The ‘Emerging Presenters’ Development Programme
We all know from being in classes or at conferences that great scholars are not always great communicators. It takes particular skill to translate academic work from the page into an oral presentation that engages the audience and successfully conveys key ideas. While presenting at conferences provides an invaluable occasion to have an audience engage with the substance of our work, there are few, if any, opportunities to learn the skills needed to be an effective presenter. As part of the Conference’s commitment to student development, we will be kicking off the Conference with the ‘Emerging Presenters Development Programme’, which seeks to fill this gap in training by offering two distinct but complementary initiatives.
The Presentation Skills Development Workshop
The Conference will commence on the Friday morning, with a three-hour Skills Development Workshop. This workshop will provide tips and training on how to effectively deliver an academic presentation, focusing on style, manner, and impact. It will include interactive exercises and on-the-spot feedback. In addition to advice on public speaking and presentation structure, the Workshop will familiarize participants with audio-visual ‘need to knows’, and the effective use of a variety of presentation software. Refreshments will be provided!
Conference participants and panellists will be automatically registered for the Skills Development Workshop when they register for the Conference. Participants who want to opt-out of the Skills Development Workshop should email grad-conference.law [at] mcgill.ca.
Peer Feedback Initiative
The Peer Feedback Initiative is geared exclusively toward presenters at the Conference. Presenters will have the opportunity to be paired with a graduate student from McGill who will sit in on the presenter’s panel and provide detailed written feedback on the peer’s presentation, focused on manner, style and impact. Essentially, the idea is for each presenter to receive a constructively critical “view from the audience” seldom heard: where the presentation excelled and where it fell flat; whether audio-visual materials were effective; and how both the presentation and the participant’s personal presentation style might be improved in the future.