HISTORY & LEGAL STUDIES

Dr. Teng Li, Assistant Professor

1. In your opinion/experience, what is the purpose of a conference? To understand what is going on in the field and what are the cutting-edge research topics in the field.

2. In your field, is it typical to deliver Poster Presentations or Oral Presentations? In your field, do panelists typically read papers or speak without notes? In law, most people speak to their slides, without notes. In history, most people read papers.

3. In your opinion/experience, what is the responsibility of an audience member? Be engaged and ask questions.

4. How would you describe your presentation persona? (or What is an effective presentation persona?) Write down the script in a “spoken” language, and go off script 2-3 times. All the “going off script” moments need to be prepared as well.

5. How do you handle performance anxiety? Write down every sentence of my talk. I also put “turn to PPT 1 / PPT 2 / highlight these words” in my script. The more I write down, the less I worry.

6. How do you 'network'? Smile, briefly introduce my research background, and ask people for their research interest. Overall, I am not good at “networking.” I have the natural response to hide away from people but I try to suppress that urge and get out of my comfort zone.

7. Any tips you normally give to first-time goers? Make it not about “you” but about other presenters. And, remember, a conference is full of nerds and people who are nervous about socializing – you would not be the most nervous person.