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Conference Presentation Slides: A Guide for Success

In our experience, a common error when preparing a conference presentation is using designs that heavily rely on bullet points and massive chunks of text. A potential reason behind this slide design mistake is aiming to include as much information as possible in just one slide. In the end, slides become a sort of teleprompter for the speaker, and the audience recalls boredom instead of an informative experience.

As part of our mission to help presenters deliver their message effectively, we have summarized what makes a good conference presentation slide, as well as tips on how to design a successful conference slide.

Table of Contents

What is a conference presentation

Common mistakes presenters make when creating conference presentation slides, how can a well-crafted conference presentation help your professional life, how to start a conference presentation, how to end a conference presentation, tailoring your message to different audiences, visualizing data effectively, engaging with your audience, designing for impact, mastering slide transitions and animation, handling time constraints, incorporating multimedia elements, post-presentation engagement, crisis management during presentations, sustainability and green presentations, measuring presentation success, 13 tips to create stellar conference presentations, final thoughts.

The Britannica Dictionary defines conferences as 

A formal meeting in which many people gather in order to talk about ideas or problems related to a particular topic (such as medicine or business), usually for several days.

We can then define conference presentations as the combination of a speaker, a slide deck , and the required hardware to introduce an idea or topic in a conference setting. Some characteristics differentiate conference presentations from other formats.

Time-restricted

Conference presentations are bounded by a 15-30 minute time limit, which the event’s moderators establish. These restrictions are applied to allow a crowded agenda to be met on time, and it is common to count with over 10 speakers on the same day.

To that time limit, we have to add the time required for switching between speakers, which implies loading a new slide deck to the streaming platform, microphone testing, lighting effects, etc. Say it is around 10-15 minutes extra, so depending on the number of speakers per day during the event, the time available to deliver a presentation, plus the questions & answers time.

Delivery format

Conferences can be delivered in live event format or via webinars. Since this article is mainly intended to live event conferences, we will only mention that the requirements for webinars are as follows:

• Voice-over or, best, speaker layover the presentation slides so the speaker interacts with the audience.
• Quality graphics.
• Not abusing the amount of information to introduce per slide.

On the other hand, live event conferences will differ depending on the category under which they fall. Academic conferences have a structure in which there’s a previous poster session; then speakers start delivering their talks, then after 4-5 speakers, we have a coffee break. Those pauses help the AV crew to check the equipment, and they also become an opportunity for researchers to expand their network contacts. 

Business conferences are usually more dynamic. Some presenters opt not to use slide decks, giving a powerful speech instead, as they feel much more comfortable that way. Other speakers at business conferences adopt videos to summarize their ideas and then proceed to speak.

Overall, the format guidelines are sent to speakers before the event. Adapt your presentation style to meet the requirements of moderators so you can maximize the effect of your message.

The audience

Unlike other presentation settings, conferences gather a knowledgeable audience on the discussed topics. It is imperative to consider this, as tone, delivery format, information to include, and more depend on this sole factor. Moreover, the audience will participate in your presentation at the last minute, as it is a common practice to hold a Q&A session. 

Mistake #1 – Massive chunks of text

Do you intend your audience to read your slides instead of being seduced by your presentation? Presenters often add large amounts of text to each slide since they need help deciding which data to exclude. Another excuse for this practice is so the audience remembers the content exposed.

Research indicates images are much better retained than words, a phenomenon known as the Picture Superiority Effect ; therefore, opt to avoid this tendency and work into creating compelling graphics.

Mistake #2 – Not creating contrast between data and graphics

Have you tried to read a slide from 4 rows behind the presenter and not get a single number? This can happen if the presenter is not careful to work with the appropriate contrast between the color of the typeface and the background. Particularly if serif fonts are used.

Use online tools such as WebAIM’s Contrast Checker to make your slides legible for your audience. Creating an overlay with a white or black transparent tint can also help when you place text above images.

Mistake #3 – Not rehearsing the presentation

This is a sin in conference presentations, as when you don’t practice the content you intend to deliver, you don’t have a measure of how much time it is actually going to take. 

PowerPoint’s rehearse timing feature can help a great deal, as you can record yourself practising the presentation and observe areas for improvement. Remember, conference presentations are time-limited , don’t disrespect fellow speakers by overlapping their scheduled slot or, worse, have moderators trim your presentation after several warnings.

Mistake #4 – Lacking hierarchy for the presented content

Looking at a slide and not knowing where the main point is discouraging for the audience, especially if you introduce several pieces of content under the same slide. Instead, opt to create a hierarchy that comprehends both text and images. It helps to arrange the content according to your narrative, and we’ll see more on this later on.

Consider your conference presentation as your introduction card in the professional world. Maybe you have a broad network of colleagues, but be certain there are plenty of people out there that have yet to learn about who you are and the work you produce.

Conferences help businesspeople and academics alike to introduce the results of months of research on a specific topic in front of a knowledgeable audience. It is different from a product launch as you don’t need to present a “completed product” but rather your views or advances, in other words, your contribution with valuable insights to the field.

Putting dedication into your conference presentation, from the slide deck design to presentation skills , is definitely worth the effort. The audience can get valuable references from the quality of work you are able to produce, often leading to potential partnerships. In business conferences, securing an investor deal can happen after a powerful presentation that drives the audience to perceive your work as the very best thing that’s about to be launched. It is all about how your body language reflects your intent, how well-explained the concepts are, and the emotional impact you can drive from it.

There are multiple ways on how to start a presentation for a conference, but overall, we can recap a good approach as follows.

Present a fact

Nothing grabs the interest of an audience quicker than introducing an interesting fact during the first 30 seconds of your presentation. The said fact has to be pivotal to the content your conference presentation will discuss later on, but as an ice-breaker, it is a strategy worth applying from time to time.

Ask a question

The main point when starting a conference presentation is to make an impact on the audience. We cannot think of a better way to engage with the audience than to ask them a question relevant to your work or research. It grabs the viewer’s interest for the potential feedback you shall give to those answers received.

Use powerful graphics

The value of visual presentations cannot be neglected in conferences. Sometimes an image makes a bigger impact than a lengthy speech, hence why you should consider starting your conference presentation with a photo or visual element that speaks for itself.

For more tips and insights on how to start a presentation , we invite you to check this article.

Just as important as starting the presentation, the closure you give to your conference presentation matters a lot. This is the opportunity in which you can add your personal experience on the topic and reflect upon it with the audience or smoothly transition between the presentation and your Q&A session.

Below are some quick tips on how to end a presentation for a conference event.

End the presentation with a quote

Give your audience something to ruminate about with the help of a quote tailored to the topic you were discussing. There are plenty of resources for finding suitable quotes, and a great method for this is to design your penultimate slide with an image or black background plus a quote. Follow this with a final “thank you” slide.

Consider a video

If we say a video whose length is shorter than 1 minute, this is a fantastic resource to summarize the intent of your conference presentation. 

If you get the two-minute warning and you feel far off from finishing your presentation, first, don’t fret. Try to give a good closure when presenting in a conference without rushing information, as the audience wouldn’t get any concept clear that way. Mention that the information you presented will be available for further reading at the event’s platform site or your company’s digital business card , and proceed to your closure phase for the presentation.

It is better to miss some of the components of the conference than to get kicked out after several warnings for exceeding the allotted time.

Tailoring your conference presentation to suit your audience is crucial to delivering an impactful talk. Different audiences have varying levels of expertise, interests, and expectations. By customizing your content, tone, and examples, you can enhance the relevance and engagement of your presentation.

Understanding Audience Backgrounds and Expectations

Before crafting your presentation, research your audience’s backgrounds and interests. Are they professionals in your field, students, or a mix of both? Are they familiar with the topic, or must you provide more context? Understanding these factors will help you pitch your content correctly and avoid overwhelming or boring your audience.

Adapting Language and Tone for Relevance

Use language that resonates with your audience. Avoid jargon or technical terms that might confuse those unfamiliar with your field. Conversely, don’t oversimplify if your audience consists of experts. Adjust your tone to match the event’s formality and your listeners’ preferences.

Customizing Examples and Case Studies

Incorporate case studies, examples, and anecdotes that your audience can relate to. If you’re speaking to professionals, use real-world scenarios from their industry. For a more general audience, choose examples that are universally relatable. This personal touch makes your content relatable and memorable.

Effectively presenting data is essential for conveying complex information to your audience. Visualizations can help simplify intricate concepts and make your points more digestible.

Choosing the Right Data Representation

Select the appropriate type of graph or chart to illustrate your data. Bar graphs, pie charts, line charts, and scatter plots each serve specific purposes. Choose the one that best supports your message and ensures clarity.

Designing Graphs and Charts for Clarity

Ensure your graphs and charts are easily read. Use clear labels, appropriate color contrasts, and consistent scales. Avoid clutter and simplify the design to highlight the most important data points.

Incorporating Annotations and Explanations

Add annotations or callouts to your graphs to emphasize key findings. Explain the significance of each data point to guide your audience’s understanding. Utilize visual cues, such as arrows and labels, to direct attention.

Engaging your audience is a fundamental skill for a successful presentation for conference. Captivate their attention, encourage participation, and foster a positive connection.

Establishing Eye Contact and Body Language

Maintain eye contact with different audience parts to create a sense of connection. Effective body language, such as confident posture and expressive gestures, enhances your presence on stage.

Encouraging Participation and Interaction

Involve your audience through questions, polls, or interactive activities. Encourage them to share their thoughts or experiences related to your topic. This engagement fosters a more dynamic and memorable presentation.

Using Humor and Engaging Stories

Incorporate humor and relatable anecdotes to make your presentation more enjoyable. Well-timed jokes or personal stories can create a rapport with your audience and make your content more memorable.

The design of your conference presentation slides plays a crucial role in capturing and retaining your audience’s attention. Thoughtful design can amplify your message and reinforce key points. Take a look at these suggestions to boost the performance of your conference presentation slides, or create an entire slide deck in minutes by using SlideModel’s AI Presentation Maker from text .

Creating Memorable Opening Slides

Craft an opening slide that piques the audience’s curiosity and sets the tone for your presentation. Use an engaging visual, thought-provoking quote, or intriguing question to grab their attention from the start.

Using Visual Hierarchy for Emphasis

Employ visual hierarchy to guide your audience’s focus. Highlight key points with larger fonts, bold colors, or strategic placement. Organize information logically to enhance comprehension.

Designing a Powerful Closing Slide

End your presentation with a compelling closing slide that reinforces your main message. Summarize your key points, offer a memorable takeaway, or invite the audience to take action. Use visuals that resonate and leave a lasting impression.

Slide transitions and animations can enhance the flow of your presentation and emphasize important content. However, their use requires careful consideration to avoid distractions or confusion.

Enhancing Flow with Transitions

Select slide transitions that smoothly guide the audience from one point to the next. Avoid overly flashy transitions that detract from your content. Choose options that enhance, rather than disrupt, the presentation’s rhythm.

Using Animation to Highlight Points

Animate elements on your slides to draw attention to specific information. Animate text, images, or graphs to appear as you discuss them, helping the audience follow your narrative more effectively.

Avoiding Overuse of Effects

While animation can be engaging, avoid excessive use that might overwhelm or distract the audience. Maintain a balance between animated elements and static content for a polished presentation.

Effective time management is crucial for delivering a concise and impactful conference presentation within the allocated time frame.

Structuring for Short vs. Long Presentations

Adapt your content and pacing based on the duration of your presentation. Clearly outline the main points for shorter talks, and delve into more depth for longer sessions. Ensure your message aligns with the time available.

Prioritizing Key Information

Identify the core information you want your audience to take away. Focus on conveying these essential points, and be prepared to trim or elaborate on supporting details based on the available time.

Practicing Time Management

Rehearse your presentation while timing yourself to ensure you stay within the allocated time. Adjust your delivery speed to match your time limit, allowing for smooth transitions and adequate Q&A time.

Multimedia elements, such as videos, audio clips, and live demonstrations, can enrich your presentation and provide a dynamic experience for your audience.

Integrating Videos and Audio Clips

Use videos and audio clips strategically to reinforce your points or provide real-world examples. Ensure that the multimedia content is of high quality and directly supports your narrative.

Showcasing Live Demonstrations

Live demonstrations can engage the audience by showcasing practical applications of your topic. Practice the demonstration beforehand to ensure it runs smoothly and aligns with your message.

Using Hyperlinks for Additional Resources

Incorporate hyperlinks into your presentation to direct the audience to additional resources, references, or related content. This allows interested attendees to explore the topic further after the presentation.

Engaging with your audience after your presentation can extend the impact of your talk and foster valuable connections.

Leveraging Post-Presentation Materials

Make your presentation slides and related materials available to attendees after the event. Share them through email, a website, or a conference platform, allowing interested individuals to review the content.

Sharing Slides and Handouts

Provide downloadable versions of your slides and any handouts you used during the presentation. This helps attendees revisit key points and share the information with colleagues.

Networking and Following Up

Utilize networking opportunities during and after the conference to connect with attendees who are interested in your topic. Exchange contact information and follow up with personalized messages to continue the conversation.

Preparing for unexpected challenges during your presenting at a conference can help you maintain professionalism and composure, ensuring a seamless delivery.

Dealing with Technical Glitches

Technical issues can occur, from projector malfunctions to software crashes. Stay calm and have a backup plan, such as having your slides available on multiple devices or using printed handouts.

Handling Unexpected Interruptions

Interruptions, such as questions from the audience or unforeseen disruptions, are a normal part of live presentations. Address them politely, stay adaptable, and seamlessly return to your prepared content.

Staying Calm and Professional

Maintain a composed demeanor regardless of unexpected situations. Your ability to handle challenges gracefully reflects your professionalism and dedication to delivering a successful presentation.

Creating environmentally friendly presentations demonstrates your commitment to sustainability and responsible practices.

