Sweeping success at BGRF
Congratulations to Amalie Hutchinson, Gabriella Orfanides, and April Sharpe for their success at BGRF! We are all so proud of you for your fantastic work, and for helping to showcase the diverse and amazing work that happens at CAM.
For those of us anxiously awaiting our next poster or oral presentation, here are some helpful tips and tricks from our winners:
Amalie Hutchinson
People’s Choice Best Oral Presentation
"Part of giving a good talk is answering the questions at the end! A strong question session is really important to make it fantastic. My main tip for succeeding is: don't be afraid! So many people get intimidated, but remember, most of the time, people are asking questions because they are interested, not because they want to see you fail. If you approach the question period with this mindset, that the audience thinks your work is cool and wants to know more about it, not that they're ready to rip you to shreds, that can help with the nerves. One of the signs of a good talk is many people raising their hands afterward! It's really important to project an air of calm confidence when answering questions. Don't hide from them, embrace it! Look out into the crowd expectantly, smile at them, and ask for more! This all helps show that you know your stuff, you're excited about your work, and you're eager to make connections with the audience. And if you don't know the answer, say so! But you probably do. Give yourself a second to think, and your brain might come up with it. Worst case, you'll know for next time. Any questions??"
Gabriella Orfanides
Best Poster-PhD Level
"I think the most important thing to remember when making a poster for a conference is don't put too many words on your poster! You may spend a lot of time putting together some really great information about your project, which is awesome and useful in a lot of settings, but in reality, no one is going to take the time to read those words at a conference. A lot of the time at big academic conferences, poster sessions will be held in the evening, and a lot of people visiting the session will have a beer and/or snack in hand. The last thing these people want to do is read a paragraph! People really like pretty pictures, graphs, and diagrams that illustrate key methods and results. It can be a tricky balance of text vs. figures, but the absolute best posters are the ones that get that balance correct. It's taken me several years and conferences to work on this balance (you should see my first poster I ever presented at a conference, it was so full of unnecessary text!), but I think what made my BGRF poster successful was its simple wording and lots of colorful figures!"
April Sharpe
First Place Oral Presentation-Master’s Level:
"I believe that one of the most important tips for a presentation is to try to be confident in yourself! It is, of course, much easier than it sounds. But just remember, you know more about your specific topic than anyone in the room! You have likely worked on this research for months or years, and your passion for the subject will shine through the nerves and shaky voice. The night before, I always recommend going through the presentation a few times, even just in your head if that's all you have time for. This helps to remind yourself the flow of your presentation, the story you're trying to tell, and what specific points you want to make each slide. Finally, a descriptive but short title on each slide goes a long way! It can be easy for the listener to get distracted during a presentation, so having a title on your slide that briefly describes the main message can help the listener understand what they may have missed. Overall: take a deep breath, talk at a good pace, and you'll do great!"
