What Should I Expect on the Day of Conference?
We recommend that you arrive before the opening ceremonies in order to pick up your package.
There are seven paper sessions planned for the day. Each session will deal with specific social, political, economic, and/or cultural issues, and will consist of three to four presenters. Each session is set for 80 minutes: depending on the number of presenters per session, each presenter will have 15 to 20 minutes to present his/her paper, and 15 to 20 minutes will be allocated to question/answer period at the end.
The chair of each session will first introduce the presenters and their research at the start of the session. The chair will follow the order of presentations as is reflected on the Program. The chair may choose to highlight the important points of each presentation and how they relate to one another before the audience is asked to participate in the discussion at the end of the session.
Presenting Your Paper at the Conference
Presentation in a conference is not that different from presenting your research in the context of a classroom. Your aim is communicate your arguments and findings to the audience.
Due to time limitation, we recommend that you focus your talk on two to three issues/factors. Make sure that you stick to your allotted time limit when presenting your paper. The chair of your session will inform you when your time is almost up and will ask you to stop your presentation if you go over the allotted time by more than two minutes.
For more information about how to prepare for a conference, we also recommend that you visit the following webpages: http://www.cgu.edu/pages/864.asp (Claremont Graduate University, CGU Writing Centre, Presenting Conference Papers in the Humanities), and http://www.cs.washington.edu/homes/mernst/advice/conference-attendance.html (University of Washington).
Preparing for Presentation
A great way of preparing yourself is to do several mock presentations. Practice several times before the day of your presentation.
Know Your Audience
Account for the fact that those attending this conference come from various disciplines and their research focus on specific aspects of Middle Eastern issues, relation, and structures.
Suggestion:
- Define the terms and concepts that you think your audience may not be familiar with.
- Refrain from using unnecessary technical language that your audience may not be familiar with.
Should I Read from My Paper during the Presentation?
It is recommended that presenters not read from their papers but use it as a reference, though you may read sections of your paper when necessary.
Should I Prepare a PowerPoint Presentation?
We recommend that you prepare a PowerPoint, illustrating the main points/arguments of your paper/research for the audience, so they can easily follow you. Besides, the PowerPoint may also be used as a reference for your speech.
Suggestions:
- Do not offer too much description and information on your slides.
- Be explicit in terms of your main thesis/argument.
- Do not use a Mac computer to prepare your PowerPoint presentation. Use a PC instead.
Should I Show Clips of Films and Videos or Other Visual Forms?
Yes, we encourage you to use other visual aids, but keep in mind your time limit. Also, please ensure that you have embedded the exact part of the clip of the film that you want to show as part of your PowerPoint. You will not have time to manually do this during the presentation. When you are called to present, you must be prepared to start your presentation immediately.
Important Note
Save several copies of your presentation on UBS drives and CDs, and email a copy of it to your email address, just in case you are unable to open your file.
If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Amir Mirfakhraie at: amir.mirfakhraie@kpu.ca.