Designing Eco-Friendly Slides

Minimize the use of resources by designing slides with efficient layouts, avoiding unnecessary graphics or animations, and using eco-friendly color schemes.

Reducing Paper and Material Waste

Promote a paperless approach by encouraging attendees to access digital materials rather than printing handouts. If print materials are necessary, consider using recycled paper.

Promoting Sustainable Practices

Advocate for sustainability during your presentation by discussing relevant initiatives, practices, or innovations that align with environmentally conscious values.

Measuring the success of your conference presentation goes beyond the applause and immediate feedback. It involves assessing the impact of your presentation on your audience, goals, and growth as a presenter.

Collecting Audience Feedback

After presenting at a conference, gather feedback from attendees. Provide feedback forms or online surveys to capture their thoughts on the content, delivery, and visuals. Analyzing their feedback can reveal areas for improvement and give insights into audience preferences.

Evaluating Key Performance Metrics

Consider objective metrics such as audience engagement, participation, and post-presentation interactions. Did attendees ask questions? Did your content spark discussions? Tracking these metrics can help you gauge the effectiveness of your presentation in conveying your message.

Continuous Improvement Strategies

Use the feedback and insights gathered to enhance your future presentations. Identify strengths to build upon and weaknesses to address. Continuously refine your presentation skills , design choices, and content to create even more impactful presentations in the future.

Tip #1 – Exhibit a single idea per slide

Just one slide per concept, avoiding large text blocks. If you can compile the idea with an image, it’s better that way.

Research shows that people’s attention span is limited ; therefore, redirect your efforts in what concerns presentation slides so your ideas become crystal clear for the spectators.

Tip #2 – Avoid jargon whenever possible

Using complex terms does not directly imply you fully understand the concept you are about to discuss. In spite of your work being presented to a knowledgeable audience, avoid jargon as much as possible because you run the risk of people not understanding what you are saying.

Instead, opt to rehearse your presentation in front of a not-knowledgeable audience to measure the jargon volume you are adding to it. Technical terms are obviously expected in a conference situation, but archaic terms or purely jargon can be easily trimmed this way.

Tip #3 – Replace bulleted listings with structured layouts or diagrams

Bullet points are attention grabbers for the audience. People tend to instantly check what’s written in them, in contrast to waiting for you to introduce the point itself. 

Using bullet points as a way to expose elements of your presentation should be restricted. Opt for limiting the bullet points to non-avoidable facts to list or crucial information. 

Tip #4 – Customize presentation templates

Using presentation templates is a great idea to save time in design decisions. These pre-made slide decks are entirely customizable; however, many users fall into using them as they come, exposing themselves to design inconsistencies (especially with images) or that another presenter had the same idea (it is extremely rare, but it can happen).

Learning how to properly change color themes in PowerPoint is an advantageous asset. We also recommend you use your own images or royalty-free images selected by you rather than sticking to the ones included in a template.

Tip #5 – Displaying charts

Graphs and charts comprise around 80% of the information in most business and academic conferences. Since data visualization is important, avoid common pitfalls such as using 3D effects in bar charts. Depending on the audience’s point of view, those 3D effects can make the data hard to read or get an accurate interpretation of what it represents.

Tip #6 – Using images in the background

Use some of the images you were planning to expose as background for the slides – again, not all of them but relevant slides.

Be careful when placing text above the slides if they have a background image, as accessibility problems may arise due to contrast. Instead, apply an extra color layer above the image with reduced opacity – black or white, depending on the image and text requirements. This makes the text more legible for the audience, and you can use your images without any inconvenience.

Tip #7 – Embrace negative space

Negative space is a concept seen in design situations. If we consider positive space as the designed area, meaning the objects, shapes, etc., that are “your design,” negative space can be defined as the surrounding area. If we work on a white canvas, negative space is the remaining white area surrounding your design.

The main advantage of using negative space appropriately is to let your designs breathe. Stuffing charts, images and text makes it hard to get a proper understanding of what’s going on in the slide. Apply the “less is more” motto to your conference presentation slides, and embrace negative space as your new design asset.

Tip #8 – Use correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation

You would be surprised to see how many typos can be seen in slides at professional gatherings. Whereas typos can often pass by as a humor-relief moment, grammatical or awful spelling mistakes make you look unprofessional. 

Take 5 extra minutes before submitting your slide deck to proofread the grammar, spelling, and punctuation. If in doubt, browse dictionaries for complex technical words.

Tip #10 – Use an appropriate presentation style

The format of the conference will undoubtedly require its own presentation style. By this we mean that it is different from delivering a conference presentation in front of a live audience as a webinar conference. The interaction with the audience is different, the demands for the Q&A session will be different, and also during webinars the audience is closely looking at your slides.

Tip #11 – Control your speaking tone

Another huge mistake when delivering a conference presentation is to speak with a monotonous tone. The message you transmit to your attendees is that you simply do not care about your work. If you believe you fall into this category, get feedback from others: try pitching to them, and afterward, consider how you talk. 

Practicing breathing exercises can help to articulate your speech skills, especially if anxiety hinders your presentation performance.

Tip #12 – On eye contact and note reading

In order to connect with your audience, it is imperative to make eye contact. Not stare, but look at your spectators from time to time as the talk is directed at them.

If you struggle on this point, a good tip we can provide is to act like you’re looking at your viewers. Pick a good point a few centimeters above your viewer and direct your speech there. They will believe you are communicating directly with them. Shift your head slightly on the upcoming slide or bullet and choose a new location.

Regarding note reading, while it is an acceptable practice to check your notes, do not make the entire talk a lecture in which you simply read your notes to the audience. This goes hand-by-hand with the speaking tone in terms of demonstrating interest in the work you do. Practice as often as you need before the event to avoid constantly reading your notes. Reading a paragraph or two is okay, but not the entire presentation.

Tip #13 – Be ready for the Q&A session

Despite it being a requirement in most conference events, not all presenters get ready for the Q&A session. It is a part of the conference presentation itself, so you should pace your speech to give enough time for the audience to ask 1-3 questions and get a proper answer.

Don’t be lengthy or overbearing in replying to each question, as you may run out of time. It is preferable to give a general opinion and then reach the interested person with your contact information to discuss the topic in detail.

Observing what others do at conference events is good practice for learning a tip or two for improving your own work. As we have seen throughout this article, conference presentation slides have specific requirements to become a tool in your presentation rather than a mixture of information without order.

Employ these tips and suggestions to craft your upcoming conference presentation without any hurdles. Best of luck!

1. Conference PowerPoint Template

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2. Free Conference Presentation Template

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What It Takes to Give a Great Presentation

• Carmine Gallo

Five tips to set yourself apart.

Never underestimate the power of great communication. It can help you land the job of your dreams, attract investors to back your idea, or elevate your stature within your organization. But while there are plenty of good speakers in the world, you can set yourself apart out by being the person who can deliver something great over and over. Here are a few tips for business professionals who want to move from being good speakers to great ones: be concise (the fewer words, the better); never use bullet points (photos and images paired together are more memorable); don’t underestimate the power of your voice (raise and lower it for emphasis); give your audience something extra (unexpected moments will grab their attention); rehearse (the best speakers are the best because they practice — a lot).

I was sitting across the table from a Silicon Valley CEO who had pioneered a technology that touches many of our lives — the flash memory that stores data on smartphones, digital cameras, and computers. He was a frequent guest on CNBC and had been delivering business presentations for at least 20 years before we met. And yet, the CEO wanted to sharpen his public speaking skills.

• Carmine Gallo is a Harvard University instructor, keynote speaker, and author of 10 books translated into 40 languages. Gallo is the author of The Bezos Blueprint: Communication Secrets of the World’s Greatest Salesman  (St. Martin’s Press).

Partner Center

Resources | Storytelling | Strategy

50 powerful quotes to start your presentation.

Written by Kai Xin Koh

When was the last time you attended a conference where the speaker didn’t just say: “Oh hi, my name is XYZ and today, I’ll be speaking to you about Topic X”?

Great stories possess riveting narrative arcs that begin strong and end strong. We’ve written at length about some of the best ways to end your presentation , but how does one design a presentation to start without sounding too cliche?

One of the most powerful ways to begin a presentation is to start by sharing a powerful and memorable quote that relates to the message of your talk.

Powerful quotes have so much power on your presentation. Not only does it help reinforce your message, it also helps boost your credibility since it implied the quote is ‘agreeing’ with your statement.

Take this TED talk by Andrew Solomon for example. Notice how he skilfully uses a quote from a book by Emily Dickinson to set the stage for his numerous anecdotes regarding the topic on Depression in his presentation:

Hence, if you’re looking to follow suit and start your next presentation strong with a powerful quote, we’ve got you covered. Here, we compiled a list of 50 quotes that you can use to boost your next presentation.

50 Powerful Quotes To Start Your Presentation:

1)   “ The secret of getting ahead is getting started.” –  Mark Twain

2) “Yesterday’s home runs don’t win today’s games.” –  Babe Ruth

3) “ If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” –  Albert Einstein

4) “ If you’re too comfortable, it’s time to move on. Terrified of what’s next? You’re on the right track.” –  Susan Fales Hill

5) “ Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.” –  Bill Gates

6) “ You can’t look at the competition and say you’re going to do it better. You have to look at the competition and say you’re going to do it differently.” –  Steve Jobs

7) “ Make every detail perfect and limit the number of details to perfect.” –  Jack Dorsey

8) “ Do the one thing you think you cannot do. Fail at it. Try again. Do better the second time. The only people who never tumble are those who never mount the high wire. This is your moment. Own it.” –  Oprah Winfrey

9) “ Your smile is your logo, your personality is your business card, how you leave others feeling after an experience with you becomes your trademark.” –  Jay Danzie

10)  “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.” –  Warren Buffett

11)  “Some entrepreneurs think how can I make a lot of money? But a better way is to think how can I make people’s lives a lot better? If you get it right, the money will come.” –  Richard Branson

12)  “When Henry Ford made cheap, reliable cars people said, ‘Nah, what’s wrong with a horse? ’ That was a huge bet he made, and it worked.” –  Elon Musk

13)  “There are two types of people who will tell you that you cannot make a difference in this world: those who are afraid to try and those who are afraid you will succeed.” –  Ray Goforth

14)   “Keep on going, and the chances are that you will stumble on something, perhaps when you are least expecting it. I never heard of anyone ever stumbling on something sitting down.” –  Charles F. Kettering

15)  “People rarely buy what they need. They buy what they want.”   – Seth Godin

16)  “Please think about your legacy, because you’re writing it every day.”   – Gary Vaynerchuck

17)  “The golden rule for every business man is this: Put yourself in your customer’s place.” –  Orison Swett Marden

18)  “A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him.”   –  David Brinkley

19)  “Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will spend its whole life believing it is stupid.”   –  Einstein

20)  “The problem with the rat race is that even if you win, you’re still a rat.”   –  Lilly Tomlin

21)  “ When you run a part of the relay and pass on the baton, there is no sense of unfinished business in your mind. There is just the sense of having done your part to the best of your ability. That is it. The hope is to pass on the baton to somebody who will run faster and run a better marathon.”   – N. R. Narayana Murthy

22)  “Whatever you’re thinking, think bigger.” – Tony Hsieh

23)  “When you find an idea that you can’t stop thinking about, that’s probably a good one to pursue.”   – Josh James

24)  “What would you do if you’re not afraid?” –  Sheryl Sandberg

25)  “Don’t worry about failure, you only have to be right once.”   – Drew Houston

26)  “When I’m old and dying. I plan to look back on my life and say ‘Wow, an adventure’ not, ‘Wow, I sure felt safe’” – Tom Preston Werner

27)  “80% of your sales comes from 20% of your clients.”   – Vilfredo Pareto

28)  “You just have to pay attention to what people need and what has not been done.”   – Russell Simmons

29)  “We are really competing against ourselves, we have no control over how other people perform.”   – Pete Cashmore

30)  “I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.”   – Wayne Gretzy

31)  “Always remember, your focus determines your reality.”   – George Lucas

32)  “If people like you they’ll listen to you, but if they trust you they’ll do business with you.”   – Zig Ziglar

33)  “Words may inspire but action creates change.”   – Simon Sinek

34)  “It isn’t what we say or think that denies us, but what we do.”   – Jane Austen

35)  “Get action. Do things; be sane; don’t fritter away your time; create, act, take a place wherever you are and be someone; get action.”   – Theodore Roosevelt

36)  “There is only one boss. The customer.” – Sam Walton

37)  “Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.” – Barack Obama

38)  “You have to go wholeheartedly into anything in order to achieve anything worth having.” –  Frank Lloyd Wright

39)  “It always seems impossible until it’s done.” – Nelson Mandela

40)  “Some people feel the rain. Others just get wet.” – Bob Marley

41)  “There is no great genius without some touch of madness.”    – Seneca

42)  “If you think you are too small to make an impact try going to bed with a mosquito in the room.” – Ekaterina Walter

43)   “If you just work on stuff that you like and you’re passionate about, you don’t have to have a master plan with how things will play out.” – Mark Zuckerberg

44)   “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” –  Thomas Edison

45)  “Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle.”  – Abraham Lincoln

46)  “Don’t build links. Build relationships.”   – Rand Fishkin

47)   “100 percent of the shots you don’t take, don’t go in.”   –  Wayne Gretzky, Hockey Legend

48)  “If you’ve got an idea, start today. There’s no better time than now to get going. That doesn’t mean quit your job and jump into your idea 100 percent from day one, but there’s always small progress that can be made to start the movement.” – Kevin Systrom, Founder of Instagram

49)   “Good business leaders create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision, and relentlessly drive it to completion.”   –  Jack Welch, Former CEO of GE

50)    “You must be very patient, very persistent. The world isn’t going to shower gold coins on you just because you have a good idea. You’re going to have to work like crazy to bring that idea to the attention of people. They’re not going to buy it unless they know about it.”  –   Herb Kelleher, Founder of Southwest Airlines.

