post-64792442675596123952011-11-20T00:07:04.063-07:002011-11-20T00:07:04.063-07:00Ha. Thanks for posting this. Lots of good advice...Ha. Thanks for posting this. Lots of good advice. I especially appreciate your point about writing the presentation in thick academic language versus actually writing it to be read aloud. Big difference. These kinds of presentations are great opportunities to actually communicate and talk about our work--burying all of the good ideas in dense (and often boring) language is the best way to kill a good opportunity.Ryan Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18008425994341539639noreply@blogger.com