PHILOSOPHY
Dr. Jeremy Weissman, Assistant Professor
In your opinion/experience, what is the purpose of a conference? To share your ideas with peers, have your ideas open for critique, hear new ideas, meet people in your field, and have fun while you're at it.
In your field, is it typical to deliver Poster Presentations or Oral Presentations? Oral presentations are more common in philosophy. I happen to work in a very interdisciplinary area, so most of the conferences I attend have a strong focus on technology, law and policy as well. In these conferences panelists typically speak without a prepared text over a PowerPoint.
In your field, do panelists typically read papers or speak without notes? At more traditional philosophy conferences, however, it is fairly common for panelists to simply read papers, which are often works in progress. But unless the speaker is putting a strong emphasis on delivery, papers that are simply read usually make less engaging presentations.
In your opinion/experience, what is the responsibility of an audience member? 1) To be an attentive listener. The last thing any presenter needs is the audience dozing off or scrolling through their phones. 2) Try and engage with the speech by asking constructive questions where appropriate. Opening things up for debate is fine, and welcome, so challenging the speaker may be a part of this. However, audience members should be respectful, and mindful not to overly lace into the speaker even if you highly disagree with their point of view. (I can't say I have always adhered to this, but I am realizing that I ought to).
How would you describe your presentation persona? (or What is an effective presentation persona?) I tend to get very excited, kind of loud, and use a lot of hand gestures. It's a goal of mine to now tone things back a bit because it can be a bit overwhelming or distracting if the energy-level is too high, but bringing energy to the presentation can, I think, help to wake people up and get them to engage with your ideas.
How do you handle performance anxiety? I try to use it as a strength. Rather than suppress the anxiety, breathe through it, and then use the presentation as an outlet to channel some of that energy into.
How do you 'network'? Most conferences allow built-in opportunities to network, and everyone is wearing nametags. Therefore, it's much less awkward just to approach different people and introduce yourself than it would be in many social situations. I usually try to approach people for whom I found their presentations compelling and have something to say about it, though sometimes just talking to whoever is nearby can lead to some meaningful conversations as well.
Any tips you normally give to first-time goers? Don't worry. Everyone is nervous about their presentation. Underneath the veneer of confidence, most people have some anxiety. So, there's no need to feel rattled by any anxiety you might experience. Conferences are often great opportunities to share your ideas and can be very rewarding. And if it goes poorly? You're not graded, and you likely will not see most these people again or very often, so don't sweat it. Plus, personally, though rarely, I have made some truly important connections for my career at conferences. But these never arrived through deliberate effort other than simply putting myself out there and being myself. No need to "try" and make things happen in terms of meeting people. Just let things happen as they are.