There you have it!

Phew! – now you have an additional 50 powerful quotes that you can add in your presentation arsenal. Leave an unforgettable impression on your presentation with these quotes starting today!

Comment down your favourite quote. And let us know if you have any that we didn’t add to the list!

Article Written By: Kai Xin Koh

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89 Powerful Conference Quotes for Events in 2024

You found our list of the best conference quotes .

Conference quotes are motivational statements you can use during speeches at large-scale events. For example, “great things are done by a series of small things brought together.”  The purpose of these sentiments is to inspire audiences, command attention, and increase engagement.

These phrases are a form of motivational work quotes and are similar to conference jokes , human resources quotes , quotes about hard work , quotes about how to be successful .

This list includes:

• general conference quotes
• motivational quotes for conferences
• technical conference quotes
• funny conference quotes
• women’s conference quotes
• quotes for leadership conferences

Here we go!

General conference quotes

• “The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed.” – Carl Jung
• “Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.” – Edward Everett Hale
• “Growth is never by mere chance; it is the result of forces working together.” – James Cash Penney
• “We are drowning in information, while starving for wisdom. The world henceforth will be run by synthesizers, people able to put together the right information at the right time, think critically about it, and make important choices wisely.” – E. O. Wilson
• “If civilization is to survive, we must cultivate the science of human relationships – the ability of all peoples, of all kinds, to live together, in the same world at peace.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt
• “Let us walk into the conference room as equals and not second class citizens.” – Martin McGuinness
• “Diversity: the art of thinking independently together.” – Malcolm Forbes
• “When creativity melds together with global issues, I believe you can bring the world together.” – Virgil Abloh
• “Being in the same room with people and creating something together is a good thing.” – Robin Williams
• “Working together on solving something requires a high level of humility and a high level of self-awareness.” – Paul Polman
• “When the youth of America gets together, amazing things happen.” – Tom Ford
• “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?'” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
• “If you continue to think the way you have always thought, you’ll continue to get what you’ve always got. Is it enough?” – Paul Meyer
• “Be so good they can’t ignore you.” – Steve Martin

Motivational quotes for conferences

• “Luck is a matter of preparation meeting opportunity.” – Lucius Annaeus Seneca
• “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” – Helen Keller
• “Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.” – Desmond Tutu
• “A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality.” – Yoko Ono
• “Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.” – Vincent Van Gogh
• “There are no problems we cannot solve together, and very few that we can solve by ourselves.” – Lyndon B. Johnson
• “The power of one, if fearless and focused, is formidable, but the power of many working together is better.” – Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
• “What I try to tell young people is that if you come together with a mission, and its grounded with love and a sense of community, you can make the impossible possible.” – John Lewis
• “From the depth of need and despair, people can work together, can organize themselves to solve their own problems and fill their own needs with dignity and strength.” – Cesar Chavez
• “How many years has it taken people to realize that we are all brothers and sisters and human beings in the human race? I mean how many years does it take people to see that? We’re all in this rat race together!” – Marsha P. Johnson
• “A voice is a human gift; it should be cherished and used, to utter fully human speech as possible. Powerlessness and silence go together.” – Margaret Atwood
• “Success comes when people act together; failure tends to happen alone.” – Deepak Chopra
• “Creativity is a spark. It can be excruciating when we’re rubbing two rocks together and getting nothing. And it can be intensely satisfying when the flame catches and a new idea sweeps around the world.” – Jonah Lehrer
• “It always seems impossible until it’s done.” – Nelson Mandela

Technical conference quotes

• “Technology is best when it brings people together.” – Matt Mullenweg
• “The Internet has brought communities across the globe closer together through instant communication.” – Mike Fitzpatrick
• “The number one benefit of information technology is that it empowers people to do what they want to do. It lets people be creative. It lets people be productive. It lets people learn things they didn’t think they could learn before, and so in a sense it is all about potential.” – Steve Ballmer
• “The real problem is not whether machines think but whether men do.” – B. F. Skinner
• “For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled.” – Richard P. Feynman
• “Men have become the tools of their tools.” – Henry David Thoreau
• “Some people don’t like change, but you need to embrace change if the alternative is disaster.” – Elon Musk
• “In software systems it is often the early bird that makes the worm.” – Alan Perlis
• “Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.” – Steve Jobs
• “We always overestimate the change that will occur in the next two years and underestimate the change that will occur in the next ten. Don’t let yourself be lulled into inaction.” – Bill Gates
• “The right moral compass is trying hard to think about what customers want.” – Sundar Pichai
• “The science of today is the technology of tomorrow.” – Edward Teller
• “Science and technology revolutionize our lives, but memory, tradition and myth frame our response.” – Arthur M. Schlesinger
• “The only thing we know about the future is that it will be different.” – Peter Drucker
• “Study hard so that you can master technology, which allows us to master nature.” – Che Guevara
• “Technology, like art, is a soaring exercise of the human imagination.” – Daniel Bell
• “The only constant in the technology industry is change.” – Marc Benioff

Funny conference quotes

• “A conference is a gathering of people who singly can do nothing but together can decide that nothing can be done.” -Fred Allen
• “No grand idea was ever born in a conference, but a lot of foolish ideas have died there.” – F. Scott Fitzgerald
• “People who enjoy meetings should not be in charge of anything.” – Thomas Sowell
• “If you think adventure is dangerous, try routine; it is lethal.” – Paulo Coelho
• “The success of a meeting often depends on having the right documents – proofs, artwork, schedules, research charts, etc. – present at the start of the meeting. All too often we arrive like plumbers, leaving our tools behind.” – David Ogilvy
• “Before I refuse to take your questions, I have an opening statement.” – Ronald Reagan
• “Whatever you do, always give 100%. Unless you’re donating blood.” – Bill Murray
• “Even a stopped clock is right twice every day. After some years, it can boast of a long series of successes.” – Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach
• “An expert is a man who has made all the mistakes which can be made in a very narrow field.” – Niels Bohr
• “Doing nothing is very hard to do… you never know when you’re finished.” – Leslie Nielsen
• “Executive ability is deciding quickly and getting somebody else to do the work.” – Earl Nightingale
• “There’s no secret about success. Did you ever know a successful man who didn’t tell you about it?” –  Kin Hubbard
• “People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well neither does bathing. That’s why we recommend it daily.” – Zig Ziglar
• ​​”An expert is a man who tells you a simple thing in a confused way in such a fashion as to make you think the confusion is your own fault.” – William Castle
• “Never put off till tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow.” – Mark Twain
• “Never confuse movement with action.” – Ernest Hemingway

Women’s conference quotes

• “Women, like men, should try to do the impossible. And when they fail, their failure should be a challenge to others.” – Amelia Earhart
• “A woman with a voice is by definition a strong woman. But the search to find that voice can be remarkably difficult.” – Melinda Gates
• “We can each define ambition and progress for ourselves. The goal is to work toward a world where expectations are not set by the stereotypes that hold us back, but by our personal passion, talents, and interests.” – Sheryl Sandberg
• “Woman must not accept; she must challenge. She must not be awed by that which has been built up around her; she must reverence that woman in her which struggles for expression.”  – Margaret Sanger
• “How wrong it is for a woman to expect the man to build the world she wants, rather than to create it herself.” – Anais Nin
• “I do not wish women to have power over men; but over themselves.” – Mary Shelley
• “Each time a woman stands up for herself, without knowing it possibly, without claiming it, she stands up for all women.” – Maya Angelou
• “It’s essential for women to unite and support one another. We are making the earth shake and we are really changing the game. Together we are stronger.” – Parris Goebel
• “Every woman’s success should be an inspiration to another. We’re strongest when we cheer each other on.” – Serena Williams
• “When women put their heads together, powerful things can happen!” – Oprah Winfrey
• “Women who support other women are Confident, Generous, Visionaries.” – Mariela Dabbah
• “I can promise you that women working together – linked, informed and educated – can bring peace and prosperity to this forsaken planet.” – Isabel Allende
• “Women belong in all places where decisions are being made.” – Ruth Bader Ginsberg
• “​​Without leaps of imagination, or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning.” – Gloria Steinem
• “Success is only meaningful and enjoyable if it feels like your own.” – Michelle Obama

Check out more inspiring quotes for women .

Quotes for leadership conferences

• “The challenge of the unknown future is so much more exciting than the stories of the accomplished past.” – Simon Sinek
• “Things can fall apart, or threaten to, for many reasons, and then there’s got to be a leap of faith. Ultimately, when you’re at the edge, you have to go forward or backward; if you go forward, you have to jump together.” – Yo-Yo Ma
• “There is no innovation and creativity without failure. Period.” – Brene Brown
• “To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.” – Winston Churchill
• “You don’t need a group of superstars, you need a team working together to bring you better results.” – Brian Lara
• “One of my beliefs about leadership is it’s not how many followers you have, but how many people you have with different opinions that you can bring together and try to be a good listener.” – Robert Kraft
• “It’s lack of faith that makes people afraid of meeting challenges, and I believed in myself.” – Muhammad Ali
• “The majority of meetings should be discussions that lead to decisions.” – Patrick Lencioni
• “Meetings should have as few people as possible, but all the right people.” – Charles W. Scharf
• “Failure and invention are inseparable twins. To invent you have to experiment, and if you know in advance that it’s going to work, it’s not an experiment.” – Scott Galloway
• “A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves.” – Lao Tzu
•  “A leader is a dealer in hope.” – Napoleon Bonaparte
• “The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority.” – Ken Blanchard

Check out more quotes on leadership and this list of the best leadership conferences .

When looking for ways to rouse a crowd, turning to history’s most brilliant minds and captivating speakers is a good source of inspiration. Sharing quotes at conferences can provide a framework and a slogan for the meeting’s missions. The best event quotes are short but striking and give the audience food for thought and actionable advice.

For more planning tools, check out conference agenda templates and conference breakout session ideas .

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FAQ: Conference quotes

Here are answers to common questions about conference quotes.

What are conference quotes?

Conference quotes are famous sayings you can use in conference speeches and marketing materials to inspire and engage attendees. These quotes often come from successful leaders and visionaries and give insight into motivation, mission, and collaboration.

What are some good quotes to use at conferences?

Some good quotes to use at conferences include:

• “A leader is a dealer in hope.” – Napoleon Bonaparte

The best quotes to use at conferences touch on the importance of cooperation, the nature of true leadership, and the importance of progress and innovation.

How can you use quotes at conferences?

You can use quotes at conferences in speeches, presentations, programs, posters, emails, and social media posts.

Author: Angela Robinson

Marketing Coordinator at teambuilding.com. Team building content expert. Angela has a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and worked as a community manager with Yelp to plan events for businesses.

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How to make a scientific presentation

Scientific presentation outlines

Questions to ask yourself before you write your talk, 1. how much time do you have, 2. who will you speak to, 3. what do you want the audience to learn from your talk, step 1: outline your presentation, step 2: plan your presentation slides, step 3: make the presentation slides, slide design, text elements, animations and transitions, step 4: practice your presentation, final thoughts, frequently asked questions about preparing scientific presentations, related articles.

A good scientific presentation achieves three things: you communicate the science clearly, your research leaves a lasting impression on your audience, and you enhance your reputation as a scientist.

But, what is the best way to prepare for a scientific presentation? How do you start writing a talk? What details do you include, and what do you leave out?

It’s tempting to launch into making lots of slides. But, starting with the slides can mean you neglect the narrative of your presentation, resulting in an overly detailed, boring talk.

The key to making an engaging scientific presentation is to prepare the narrative of your talk before beginning to construct your presentation slides. Planning your talk will ensure that you tell a clear, compelling scientific story that will engage the audience.

In this guide, you’ll find everything you need to know to make a good oral scientific presentation, including:

• The different types of oral scientific presentations and how they are delivered;
• How to outline a scientific presentation;
• How to make slides for a scientific presentation.

Our advice results from delving into the literature on writing scientific talks and from our own experiences as scientists in giving and listening to presentations. We provide tips and best practices for giving scientific talks in a separate post.

There are two main types of scientific talks:

• Your talk focuses on a single study . Typically, you tell the story of a single scientific paper. This format is common for short talks at contributed sessions in conferences.
• Your talk describes multiple studies. You tell the story of multiple scientific papers. It is crucial to have a theme that unites the studies, for example, an overarching question or problem statement, with each study representing specific but different variations of the same theme. Typically, PhD defenses, invited seminars, lectures, or talks for a prospective employer (i.e., “job talks”) fall into this category.

➡️ Learn how to prepare an excellent thesis defense

The length of time you are allotted for your talk will determine whether you will discuss a single study or multiple studies, and which details to include in your story.

The background and interests of your audience will determine the narrative direction of your talk, and what devices you will use to get their attention. Will you be speaking to people specializing in your field, or will the audience also contain people from disciplines other than your own? To reach non-specialists, you will need to discuss the broader implications of your study outside your field.

The needs of the audience will also determine what technical details you will include, and the language you will use. For example, an undergraduate audience will have different needs than an audience of seasoned academics. Students will require a more comprehensive overview of background information and explanations of jargon but will need less technical methodological details.

Your goal is to speak to the majority. But, make your talk accessible to the least knowledgeable person in the room.

This is called the thesis statement, or simply the “take-home message”. Having listened to your talk, what message do you want the audience to take away from your presentation? Describe the main idea in one or two sentences. You want this theme to be present throughout your presentation. Again, the thesis statement will depend on the audience and the type of talk you are giving.

Your thesis statement will drive the narrative for your talk. By deciding the take-home message you want to convince the audience of as a result of listening to your talk, you decide how the story of your talk will flow and how you will navigate its twists and turns. The thesis statement tells you the results you need to show, which subsequently tells you the methods or studies you need to describe, which decides the angle you take in your introduction.

