Hi everyone,

 

I’m Helen Doyle and I’m a law librarian at Norton Rose Fulbright, a large law firm based in London.

 

I spoke at my first conference in June this year, and will outright say that the only reason I signed up to do was because I needed something for my Chartership portfolio!

 

However, it turned out to be such a whirlwind experience that I learnt an awful lot, both about my topic and about myself as a professional, from doing it, so I would definitely recommend giving it a go.

 

Helen.

 

 

Hi

 

I remember how nervous I was the first time I gave a presentation. I speak at several international conferences a year now, and I'm a bit better - but I find that a lit bit of nervousness/adrenalin is always better than being too relaxed or cocky.

 

Some tips:

Obviously: know what you are talking about, rehearse the presentation, remember who the audience are and why they are there.

 

Do not assume audience size or focus - be careful about jokes and insider information such as acronyms and names; both are two-edged tools.

 

Watch other presenters, and note the barriers to enjoying their presentations: mumbling, reading instead of speaking (unless you are a beginner :-), speaking too fast, absence of body language and hand gestures, too many hand gestures, slides out of sync with the talk, etc. Then avoid the ones that you can, and let experience help improve the ones that are more difficult.

 

In international conferences, speak more slowly than usual, and keep the language simple and consistent.

 

Finally and absolutely the most important: Keep to time. Many great presentations are ruined because they run out of time - the topic may be really interesting and there may be a lot to say, but remember that every other presenter thinks the same!

 

Do not be disappointed (or relieved!) if there are no questions. I gauge the success of my presentations by the people who come up to talk one-to-one after the session. Many people in the audience, myself included, are intimidated by microphones, catching attention, etc.

 

Cheers

 

Gordon