Attending/talking at conferences

G

I was told at my phd interview that I'd be expected to attend and talk at conferences. Closest experience I've had was my undergrad thesis talk, which I dreaded! Any1 that's been through it care to share their experiences? Thanks...

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Presentation skills are all part of the PhD training and an essential part of any career in academia (and industrial research). Most people get much better from their first attempts - some even get very good at it. The key often is just to know what you're talking about, which can be difficult with an undergraduate project.

G

i'm not sure if they get better with practise - I've avoided having much. I don't object to other people giving presentations, but I have to say I've never learnt an awful lot from them. People can read can't they? Let them read the papers! Where was the whole presentation idea imported from?

G

I find presentations pointless too - no one ever listens to them - they just fall asleep or get stiff sitting there for hours on end.

G

In my discipline there are plenty of phd confrences/sections of conferences and phd seminars etc at the university. These are a good place to try out your skills and even try out a paper you may want to present at full conference in the future - you can integrate early feedback into the final paper this way.

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