➡️ Learn how to write a thesis statement

The goal of your talk is that the audience leaves afterward with a clear understanding of the key take-away message of your research. To achieve that goal, you need to tell a coherent, logical story that conveys your thesis statement throughout the presentation. You can tell your story through careful preparation of your talk.

Preparation of a scientific presentation involves three separate stages: outlining the scientific narrative, preparing slides, and practicing your delivery. Making the slides of your talk without first planning what you are going to say is inefficient.

Here, we provide a 4 step guide to writing your scientific presentation:

• Outline your presentation
• Plan your presentation slides
• Make the presentation slides
• Practice your presentation

Writing an outline helps you consider the key pieces of your talk and how they fit together from the beginning, preventing you from forgetting any important details. It also means you avoid changing the order of your slides multiple times, saving you time.

Plan your talk as discrete sections. In the table below, we describe the sections for a single study talk vs. a talk discussing multiple studies:

The following tips apply when writing the outline of a single study talk. You can easily adapt this framework if you are writing a talk discussing multiple studies.

Introduction: Writing the introduction can be the hardest part of writing a talk. And when giving it, it’s the point where you might be at your most nervous. But preparing a good, concise introduction will settle your nerves.

The introduction tells the audience the story of why you studied your topic. A good introduction succinctly achieves four things, in the following order.

• It gives a broad perspective on the problem or topic for people in the audience who may be outside your discipline (i.e., it explains the big-picture problem motivating your study).
• It describes why you did the study, and why the audience should care.
• It gives a brief indication of how your study addressed the problem and provides the necessary background information that the audience needs to understand your work.
• It indicates what the audience will learn from the talk, and prepares them for what will come next.

A good introduction not only gives the big picture and motivations behind your study but also concisely sets the stage for what the audience will learn from the talk (e.g., the questions your work answers, and/or the hypotheses that your work tests). The end of the introduction will lead to a natural transition to the methods.

Give a broad perspective on the problem. The easiest way to start with the big picture is to think of a hook for the first slide of your presentation. A hook is an opening that gets the audience’s attention and gets them interested in your story. In science, this might take the form of a why, or a how question, or it could be a statement about a major problem or open question in your field. Other examples of hooks include quotes, short anecdotes, or interesting statistics.

Why should the audience care? Next, decide on the angle you are going to take on your hook that links to the thesis of your talk. In other words, you need to set the context, i.e., explain why the audience should care. For example, you may introduce an observation from nature, a pattern in experimental data, or a theory that you want to test. The audience must understand your motivations for the study.

Supplementary details. Once you have established the hook and angle, you need to include supplementary details to support them. For example, you might state your hypothesis. Then go into previous work and the current state of knowledge. Include citations of these studies. If you need to introduce some technical methodological details, theory, or jargon, do it here.

Conclude your introduction. The motivation for the work and background information should set the stage for the conclusion of the introduction, where you describe the goals of your study, and any hypotheses or predictions. Let the audience know what they are going to learn.

Methods: The audience will use your description of the methods to assess the approach you took in your study and to decide whether your findings are credible. Tell the story of your methods in chronological order. Use visuals to describe your methods as much as possible. If you have equations, make sure to take the time to explain them. Decide what methods to include and how you will show them. You need enough detail so that your audience will understand what you did and therefore can evaluate your approach, but avoid including superfluous details that do not support your main idea. You want to avoid the common mistake of including too much data, as the audience can read the paper(s) later.

Results: This is the evidence you present for your thesis. The audience will use the results to evaluate the support for your main idea. Choose the most important and interesting results—those that support your thesis. You don’t need to present all the results from your study (indeed, you most likely won’t have time to present them all). Break down complex results into digestible pieces, e.g., comparisons over multiple slides (more tips in the next section).

Summary: Summarize your main findings. Displaying your main findings through visuals can be effective. Emphasize the new contributions to scientific knowledge that your work makes.

Conclusion: Complete the circle by relating your conclusions to the big picture topic in your introduction—and your hook, if possible. It’s important to describe any alternative explanations for your findings. You might also speculate on future directions arising from your research. The slides that comprise your conclusion do not need to state “conclusion”. Rather, the concluding slide title should be a declarative sentence linking back to the big picture problem and your main idea.

It’s important to end well by planning a strong closure to your talk, after which you will thank the audience. Your closing statement should relate to your thesis, perhaps by stating it differently or memorably. Avoid ending awkwardly by memorizing your closing sentence.

By now, you have an outline of the story of your talk, which you can use to plan your slides. Your slides should complement and enhance what you will say. Use the following steps to prepare your slides.

• Write the slide titles to match your talk outline. These should be clear and informative declarative sentences that succinctly give the main idea of the slide (e.g., don’t use “Methods” as a slide title). Have one major idea per slide. In a YouTube talk on designing effective slides , researcher Michael Alley shows examples of instructive slide titles.
• Decide how you will convey the main idea of the slide (e.g., what figures, photographs, equations, statistics, references, or other elements you will need). The body of the slide should support the slide’s main idea.
• Under each slide title, outline what you want to say, in bullet points.

In sum, for each slide, prepare a title that summarizes its major idea, a list of visual elements, and a summary of the points you will make. Ensure each slide connects to your thesis. If it doesn’t, then you don’t need the slide.

Slides for scientific presentations have three major components: text (including labels and legends), graphics, and equations. Here, we give tips on how to present each of these components.

• Have an informative title slide. Include the names of all coauthors and their affiliations. Include an attractive image relating to your study.
• Make the foreground content of your slides “pop” by using an appropriate background. Slides that have white backgrounds with black text work well for small rooms, whereas slides with black backgrounds and white text are suitable for large rooms.
• The layout of your slides should be simple. Pay attention to how and where you lay the visual and text elements on each slide. It’s tempting to cram information, but you need lots of empty space. Retain space at the sides and bottom of your slides.
• Use sans serif fonts with a font size of at least 20 for text, and up to 40 for slide titles. Citations can be in 14 font and should be included at the bottom of the slide.
• Use bold or italics to emphasize words, not underlines or caps. Keep these effects to a minimum.
• Use concise text . You don’t need full sentences. Convey the essence of your message in as few words as possible. Write down what you’d like to say, and then shorten it for the slide. Remove unnecessary filler words.
• Text blocks should be limited to two lines. This will prevent you from crowding too much information on the slide.
• Include names of technical terms in your talk slides, especially if they are not familiar to everyone in the audience.
• Proofread your slides. Typos and grammatical errors are distracting for your audience.
• Include citations for the hypotheses or observations of other scientists.
• Good figures and graphics are essential to sustain audience interest. Use graphics and photographs to show the experiment or study system in action and to explain abstract concepts.
• Don’t use figures straight from your paper as they may be too detailed for your talk, and details like axes may be too small. Make new versions if necessary. Make them large enough to be visible from the back of the room.
• Use graphs to show your results, not tables. Tables are difficult for your audience to digest! If you must present a table, keep it simple.
• Label the axes of graphs and indicate the units. Label important components of graphics and photographs and include captions. Include sources for graphics that are not your own.
• Explain all the elements of a graph. This includes the axes, what the colors and markers mean, and patterns in the data.
• Use colors in figures and text in a meaningful, not random, way. For example, contrasting colors can be effective for pointing out comparisons and/or differences. Don’t use neon colors or pastels.
• Use thick lines in figures, and use color to create contrasts in the figures you present. Don’t use red/green or red/blue combinations, as color-blind audience members can’t distinguish between them.
• Arrows or circles can be effective for drawing attention to key details in graphs and equations. Add some text annotations along with them.
• Write your summary and conclusion slides using graphics, rather than showing a slide with a list of bullet points. Showing some of your results again can be helpful to remind the audience of your message.
• If your talk has equations, take time to explain them. Include text boxes to explain variables and mathematical terms, and put them under each term in the equation.
• Combine equations with a graphic that shows the scientific principle, or include a diagram of the mathematical model.
• Use animations judiciously. They are helpful to reveal complex ideas gradually, for example, if you need to make a comparison or contrast or to build a complicated argument or figure. For lists, reveal one bullet point at a time. New ideas appearing sequentially will help your audience follow your logic.
• Slide transitions should be simple. Silly ones distract from your message.
• Decide how you will make the transition as you move from one section of your talk to the next. For example, if you spend time talking through details, provide a summary afterward, especially in a long talk. Another common tactic is to have a “home slide” that you return to multiple times during the talk that reinforces your main idea or message. In her YouTube talk on designing effective scientific presentations , Stanford biologist Susan McConnell suggests using the approach of home slides to build a cohesive narrative.

To deliver a polished presentation, it is essential to practice it. Here are some tips.

• For your first run-through, practice alone. Pay attention to your narrative. Does your story flow naturally? Do you know how you will start and end? Are there any awkward transitions? Do animations help you tell your story? Do your slides help to convey what you are saying or are they missing components?
• Next, practice in front of your advisor, and/or your peers (e.g., your lab group). Ask someone to time your talk. Take note of their feedback and the questions that they ask you (you might be asked similar questions during your real talk).
• Edit your talk, taking into account the feedback you’ve received. Eliminate superfluous slides that don’t contribute to your takeaway message.
• Practice as many times as needed to memorize the order of your slides and the key transition points of your talk. However, don’t try to learn your talk word for word. Instead, memorize opening and closing statements, and sentences at key junctures in the presentation. Your presentation should resemble a serious but spontaneous conversation with the audience.
• Practicing multiple times also helps you hone the delivery of your talk. While rehearsing, pay attention to your vocal intonations and speed. Make sure to take pauses while you speak, and make eye contact with your imaginary audience.
• Make sure your talk finishes within the allotted time, and remember to leave time for questions. Conferences are particularly strict on run time.
• Anticipate questions and challenges from the audience, and clarify ambiguities within your slides and/or speech in response.
• If you anticipate that you could be asked questions about details but you don’t have time to include them, or they detract from the main message of your talk, you can prepare slides that address these questions and place them after the final slide of your talk.

➡️ More tips for giving scientific presentations

An organized presentation with a clear narrative will help you communicate your ideas effectively, which is essential for engaging your audience and conveying the importance of your work. Taking time to plan and outline your scientific presentation before writing the slides will help you manage your nerves and feel more confident during the presentation, which will improve your overall performance.

A good scientific presentation has an engaging scientific narrative with a memorable take-home message. It has clear, informative slides that enhance what the speaker says. You need to practice your talk many times to ensure you deliver a polished presentation.

First, consider who will attend your presentation, and what you want the audience to learn about your research. Tailor your content to their level of knowledge and interests. Second, create an outline for your presentation, including the key points you want to make and the evidence you will use to support those points. Finally, practice your presentation several times to ensure that it flows smoothly and that you are comfortable with the material.

Prepare an opening that immediately gets the audience’s attention. A common device is a why or a how question, or a statement of a major open problem in your field, but you could also start with a quote, interesting statistic, or case study from your field.

Scientific presentations typically either focus on a single study (e.g., a 15-minute conference presentation) or tell the story of multiple studies (e.g., a PhD defense or 50-minute conference keynote talk). For a single study talk, the structure follows the scientific paper format: Introduction, Methods, Results, Summary, and Conclusion, whereas the format of a talk discussing multiple studies is more complex, but a theme unifies the studies.

Ensure you have one major idea per slide, and convey that idea clearly (through images, equations, statistics, citations, video, etc.). The slide should include a title that summarizes the major point of the slide, should not contain too much text or too many graphics, and color should be used meaningfully.

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Business Motivational Speaker Conference

Business motivational speaker conference presentation, premium google slides theme and powerpoint template.

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How to introduce yourself in a conference presentation (in six simple steps)

Academic conferences are great occasions for networking. Particularly the start of a conference presentation offers a unique opportunity to introduce yourself to the audience, concisely and effectively.

Why effective introductions during academic conference presentations matter

Presentations at academic conferences are an important part of every academic journey. Conferences provide a platform for you to present your research, receive feedback and establish professional connections.

Thus, while the content of your presentation is certainly important, the networking aspect of academic conferences should not be underestimated.

One key strategy of networking at academic conferences is to prepare a concise and effective introduction of yourself.

A good introduction includes information on who you are, what your research is about, and how people can learn more about you. And of course how they can connect with you.

An effective introduction at the start of your conference presentation will help people remember you. Even more importantly, they should feel invited to get in touch with you. In-person, via email, or on social media. This is how networks are formed, which can have a lasting effect on your career.

Step 1: State your full name, position and your university affiliation

Imagine you are presenting at a conference. It is your turn, and you stand in front of the audience.

Don’t jump straight into the topic of your presentation! Instead, start with the basics. State your name, your position and the university affiliation you have.

Make sure to say your name out loud, even if it is written on your presentation slides. People may not know how to pronounce your name, and it will make it easier for them to address you later.

Step 2: Explain your research area and focus in 2-3 sentences

Next comes the most difficult part: explain your research area and focus. The key is to zoom out a bit from the specific topic of your presentation, to showcase your wider research area and focus.

Explaining your research area in a few sentences is challenging. However, it is essential to keep it short. Think of 2-3 sentences. You do not want to take away precious time from your actual presentation.

Therefore, these 2-3 sentences should be prepared well. You do not want to start rambling.

Step 3: Tell people where they can find out more about you online

Today’s academics are required to have an online presence. This is also true for PhD students.

Your online presence can consist, for instance, of your academic website , or your online university profile. Maybe you also work on a research project that has its own website with information. Whatever you decide to share with your conference audience, make sure that everything is up to date!

Furthermore, it can be useful for your audience to know your ORCID ID to easily access a full list of your publications.

Step 4: Provide your professional social media handles

Not every academic uses social media, and not everyone uses them professionally.

However, if you do, make sure to also point people to – for instance – your Twitter or LinkedIn account.

Step 5: Provide your email address and invite people to reach out

Social media aside, emails remain a key way of communicating in academia. Therefore, make sure to also provide your email address.

Put the actual address on your presentation slides and emphasise that you are happy to connect and receive questions or comments.

Step 6: Emphasize that you are happy to connect and chat after your presentation

Finally, point out that you are happy to connect and chat with people after your presentation. Then, transition to your presentation.

You can of course also decide to include this point at the end of your presentation.

Just don’t assume that people will automatically approach you. Some will, but others won’t. Maybe they are too shy, too hesitant or don’t want to disturb you. Therefore, it is always safer to invite them to approach you.

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How to Write a Successful Motivation for a Conference

Read a summary or generate practice questions using the INOMICS AI tool

When you apply to present at a conference , you'll often be asked to provide a letter of motivation along with your abstract and CV. This is used to decide which applicants will be invited to give a talk or poster presentation at the conference. But what information should this letter of motivation contain, and what's the best way to increase your chance of being accepted to present? Here are our tips for writing a motivation letter for a conference:

Download the Conference Monkey Directory - 6 Month Conference List

Start with the basics: your name, institutional affiliation, and a very brief career recap

You should open your letter of motivation by introducing yourself and giving basic information on your current role and the current topic of your research. You may want to include a sentence in which you mention the positions you have held previously, or any grants which you have been recently awarded. However, the majority of your letter should be about your research rather than about yourself, so keep this section short and to the point.

Give a basic description of your research

You don't need to describe the exact details of your research, such as the experimental methods used or the results which you have gathered so far, as this information should be contained in your abstract. But you should give a simple summation of which sub-field you work in and what your research is about. Keep this general, as the people reading it may not be experts in your area. Imagine you were describing your work to a friend who works outside of academia and writes a few sentences about your research in this style.

Fit your topic to the conference theme

As well as a general topic or subject which they cover, many conferences will have a theme which is different each year. The theme will typically reflect a large or important issue in the field which has been prominent over the year. If you can find a way to fit your research into the conference theme, this will greatly improve your chance of being accepted. The fit doesn't have to be perfect, but the themes are usually designed to be flexible, so put a sentence into your abstract about how your findings do or will impact on the theme and you'll make your presentation more relevant for the conference organisers and the audience.

Be specific about the benefits of your research

You probably know that you should describe all the ways that your research could have an impact on the field, in order to persuade the conference organisers that the attendees would benefit from hearing about your work. However, you should avoid the common mistake of describing the benefits of your work in generic terms. For example, “This work will help to develop a complete understanding of [this particular sub-field]” is too vague and is not convincing.

Instead, be specific about the benefits of your work, for example, “This work will add the perspective of [a particular group] which is currently missing from analyses in [this particular subfield].” Also, make sure to note why your research timely and of relevance at this time in particular. For example, “Following the publication of [major work] last year,” or “With the [major world event] approaching next year, this research adds [a new perspective/important data/a new theoretical framework or idea] which is important at this time because...”

Describe how your research is relevant to the conference audience

Also, you should consider why your work would be of interest not only to other members of your field in general but to the audience at this conference in particular. For example, if you work in psychology in the field of mental health, and you are applying to a conference with a strong clinical focus, then you could describe why your work would be useful to clinicians for their practice. Or if you are applying for an interdisciplinary conference, describe the relevance of your work to the other fields represented at the conference.

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55 Leadership Conference Themes That Will WOW Attendees

Updated: April 30, 2023    by: Deze   |   Leave a comment

**This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon associate I earn from qualifying purchases (at no additional cost to you)! Please read my policy page for full disclaimers.**

This post contains a list of leadership conference themes to use when planning your next leadership summit.

If you’re a conference organizer or the executive team in charge of planning a leadership conference, your starting point is to decide on the event theme.

The theme determines the meeting objectives, the motivational speakers to invite, the workshops and the activities. So as meeting planners, you can’t afford to get it wrong!

Now that the pressure’s on, you might be stuck for ideas. But don’t worry, because that’s where this post comes in.

I’ve come up with a boat-load of amazing meeting names and possible objectives/focus for each name, in order to fast-track your conference planning. At the end, you’ll even find formulas to help you come up with even more perfect theme ideas for your next corporate event.

Now, without further delay, let’s get to it!

55 Leadership Conference Themes For Your Next Meeting

1. Disruption

How to innovate and identify novel solutions instead of going along with comfortable norms

2. Commanding Loyalty

Fostering team members that support each other and are enthusiastically dedicated to the purpose of the organization

3. Connect and Conquer

Creating teams that work well together toward clear, common goals

4. Harnessing Change

Bringing people together to plan and execute change

5. The Power Of You

Empowering team members to embrace their abilities and the unique, individual way that they see the world

6. Level Up

Delivering motivation for team members to improve themselves

7. Positioning for Power

Aiming for influence and targeting career growth

8. Be True. Be You.

The power of aligning internal values with external behavior

9. Aspiring for Social Change

Achieving goals for the greater good of society

10. Momentum

Creating a high performance environment in order to maintain forward movement

11. Living Boldly

How to think beyond limits and take risks

12. Learn Today, Leap Tomorrow

The benefits of lifelong learning in personal development

13. New Vistas

Exploring the future of your organization

14. Embrace Change

How to adapt and thrive in evolving environments

15. The Hero We Need

Encouraging upward mobility among employees to build leaders

16. Seizing the Day

How to seize everyday opportunities to move in the direction of your dreams

An energizing conference theme about unleashing potential and discovering purpose

18. Change that Matters

How to become a Change Leader in order to bring about deep and lasting change within the system

19. Architects of Tomorrow

A wonderful name for a mentoring summit

20. Aspire for Excellence

For those that value personal development and constant improvement

21. The Winner Within

How to recognize and honor our inner brilliance

22. Maximum Impact

Becoming the most effective leader you can be

23. Smart Growth

Making strategic moves for development

24. Resiliency in the Face of Loss

A good theme for when the organization has experienced a tragedy or setback

25. Building Bridges

Bridging the gap between leadership and employees and other identifiable gaps

26. Higher Together

Improving well-being and performance by fostering positive working relationships

Promoting growth mindset in multiple aspects of life

28. Leading with Love

Promoting emotional intelligence and the benefits that it can bring to the organization

29. Everyday Influencer

Becoming an inspirational and visible thought leader in your field of expertise

30. Sister-to-Sister

The perfect name for a Women in Leadership conference

31. Shooting for the Stars

How to come out of the comfort zone and dream big

32. Dream Team

Leveraging other’s unique gifts to amplify your own

33. Be EXTRAordinary

A wonderful name for a conference that features unique speakers, presentations, or experiences that transcend what is typically expected in a meeting

34. [Name of company ]’s Got Next

The perfect motivational theme to follow a slump or a series of setbacks

35. Defying Gravity

How to shake off the things that weigh us down, to soar higher than we’ve ever gone before

36. Ethical Leadership

What are the values and moral principles that should guide our decisions as leaders?

37. Dare to be Different

How our individuality and peculiarities are positive qualities that help us to stand out from the crowd

38. Anointed to Lead

For a Christian Leadership conference, this topic is to explore why we were appointed to this position

39. Surviving Turbulent Times

A conference theme that is anchored on resilience and crisis management

40. Think Like A Boss

The emphasis of this theme is mindset. What are the ways of thinking that enable attendees to level up and achieve important things?

41. Everyday Leadership

Cultivating leadership skills and learning how to influence people

42. Holistic Leadership

This theme is a good fit for a conference that has workshops focused on the mind, body and spirit

43. Awakening Potential

How to maximize employee engagement and promote personal growth

44. Framework for Success

How to set clear goals, create plans, take action, measure success and repeat

45. Our Corporate Social Responsibility

What are the social, economic and environmental impacts of the group’s operations

46. Each One, Teach One

This event tagline should be used to encourage mentorship and the sharing of guidance and knowledge

47. Holding Space

Learning how to create a safe and supportive environment for those going through challenging situations

48. Blazing New Paths

Focus in on a new way to do specific things

49. Leading by Example

Exploring the effects of being visible & willing to serve on the front lines

50. Vision & Voice

How to communicate your goals and dreams effectively

51. Cultivating Corporate Culture

Ensure that everyone is on the same page with their attitude, goals, and behaviors

52. Evolving Perspectives

How can we transform our workplace culture as we gain new perspectives, experiences and information?

53. Trends in Diversity & Inclusion

Focus on intersectionanality, addressing unconscious bias, prioritizing diverse representation and accountability

54. Evolutions in Technology

This conference theme idea works well as a hands-on showcase where attendees can view and test out new developments

55. Courageous Creativity

Innovation comes from creativity and being brave enough to pursue unconventional approaches

56. Utilizing Social Media

Optimize your customer experience and modernize how you exchange ideas with your audience by leveraging social media

You’re at the end of the list! I hope that you’ve found a great meeting theme to use and some new ideas to take away from this article.

If, however, you’re still stuck, I’ve got some additional ways to craft a conference theme idea that your entire group will love.

5 Easy Formulas for Naming Business Conferences

“ popular cultural reference ” : a relevant connection to a leadership concept.

This is especially a good choice if you want to target a very specific demographic. Choose a relevant cultural reference and then relate it to a leadership concept.

Here’s a funny example- “Back That Thang Up: a closer look at accountability and digital safety in the workplace” .

String 3 impactful words together

Why be wordy when you can be succinct? Pick 2 or 3 words that fit your conference objectives and then simply string them together to make your theme.

Pick 3 words that start with the same letter to take advantage of alliteration and make the theme even more catchy. Use my positive & inspirational word lists to help you out. Here is the A list to start .

“Moving Beyond [whatever relevant crisis] “

Sometimes, you just need to address the elephant in the room. When there has been a national crisis or an extremely hot topic in the industry, address it head on with a “Moving Beyond …” theme.

Take a popular topic from the past and make this next event a 2.0 (part 2)

Why fix something that’s not broken? If it was successful before, then chances are that it will be in high demand again!

Doing this also gives you the opportunity to expand on the topic and answer questions that weren’t addressed before.

“X Years of Leadership”

If this is a landmark year for your conference (like the 10th or 25th year, for example), you can keep it simple and reflect on “ X Years of Leadership “.

Alrighty, that’s all folks!

With all those ideas plus the extra tips, I’m sure you’re leaving this post with some awesome leadership conference themes to work with. Enjoy!

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Tress Academic

#119: Why giving feedback to conference presentations–and how

April 12, 2022 by Tress Academic

Have you presented at a conference and found yourself wanting more useful feedback from the audience? Were you hoping the audience would recognise the hard work you put into your talk? We all need feedback to learn what we could improve to give a better presentation. Here, we would like to provide simple guidelines for presentation feedback at conferences. 

In our courses, we teach researchers how to successfully present their work to their peers at conferences, and we also discuss the reasons why participants want to present at conferences at all. Not everyone enjoys giving presentations, and many soon realize that successful conference delivery requires  investing a lot of time and effort. 

Despite the potential discomfort or additional workload, one of the key motivations to present for many of our course participants is that they appreciate receiving feedback from their peers on their talks. But when they’re presenting at conferences, the desired feedback is seldom provided. And if feedback is expressed, it’s not in the way the presenters were hoping for. Have you had similar experiences?

Here, we aim to encourage anyone joining a conference talk to provide good feedback to the presenters and establish a feedback-culture. To help you provide such feedback, we’ve created a free Presentation Feedback Sheet to download that you can use the next time you join an event where colleagues will present their research. 

I. What is presentation feedback?  

First of all, it is a sign from the audience that they followed the presentation and have feelings they wish to express about it. They can signal admiration, support, agreement, disagreement, or any other reaction that might be helpful for the presenters. Feedback is not a critique of the talk. It is not meant to turn the presenters down or cast them in a bad light in front of their peers. Presentation feedback can include positive, negative, or neutral input—but it should always aim to be useful to the presenters.  

Typically at conferences, a Q&A (questions and answers) session follows up the presenters’ talks. In the Q&A, the audience asks questions on the content, provides comments, or shares similar findings they’ve made. The Q&A should increase understanding of the presented research and help to embed it in a context familiar to the questioners and general audience. 

Presentation feedback goes beyond the Q&A part of a talk. It’s more than someone from the audience requesting additional information from the presenter on a specific aspect of the talk. Feedback also addresses how a presentation is delivered, organised, structured, or composed. It includes technical, communicative, as well as didactic aspects. It allows for an emotional response to the talk and considers the entire performance of the presenters and the way they conveyed their message to the audience. 

At academic conferences, Q&A and feedback can be mixed and come together. Yet, our own experience shows that most people from the audience prefer to ask questions to clarify or comment on a specific element of a talk rather than provide holistic feedback. Feedback is unfortunately not so common! 

II. Why is feedback necessary?  

Presenting at conferences can be quite nerve-wracking—particularly for early-career researchers and less-experienced presenters. Some told us that they are even more afraid of the Q&A at the end of their talks than of the talk itself. Even when they feel that they presented well, they’re afraid of receiving questions that they don’t understand and cannot answer. Balanced feedback, which may include a few questions, can provide a far better ending to a presentation for all involved. 

We heard another example from one of our course participants who had recently prepared a talk for a conference.  The delivery went well, but after the talk, there were neither questions asked nor feedback provided. It was silent, and then the chair went on to the next presentation. This silence felt very uncomfortable for the presenter. Understandably, it is awkward, if not down-right disappointing, to prepare a good talk, deliverwell, and have no one say anything about it. Was all the hard work a complete waste or not noticed? 

We had a similar experience back in the years when we studied in Heidelberg. We had a class with a professor in urban climatology, his name was Heinz K. Every student in his class had to prepare a paper and deliver it to the class in a short presentation. When it was our turn, we both delivered two separate papers and presented them. We had put a lot of effort into the papers because the subject was so interesting and we enjoyed doing it. For every paper delivered in class, two fellow students had to prepare as opponents and present feedback. 

Obviously, the fellow students who acted as our opponents were not living up to our professor’s expectations, as they hardly commented on anything. At the end of our session, the professor stood up and said “Doesn’t anyone realise that we just saw two excellent presentations?” And then he told the entire class why he thought we had done so well. 

The feedback we got at this very moment from our professor was so helpful, inspiring, and an enormous motivation booster. It was so good to hear that he recognised the hard work we put into our papers. Receiving his feedback has taught us a lot and encouraged us to become even better. We still remember it, and wish everyone could receive feedback as we received it that day in Heidelberg!

For us, providing feedback on conference presentations serves four purposes: 

1) Recognizing the work and time that presenters invested

All presenters want to deliver well and get their messages across, and everyone wants to have a positive impact on the audience. Some are more successful with this task than others, but all have that intention–otherwise they wouldn’t show up and present. Somehow the presenters need to know whether they were successful in this attempt or not, and feedback can provide that answer.  

2) Preventing the post-presentation gap

Giving a presentation means being the centre of attention. All eyes are on the presenter during a presentation, and everyone is following every word and every visual being shown. Many presenters enjoy the lime-light, others not, but regardless, they have worked hard to prepare for it. But if the presentation is over and no feedback is expressed, and the audience just moves on to the next talk, the presenter falls into the post-presentation gap. 

Nobody seems to notice them and if no one comes and talks to them, it can feel completely underwhelming or disappointing. Why did they then go through this exceptional and nerve-wracking process if their talk had no effect on anyone? It is frustrating for presenters to be ignored this way. It can happen all too easily at academic conferences: One presenter just follows the next one, and so on. Ideally, someone would tell the presenters how they honestly felt about their talk so that the presenter can see a purpose in the whole presenting exercise.

3) Providing helpful and critical input 

In every presentation there are ups and downs, but it is difficult for the presenters to spot them themselves. Being in the audience and listening to the talk makes it easy to see immediately what worked well and what did not. You might assume the presenters know that as well, but they most likely are not aware of it. You’re of great help if you let presenters know what the good and not so good elements of their talk were. Then they can build on their strengths and work on the weak parts, and their next talks will be better! Otherwise, they will do the same the next time and you will also feel the same. 

4) Establishing a relationship with the presenters

Providing feedback shows care for the person behind the presentation. If you liked their topic or the way they presented, giving feedback can be the first step in establishing a connection with them. You can wait and see how they behave offstage, and determine whether you would like to establish contact with them for future collaboration. Providing feedback is a great way to introduce yourself and begin a conversation with them about their work.

III. How to provide good feedback  

It’s great that you are considering providing feedback to presenters in the first place, but you also want to  ensure that your feedback is useful and well-received by the presenters. Here are some tips on how to do it right: 

• Be constructive: Even if you didn’t like everything the presenter came up with, feedback is the wrong place to air your negative thoughts. Instead, the goal is to improve the situation so that the presenters do better the next time they are up on stage. Therefore, suggest realistic steps for improvement and offer your suggestions if possible. 
• Be honest: If you did not like the talk, then don’t say it was a great talk. The presenters want to know how you really felt. You don’t need to give praise where it isn’t due, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be friendly, kind, and supportive when you express less-positive feedback. But if you felt it was a great talk, then tell them, don’t be too modest! 
• Be fair: It’s so easy to fall into a mode of criticising from your comfy seat in the audience, but are you being fair? Put yourself in the presenter’s situation, and consider which types of feedback you would like to recieve. Always express your feedback in a form and mode that is considerate and accounts for the speaker’s feelings. Treat them as you would like to be treated. 
• Be timely: Provide feedback as close to the talk as possible. Then, you can still remember all the small details and the presenters can easily recall their talks. 
• Be specific: A general comment like “Oh, it was a great talk” is good, but it is even more helpful when you can point out specific moments in the talk that were good. Or, point out what specifically the presenter could do to improve. 
• Be careful in criticising publicly: Depending on where you provide your feedback, in private or in a larger group, provide critical comments in a personal exchange with the presenter rather than in a large group. Criticism can easily hurt the presenter, even if you did not intend it. It is easier for the presenters to take these comments in private, and you will likely have better results this way. 
• Be modest: Whatever you say, make it clear this is YOUR specific view, your opinion. It is not helpful to claim something is generally wrong or right because different people may have different thoughts about it. Rather, say “I think you could try this way,” instead of saying “You should do it this way.”
• Don’t ‘but’: Avoid using sentences like “Overall it was a very good presentation but …” The negative turn wipes out all of the praise. The presenter only hears the ‘but’ and waits for the negative news. Rather, say “I think you gave a really good presentation because ….” Then continue with a separate statement where you could say “I think on this specific aspect it would be better to do it this way …”
• Be positive: Let the presenter know what was really good, and provide an example. End in a positive tone to leave the presenter motivated. After all, feedback is about encouragement! 

Giving honest, fair and constructive feedback can raise the quality of presentations a lot. Feedback is not a judgement—good or bad—but an essential interaction and a learning process. Conferences are events where peers exchange, interact and learn from each other—they’re about communicating science. It is not a worthwhile experience if the only communication is from the presenters to the audience with no back-and-forth. When you give feedback to a presenter, you enable two-way communication, you pay them back for the time and effort they invested, and they will be grateful for it. Use our Presentation Feedback Sheet for your next conference and tell the presenters what you liked about their talks. By the way, even so-called “experienced” presenters are grateful to receive feedback! 

Resources: 

• Worksheet: Presentation Feedback Sheet
• Smart Academics Blog post #26: First conference presentation? 17 life-saving tips
• Smart Academics Blog post #30: Questions from the audience you should be prepared to answer
• Smart Academics Blog post #95: Apply these 5 tips to improve any presentation
• Smart Academics Blog post #116:  How to be a great conference chair—Part 1: Prepare and open the session
• Smart Academics Blog post #117: How to be a great conference chair—Part 2: Managing time, presenters and questions

More information

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Effective Conference Speaker Bios: 9 Examples That Stand Out

• Carolyn Manion Kinnie
• January 16, 2024

Table of Contents

When you land your first big speaking gig, one of the first things your event planner will ask for is a headshot and bio. Composing a bio for a conference is an important way to attract audience members to your talk. It also contributes to marketing for the event itself. Are you worried about coming up short when faced with this task? That’s why we’ve gathered a variety of great conference speaker bio examples just for you. Use these bios drawn from our own students and coaches at The Speaker Lab for inspiration as you get ready for your next speaking engagement!

Event bios can be tricky because you often have a word limit, whereas on your speaker website you have free reign to pick and choose how much and what information you include. Furthermore, if you offer a variety of options on your speaker menu, the bio you use for one talk/audience might not be well suited to the others. 

If the program will be appearing online ahead of the event, your conference speaker bio also plays a role in event promotion. Helping draw attendees to an event with your effective bio will endear you to conference event planners and gain you a positive reputation in the speaking world. While that may seem like a secondary concern, it plays an important role in building your network . 

What Makes a good Conference Speaker Bio?

As a refresher, we covered the ins and outs of writing a solid speaker bio here. And we’ve provided several templates for different kinds of speaker bios here . (Remember: we always recommend maintaining a longer “master bio” which you can edit and pare down to make shorter bios for conferences, speaker proposals, social media, and more.)

The most important factor that makes or breaks any speaker bio is your audience. Always keep your audience (and the event) in mind when you write a speaker bio for a conference. Are they professionals, creatives, executives, parents, entrepreneurs? Is this a connection and community oriented conference or one focused on presenting data-driven research without all the fluff? Even if you keep the same basic info, subtle adjustments to tone and the order you present information can make a huge difference! Our examples cover a variety of industries and event types so you can get a feel for how to change things up based on your client and audience. 

Before we get on to our conference speaker bio examples, let’s review our open-ended template. 

Conference Speaker Bio Template

• Open with a positioning statement aligned with the conference theme that establishes your expertise.

[Name] is a [seasoned expert] who [does interesting and important things in your industry].

• List the career highlights that are relevant to your talk. 

[Name] has [X years, decades] of experience doing [what your audience does or wants to do]. 

• Include a taste of your mission and vision –your “why”–to pique the audience’s interest.

During [life or career experience], [Name] realized that [thing that made you decide to speak]. Now, [Name] does [what you do for a living] to [transformation you hope to achieve].  

• If relevant: end with a personal fact relatable to your audience. (Leave this out if the conference atmosphere is particularly academic, data-driven, or otherwise impersonal).

[Name] enjoys trying new foods, like [signature dish of the city hosting the conference]. 

The conference speaker bio examples we’ve shared below are from students, alumni, and coaches of our TSL programs. You can listen to even more testimonies from our students and friends who have made their mark on the speaking industry on our podcast . 

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1. Dominique Luster

 2. Dr. Peggy DeLong

3. David Palmiter

Dr. David Palmiter’s bio for a medical society conference is credential-oriented and to the point. He hones in on his psychological expertise after describing his jack-of-all-trades career. Given the serious topic of his panel on substance abuse, an emphasis on professional qualifications is necessary and appropriate. But this conference bio isn’t entirely dry and technical, as it includes how Dr. Palmiter’s interest in magic connects to his desire to change people’s lives. Dr. Palmiter shared some of his magician’s wisdom on our podcast–listen here.

4. Chris Failla  

This profile for a networking event is a great example of a conference bio that combines brevity and thoroughness. Chris elucidates his credentials in the field and specifies the transformation he has wrought that is similar to what attendees will be looking for. He finishes with some personal notes, appropriate for an event that includes lunch and a happy hour where lots of small talk will be happening. While it’s short and to-the-point, you can tell from Chris’s bio that he’s a mission-driven guy, as he shared on our podcast .

5. Shailesh Ghimire  

This conference speaker bio from TSL alum Shailesh Ghimire is a great example of how to pack quite a punch with as few words as possible. In three sentences, Shailesh lets attendees at this dental industry continuing education event know exactly what they can expect to gain from his marketing presentation. 1. He has extensive experience in his field. 2. He can distill digital marketing concepts so they are easily digestible for non-marketers. 3. He will be concise and avoid rambling or jargon. If you’re working with a really strict word limit, try to focus on setting realistic and helpful expectations. Shailesh shared how he built a business out of his lifelong speaking passion on our podcast recently. Listen to his inspirational story here .

6. Anne Marie Anderson

Anne Marie Anderson’s conference bio for a women’s leadership symposium begins with a bang. Hard to beat three Emmys! It follows with a description of the transformation she effects through the keynote she is offering. Then, she covers all the experience and methods that go into her mission. Because Anne Marie has such an outstanding career outside of the motivational speaking realm, her bio serves to explain how her experience in broadcasting applies to her audience. Anne Marie talked to our team about her amazing career and “building an audacious mindset” on the podcast right here.  

7. Amy Fuentes

Are you trying to come up with a paragraph that convinces people to come to your workshop? Here’s a conference speaker bio example for you. Amy’s presentation at an upcoming women’s leadership conference is accompanied by an extremely mission-oriented conference bio. Given the event’s focus on inspiration and empowerment, this is a shrewd strategy to encourage people to come to her breakout session . Listen to Amy’s testimony of how she felt called to empower women through her speaking platform here .

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8. Brittany Richmond

TSL’s very own Brittany Richmond will be presenting at the 2024 National Conference on Student Leadership . We might be biased, but we think this is an incredible conference speaker bio that exudes professionalism and authority in her field. Her introductory statement that gives you an idea of her on-stage persona and credentials. Her career path leads directly to her mission statement as well as a quick description of the many venues she has spoken for. You know exactly what you’re getting into when you listen to Britt’s presentation! Check out one of her recent podcasts with us here .

9. Dan Irvin

We’ll wrap up our slew of examples with a bio from TSL coach Dan Irvin. Dan just spoke to the American Bus Association conference in Nashville. His conference speaker bio hits all of our template requirements, leaves you full of excitement for his session, and offers a dose of relatability. A positioning statement that captures his personality and the transformation he offers starts us off. Then Dan covers his career background which qualifies him especially for work with leaders and executives. He describes his mission (at least for this talk): getting you back on track when you lose sight of your goals while having fun along the way. And he squeezes in a reminder that he too has a family to come back to at the end of this event. Dan shared several of his systems for success with us this year on an episode of The Speaker Lab podcast. 

Writing a conference bio is just one of the steps in the long process of finding, booking, and completing a paid speaking engagement. If you want more tips and guidance throughout this process, get in touch with our team here . 

• Last Updated: March 21, 2024

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Sample motivation letter for conference participation

A Cover letter is a brief letter of introduction about an event or person. It can be attached to more information or sent on its own if required. A motivational cover letter helps to not only introduce the subject but encourage the reader to take some form of action.

Let’s take a look at some different Motivational Cover Letters relating to a conference.

Current Date

Name of Applicant

Contact Details

Dear (name of person/agency)

I recently became aware of your plans to hold a conference on the (date) regarding (subject). As the theme relates to my profession and expertise, I am writing to express my sincere desire not only to attend but participate in the conference at (place).

The agenda of your conference directly relates to the work I am doing here at (place) in my current role as (job title). As a qualified (credential/s) this avenue of work has been my passion for many years. Our recent breakthroughs and discoveries would provide the conference with some of the industries latest research and up-to-date information.

Collaborating with other esteemed professionals during the conference would further contribute to its success and increase the network of all involved in this field.

I have included an abstract of the presentation I can offer along with a breakdown of the estimated costs I would incur related to my travel and participation in the program.

Although this is an investment on your part, I believe you will find it to be a worthwhile investment with significant benefits both in the short term and into the future.

Complete Name

Credentials

Attachments :

• Abstract of Presentation
• Estimated Costs

1. Cover letter sample for a conference

Attachments:.

• Research Breakdown
• Proposed Presentation

2. Cover letter examples for conference coordinator

Thank you for taking the time to consider my application for the Conference Coordinator Position. I was very excited to learn of this opening and would like to introduce myself to you briefly.

For the last (time), I have been working in this industry, organizing and providing support for multiple events on almost a weekly basis. I have a Ph.D. in Marketing and extensive knowledge of the (name) industry. My experience includes assisting with the organization of the National Real Estate Association’s annual conference.

My broad experience has taught me what to look for when selecting the best presenters for a conference and how to tailor the overall message of the conference to match the desired outcome. The attendance at the largest conference I have organized was by thousands of people over a period of two days.

It has been my sincere desire to work for your organization for some time, and I believe my enthusiasm for this role would be of mutual benefit. Please feel free to contact me at any time to discuss my application further.

Attachment:

3. cover letter format for conference participation.

I am thrilled to write and formally accept the invitation confirming my attendance and participation at the (name) conference on the (date) in (place).

As requested, I have included a summary of my travel itinerary and the costs related to my attending the conference. Also attached is an abstract of the presentation I will deliver at the conference.

It is with much anticipation that I am looking forward to the conference and everything planned in association with the event.

• Travel Itinerary Summary

4. Cover letter examples conference manager

Thank you for taking the time to consider my application for the Conference Manager Position. Your offer is of particular interest to me as the Conference theme is a passion of mine.

I have been working as a Conference Manager for the last (time) years, overseeing and settling whatever problem that has arisen. My career as a Conference Manager began after I graduated with a Masters degree in Business Administration. Since that time I have become a specialist in the Conference Management industry nationally.

As an experienced conference manager, I can guarantee you a trouble free and fruitful conference. I am happy to work with whatever team you already have in place and will quickly pick up where any predecessor has left off.

Please feel free to contact me on my number above to set up a meeting if you wish.

6. Sample motivation letter for a conference grant

Name of Organization

Name of Representative

Contact Details and Location

Regarding: Request for support of Conference Name/Theme

Dear (name):

Please accept our sincere greetings from the Conference Organization Name committee (or another group responsible).

We have written to request your support of a Conference we are planning to hold in (month) about (Conference Theme). Your company/organization came to mind when discussing the plans for this conference as we are well aware of the commitment your organization has made to its (theme) ongoing development.

A financial grant from you would increase help us to raise awareness of the issue we face at present and promote collaboration between those who will attend the event.

We expect over 2000 people to attend and will provide some light refreshments afterward. Organizations like yourself who provide grants will have free entry for ten employees, and your logo featured prominently throughout the venue.

We sincerely hope that you will be a part of the conference and provide a grant, please feel free to reach me directly at the number below should you like to register your support or ask any further questions.

Organization Name

7. Sample cover letter for conference proposal

Job Title / Company or Organization

Regarding: Conference Proposal

It has come to my attention that the recent upward trend we have seen of late within our industry has opened the door to some exciting new opportunities. Therefore, I am writing to propose a potential conference that could open the door to a new era of progress in our field.

Many of our colleagues in this area believe there is substantial room for growth within the industry. However, due to the type of work in this industry, it is not always easy to make contact with like-minded individuals and increase networking opportunities.

I firmly believe a conference could be the bridge that closes the gap and makes greater collaboration and networking possible within the field of (name of study/industry).

In my estimation, a conference with an attendance of 500 people would be cost effective. Further, a number of our suppliers have already demonstrated an interest in such an event, and they have verbally promised support for it. Of course, we would reciprocate their support by advertising them as the sponsors and employing their branding throughout the event.

I have attached a brief overview of the structure that the conference could take, potential locations, dates and even potential conference participants who could give valuable presentations.

Please review my proposal and let us know as soon as possible if you would be interested in collaborating to make this conference happen. If you can provide an answer before the (date), we here at (Organization Name) would be most grateful.

8. Sample cover letter for a conference producer

Please accept my sincere appreciation for reviewing my application for the Conference Producer Position. Currently, I am finishing up a contract where I have produced the annual Medical Association’s Conference; my current contract for this event expires at the end of next week.

During the last (time) years, I have been working as a Production Manager, and I am passionate about what I do. My role as a producer began when I was working for (company name) as their Marketing Director. The event was such a success I was asked to repeat the conference in five different cities during the six months that followed. Each conference proved to be a resounding success and led to my receiving multiple offers to Produce conferences as a Private Contractor.

Your particular conference theme caught my eye due to its uniqueness. Although I regularly organize conferences, one of the most important things for me personally, is to make sure that the conference is unique and fulfills the brief of the organization behind it.

Attached you will find my references and resume.

I am available any day of the week should you like to schedule an interview. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Check your Grammar ››

Attachment :

9. sample cover letter for a conference planner.

Could you use one of these letters in the future? Let us know what you like about them with a comment below. Our website has other great articles too, take a look!

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• Published: 09 April 2024

Voices of conference attendees : how should future hybrid conferences be designed?

• Sai Sreenidhi Ram 1 , 2 ,
• Daniel Stricker 1 ,
• Carine Pannetier 3 ,
• Nathalie Tabin 3 ,
• Richard W Costello 4 ,
• Daiana Stolz 5 , 6 ,
• Kevin W Eva 7 &
• Sören Huwendiek 1  

BMC Medical Education volume  24 , Article number:  393 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

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With conference attendees having expressed preference for hybrid meeting formats (containing both in-person and virtual components), organisers are challenged to find the best combination of events for academic meetings. Better understanding what attendees prioritise in a hybrid conference should allow better planning and need fulfilment.

An online survey with closed and open-ended questions was distributed to registrants of an international virtual conference. Responses were then submitted to descriptive statistical analysis and directed content analysis.

823 surveys (Response Rate = 4.9%) were received. Of the 813 who expressed a preference, 56.9% ( N  = 463) desired hybrid conference formats in the future, 32.0% ( N  = 260) preferred in-person conferences and 11.1% ( N  = 90) preferred virtual conferences. Presuming a hybrid meeting could be adopted, 67.4% (461/684) preferred that virtual sessions take place both during the in-person conference and be spread throughout the year. To optimise in-person components of hybrid conferences, recommendations received from 503 respondents included: prioritising clinical skills sessions (26.2%, N  = 132), live international expert presentations and discussions (15.7%, N  = 79) and interaction between delegates (13.5%, N  = 68). To optimise virtual components, recommendations received from 486 respondents included: prioritising a live streaming platform with international experts’ presentations and discussions (24.3%, N  = 118), clinical case discussions (19.8%, N  = 96) and clinical update sessions (10.1%, N  = 49).

Conclusions

Attendees envision hybrid conferences in which organisers can enable the vital interaction between individuals during an in-person component (e.g., networking, viewing and improving clinical skills) while accessing virtual content at their convenience (e.g., online expert presentations with latest advancements, clinical case discussions and debates). Having accessible virtual sessions throughout the year, as well as live streaming during the in-person component of hybrid conferences, allows for opportunity to prolong learning beyond the conference days.

Peer Review reports

In-person meetings have long offered important opportunities for professional development for clinicians and academics alike by promoting research, education, and career advancement. Among other things, such events have enabled networking and the introduction of new technologies and techniques into practice [ 1 ]. Research has suggested that in-person dialogue and debate through lectures, poster sessions and roundtable discussions are keys to conference success [ 2 ]. In addition, meeting other researchers, maintaining networks [ 3 , 4 ], and discovering career opportunities [ 5 , 6 ], are all important to attendees. Further, collaborative exchange between multidisciplinary members has demonstrated positive impacts on collaborative outcomes [ 7 ]. Such activity, however, is not without cost as meetings require effort (e.g., travel to conference venues, disruption to work and personal lives, and complex logistical planning for parents or caregivers) as well as money to cover registration, airfare, mileage, accommodation, and meals [ 8 ].

Those challenges amplified in response to the pandemic, as many conferences were forced online [ 9 ], requiring organisers and delegates alike to adapt to virtual environments. Research conducted on the transition has shown that motivations for conference attendance differ between in-person and virtual conferences, demanding a re-think about delegate priorities [ 10 ]. Virtual conference experiences have generally been reported as satisfactory [ 11 ] due to their being far more accessible, inclusive, and sustainable compared to in-person formats [ 12 ]. They appear to enable new learning [ 11 ] and allow populations with fewer resources to participate, thereby supporting equity, diversity and inclusion efforts [ 12 ]. Attending from the comfort of one’s own home or office [ 6 ] fosters a comfortable environment, but creating opportunities for interacting, networking and collaborating in a virtual format is challenging as chat boxes are a pale alternative to face-to-face discussion [ 13 ]. However, overwhelming digital-meeting fatigue, impersonal interactions and challenging time zones [ 14 ] also present challenges. Furthermore, online experiences have not been able to substitute for the hands-on learning via direct interaction with senior colleagues [ 15 ]. This is particularly notable within medical skills training (e.g., surgical procedures) [ 16 ]. That said, the benefits listed along with reduction in environmental impact [ 17 ] all suggest that virtual interactions are here to stay rather than reflecting a transitory adjustment.

In compromise, as the pandemic has subsided, hybrid conferences have become more prominent [ 18 ] and pressure on organisers to maintain hybrid formats is mounting as the majority of attendees now express preference for hybrid conferences [ 19 ]. That is, it has been shown that the majority of conference delegates prefer hybrid formats [ 15 ] because such meetings combine the advantages of in-person and virtual meetings [ 20 ]. For example, in-person conferences allow better interactivity with other delegates, better networking opportunities and better concentration whereas virtual conference formats were preferred for being time saving, cheaper and safer during the pandemic while also being more globally inclusive [ 10 ]. Hence, the combination of both allows for catering to diverse attendees’ needs.

As with anything, however, there are many ways in which a seemingly straightforward idea like “hybrid conferences” can be operationalised, requiring greater clarity regarding what organisers should prioritise as they continue to seek innovative ways to strengthen learning, global accessibility, and flexibility [ 10 ]. In other words, although there is a preference for hybrid formats, it is to date unclear how to optimise hybrid conferences to meet attendees’ needs. Suggestions from recent literature include that hybrid conferences may take the form of local in-person hubs, with a small number of participants meeting in parallel with online and virtual activities that include lectures to wider audiences [ 20 ]. While social interactions are more efficient during in-person gatherings, enabling virtual interaction with a wider array of individuals is more challenging. Ideas to address this include creating opportunities for social interactions through a virtual portal in which speakers can engage in discussions with delegates [ 20 ]. How to manage such innovations in the context of large-scale conferences, however, as well as what attendees would prioritise has not yet been published.

To address this gap, we surveyed conference delegates regarding how future hybrid conferences should be designed. Our main research question was “What are conference attendees’ preferences for in-person versus virtual components of hybrid conferences?” We triangulate on this question by asking meeting attendees about their preferences both in general terms and by inquiring about what could have been improved in the context of a large-scale virtual conference. By conducting this research, we aimed to provide insights into ways to increase the overall utility of academic conferences by providing guidance regarding what should be prioritised by meeting organisers.

This study was conducted in conjunction with the second virtual European Respiratory Society (ERS) annual congress, which took place in September 2021. 16,888 international delegates registered for the meeting, which occurred face-to-face until 2019. The conference attracts individuals with an interest in respiratory medicine from a variety of disciplines and career stages, coming together to present and discuss the latest scientific and clinical advances in the field. Traditionally, the conference included expert presentations with structured sessions for knowledge, clinical skills and networking. When the COVID-19 pandemic emerged, the ERS congress moved to a virtual format for its September 2020 meeting. That virtual conference included a live online streaming platform that was structured similar to news channels (i.e., attendees could stream a variety of “programmes”) that included presentations delivered by the world’s respiratory experts to enable discussion of the latest scientific and clinical advances across the field of respiratory medicine. In addition to providing knowledge updates, clinical debates and case discussions were encouraged. In addition, attendees were given the opportunity to virtually present their own local, regional and international research with experts chairing each session.

Study design

A survey was developed and distributed that was comprised of 2 parts: (1) overall motivations regarding why participants attend conferences; and (2) preferences for conference format and optimisation. The first part is largely a replication of previous work while the second is the primary focus of this study ( see Appendix 1 ). Both sections were designed using AMEE Guide No. 87 [ 21 ] with full details on how the guidelines were followed outlined in the Appendix of Ram et al. [ 19 ].

In particular, six main steps were followed. Summarised with particular attention to their relevance for this study, they consisted of the following:

(1) Literature review and alignment with previous research: Using prior research and the study results reported by Ram et al. [ 19 ], we knew that the majority of respondents would like to see hybrid conferences in the future and we were able to make adjustments to prioritise focus on what particular components of virtual and in-person conferences would be considered optimal by attendees.

(2) Interviews to understand how others conceptualise the concept: SR had previously conducted semi-structured interviews with thirteen ERS stakeholders who had extensive conference attendance experience [ 19 ]. They were asked what they believed motivates conference attendance. A theme extracted from that work pertained to convenience, so we added questions focussed on barriers to in-person attendance.

(3) Findings synthesis and (4) Question development: Our previous success with the online survey format and inclusion of both closed questions and free text questions led us to adopt a similar structure for this work. Mandatory closed questions included aspects of virtual and in-person conferences that make them successful, delegate satisfaction with a virtual conference, and format preferences. Open free-text questions were used to gain a more descriptive account of respondents’ viewpoints regarding what should be prioritised during in-person and virtual components of hybrid conferences, improvements that could be made to virtual only conferences and barriers to in-person conference attendance. Demographic variables included age, gender, country, workplace and professional role.

(5) Expert validation: ERS educational chair members were invited to review the survey and refine any items they felt required clarification.

(6) Pilot testing: Three cognitive interviews were conducted with conference attendees from various disciplines and who were at different stages of their career. This was done to check whether all the items were understandable and to assess how long the survey would take to complete online.

Data collection

SurveyMonkey ( https://www.surveymonkey.com ) was used to obtain informed consent from participants, and to execute the study. 16,888 attendees were invited to participate, via email, after the conference. Invitations included a brief description of the study, and a link to the survey with consent form included. Two reminder emails were sent over the course of a month with an incentive to win a free registration to the ERS Congress 2022. After gaining informed consent from participants, measures were taken to ensure confidentiality and anonymity of the data and by removing any identifying information from participant responses.

Data analysis

Closed questions were summarised through descriptive statistics and open free-text questions were analysed using directed content analysis [ 22 ]. The latter involved extracting keywords from the literature review that informed stage 1 of survey development. They predominantly fell into two categories: in-person attendance challenges and virtual conference challenges. Namely, for in-person attendance challenges, cost , conference registration , travel effort , language difficulties , time commitment , and accommodation were all issues that were used to define the focus of any given comment; for virtual conference challenges, internet connection , virtual networking , and time zones were known to be key issues. These served as a starting point with additional codes being added as the analytic process continued whenever a substantive issue was raised that could not be coded using one or more of these key words. That is, any text that could not be categorised with the initial coding scheme was used to develop a new code that was then added to the code book.

Chi-squared analyses were conducted to compare the distribution of responses when participants were asked to comment on in-person versus virtual components of hybrid conferences.

823 attendees (Response Rate = 4.9%) completed the survey. 40.5% ( N  = 333) reported being male, 39.9% ( N  = 329) reported being female, 0.4% ( N  = 3) preferred not to say and 19.2% ( N  = 158) did not answer. Age was normally distributed with a peak in the 41–45-years-old range ( Appendix 2 ). The modal workplace (39.3%, N  = 261) was a university hospital ( Appendix 3 ). 75.0% ( N  = 617) had attended the previous ERS virtual congress in 2020. 27.8% ( N  = 229) of participants had never attended an ERS congress (i.e., either a past in-person congress or the virtual ERS Congress in 2020).

From a total of 665 attendees who indicated their geographic location, 56.8% were from Europe ( N  = 378), 26.3% were from Asia ( N  = 175), 6.2% were from Africa ( N  = 41), 4.5% were from South America ( N  = 30), 4.2% were from North America ( N  = 28), and 2.0% were from Oceania ( N  = 13). While no demographics are available for all of the 2021 ERS congress attendees, these proportions compare well to those of a previous conference [ 19 ].

Conference preferences

Consistent with our previous work, the majority − 56.9% (463/813) - of respondents claimed they would prefer conferences to use a hybrid format in the future. 32.0% (260/813) preferred in-person meetings and 11.1% (90/813) preferred virtual formats alone. Barriers to attendance at in-person conferences were primarily cost related (reflecting 74.0% (361/488) of the reasons given for difficulty attending in-person). 21.5% (105/488) of the barriers expressed related to travel challenges (including the time required) and a small minority mentioned other things such as difficulty getting out of clinical duties and language barriers.

Optimising in-person components of hybrid conferences

503 free-text responses were received to the question: “We are thinking of moving to Hybrid conferences (combination of virtual and in-person components) for the future. What would you like to see in the in-person component?” In descending order of prevalence, 132 (26.2%) indicated a desire for clinical skills sessions, 79 (15.7%) wanted experts’ presentations and discussions, and 68 (13.5%) mentioned opportunities for interaction between all members (e.g., attendees, speakers, patients). Full details of the direct content analysis codes and their frequencies for in-person components of hybrid conferences are included in Table  1 . 21.9% of participants (180/823) selected a preference for the in-person component to be held over Friday-Saturday-Sunday , closely followed by a preference for Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday , which was chosen by 20.1% (165/823) of participants, and Thursday-Friday-Saturday , which was chosen by 19.8% (163/823) of participants.

Optimising virtual components of hybrid conferences

When respondents were asked to reflect on their preferences for the virtual components of hybrid conferences, 67.4% (461/684) indicated desiring virtual sessions both during the in-person congress and spread throughout the year. 18.0% (123/684) preferred virtual sessions only during the in-person event and 14.6% (100/684) preferred virtual sessions throughout the year rather than during the in-person event.

486 free-text responses were received to the question: “We are thinking of moving to Hybrid conferences (combination of virtual and in-person components) for the future. What would you like to see in the virtual component?” In descending order of preference, 118 (24.3%) indicated a desire for live streaming of experts’ presentations and discussions; 96 (19.8%) wanted virtual clinical case discussions; and 49 (10.1%) mentioned knowledge update sessions. Full details of the direct content analysis codes and their frequencies for virtual components of hybrid conferences are included in Table  1 .

Chi-squared analyses conducted on codes that are applicable to both in-person and virtual conference components showed that the preference for “Clinical skills sessions” was mentioned a greater proportion of the time in the context of in-person components whereas “Clinical case discussions” and “Poster and oral presentation sessions” was mentioned a greater proportion of the time in the context of virtual components of hybrid conferences.

Means of improving a large-scale virtual conference

In addition to asking attendees for their preferences for the virtual and in-person component of hybrid conferences in general terms, we also asked attendees “What improvements would you suggest for this year’s virtual congress?” as a means of understanding how to improve virtual components of conferences. 58.6% ( N  = 482) of respondents were highly satisfied (assigned 6 or 7 on a 7-point scale) with the 2021 ERS virtual congress. The factors that drove that success were dominantly “quality of speakers and presenters” (as indicated by 67.8% ( N  = 558) of respondents), the “relevance of topics/content of sessions” (65.1%; N  = 536), and “interactivity within sessions and audience participation” (38.5%; N  = 317).

361 attendees commented on improvements they would prioritise. They primarily focussed on greater interaction between members in the virtual platform (23.3%, N  = 84), technical improvements (22.4%, N  = 81) and increased variation of topics (14.4%, N  = 52). Table  2 demonstrates direct content analysis codes and their frequencies outlining ways of improving a large-scale virtual conference.

Our respondents indicated that the majority of them would prefer future meetings to take place in a hybrid format, with virtual sessions spread throughout the year in addition to during the congress itself. In doing so, they identified aspects of conferences they would prioritise for both in-person and virtual components. For in-person components of hybrid conferences, respondents recommended prioritising increasing the number of clinical skills sessions and live plenaries of experts’ presentations (e.g., latest scientific advancements, clinical debates and case discussions and, opportunities for interaction between delegates). For virtual components of hybrid conferences, respondents similarly recommended prioritising live streaming of experts’ presentations, but they also suggested increasing the overall number of clinical case discussions and facilitating opportunities for virtual discussions with experts. Suggested improvements for a large-scale virtual conference include prioritising both interaction between participants (attendees, speakers, patients) and technical improvements. Cost remains a major barrier for in-person conference attendance in addition to the challenges associated with travel.

As organisers strive to offer conferences that enable learning, global accessibility, and flexibility, the preference of candidates to have virtual components take place during the meeting and throughout the year takes on great importance. The literature, however, suggests that segregating the community of people with interest in a subject area into those who attend traditional in-person conferences and those who attend virtual meetings should be avoided, for fear of creating subgroups rather than taking proper advantage of the full community’s inherent ability to broaden the conference’s diversity and strengthen social networks [ 23 ]. This highlights a need to focus on continuing with hybrid formats with the now improved clarity of what aspects should be included in the respective in-person and virtual components.

While cost will inevitably prevent some people from attending in-person conferences [ 24 ], delegates’ desires for hybrid meetings reinforces the inequity of holding meetings that are purely in-person; incorporation of virtual components during hybrid meetings might help to enable greater interaction between those with more and those with fewer resources.

Focussing more granularly, respondents suggested that practicing live clinical skills should be prioritised for the in-person component of hybrid conferences (26.2% compared to 4.5% for the virtual component of hybrid conferences), in addition to networking. The former could include use of bronchoscopes and practice of novel surgical incisions in a simulated setting to broaden skill development. Conferences that can provide such in-person live clinical skills sessions, with experts facilitating, appear likely to attract attendees by offering direct learning they can translate back to their local setting. Recent literature suggests that more virtual reality–based technology may be used to improve the use of hands-on workshops after virtual sessions to reinforce the concepts learned in lectures and during live operative demonstrations [ 15 ]. Whether or not that can be made as effective as learning during in-person meetings remains to be seen given that face-to-face meetings allow participants additional benefits of listening to information while observing the speaker’s body language, facial expressions, and gestures (i.e., cues that are often difficult to detect virtually, but improve the ability of people to communicate effectively [ 25 ]).

That said, our findings suggest that clinical case discussions are more valued as part of the virtual component of the hybrid conferences compared to the in-person component (19.8% compared to 4.8%), thus supporting the idea that knowledge (as opposed to skill development) should be the focus when conducting virtual sessions. Consistent with that observation is that poster and oral presentation sessions were more frequently mentioned for inclusion in the virtual component of hybrid conferences. Such may be preferred by attendees in a virtual setting because they create the opportunity to present one’s findings to support continuous professional development through improving presentation skills and acquiring mandatory CPD points. They also grant the opportunity for learning from other presentations within the designated session, perhaps from the convenience of home. It is important to keep in mind, however, that previous research has reported that it should not be assumed that conference goers are a homogenous group; rather, subgroups of attendees and their different motivations for attendance likely need taken into account [ 19 ].

With respect to the large-scale nature of the conference focused upon in this study, it is noteworthy that the results show that participants envisioned the quality of speakers/presenters and relevance of topics/content of sessions to be fundamental determinants of their satisfaction with virtual conferences. Those findings are similar to those shared by Rubinger et al. [ 6 ] in their discussion of how to maximise virtual meetings and conferences following a review of conference best practices (i.e., they drew particular attention to speaker quality). Attracting high quality speakers may be more feasible in a large-scale virtual conference because conference organisers usually require a budget to cover travel costs for those who are invited to in-person conferences; the finances freed up might be used to source the best experts within a field. To ensure they meet the needs of attendees, Rubinger et al. stress the importance of ensuring that speakers have appropriate support documents and template presentations that take into account what participants should take away from the presentations [ 6 ]. Our own prior research comparing virtual conferences with past in-person conferences [ 10 ] suggested that participants would like the opportunity for knowledge gain from conferences to extend beyond that of the conference days, effectively lengthening the meeting by providing preparatory and follow-up resources. For conference organisers, pre-reading material, take-away messages in a summary document or virtual multiple-choice questions to test knowledge before and after the conference may be beneficial for attendees by lengthening the timespan in which they engage in learning.

In any case, a dominant issue for respondents in this study was the importance of greater interaction between all members in the virtual platform and the need for technical improvements. This highlights that networking is a main priority for attendees even in virtual conferences although they would prioritise in-person networking opportunities when hybrid formats are used. When conferences must be run entirely online, virtual networking opportunities may be particularly important for younger members of the community (e.g., students who may not have access to the financial means to travel to large-scale international conferences but are able to join online).

Strengths, limitations and future research

Strengths of this study include its large-scale survey design and utilising an international and multidisciplinary population that was forced to grapple with questions of conference priorities (the focus of the research) as a result of the constantly changing circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic. Conducting this study after the second ERS virtual conference, that is, created considerable opportunity to gather experience-informed guidance for conference organisers who now need to determine how to proceed with meetings in the future. Through investigation of delegate preferences and barriers faced, we were able to identify inequities inherent in offering in-person formats alone. This information will help conference organisers increase the utility of their meetings for all attendees.

The limitations associated with our study include a low response rate (4.9%) despite the use of multiple follow-up reminders and a lottery incentive, as suggested by [ 26 ]. Concern deriving from that fact is lessened to a degree by the sample size being large and the demographics being similar to what is expected from the conference delegate population. Selection bias may still exist, however, given that, for example, respondents with greater technical prowess may have been more readily able to fill out the survey. More generally, the decision to recruit from the delegate list of a virtual meeting means that we are missing the perspectives of those who did not attend the conference because they do not value the learning/interaction that is on offer through virtual meetings. It is noteworthy, however, that only 11% of respondents expressed a preference for virtual meetings alone, suggesting that participants were not simply those who were particularly supportive of the format in which the ERS took place. Unfortunately, the conference is unable to provide demographics for the full set of delegates, making it impossible to judge the representativeness of our sample but we would note that the gender and geographic distribution are similar to that of previous years [ 19 ].

Future research should include investigation into what specific sessions attendees would like to see within in-person and virtual components of hybrid conferences (e.g., online flipped-classrooms, live simulation multi-disciplinary team sessions to tackle respiratory emergencies) as well as how structured virtual socialising is perceived by attendees and/or supervisors, experts and mentors.

Our study has given light to conference organisers regarding how future hybrid conferences might best meet the preferences and priorities of attendees. Such conferences would ideally include (a) an in-person component focussed on live clinical skills sessions and networking and (b) a virtual component with sessions, throughout the year, focussing on speakers who are experts in their field and able to deliver good online teaching and learning on a variety of topics. By targeting this balance in a hybrid conference, organisers can enable the vital interaction between individuals during the in-person component (e.g., networking, viewing and improving on clinical skills) while enabling them to access virtual content at their convenience.

Data availability

The datasets used and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on request.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the participants of this study and the European Respiratory Society ( https://www.ersnet.org ) for funding this study as part of a PhD research project.

SRs PhD is sponsored by the ERS; however, it was made sure that the study was designed and supervised by SH and KE who were all not affiliated with the ERS.

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Sai Sreenidhi Ram, Daniel Stricker & Sören Huwendiek

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Carine Pannetier & Nathalie Tabin

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Contributions

The study was part of a PhD project and hence included the PhD candidate SR, and her supervisors SH and KE. The overall research group included members of the ERS; both within the educational council, DSto and RC and employed members of the educational event organisational team, CP and NT. The collective research team including all authors contributed to the conception, study design and refinement of survey and interview guide. SR conducted all interviews with NT and CP supporting the distribution of the survey and data anonymisation. Data analysis and interpretation was conducted by SR and SH with additional interpretation support from KE. SR, SH and KE drafted the preliminary article with RC, DSto, DStr, CP and NT contributing critical revisions. All authors approved the version to be published and were in agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

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Correspondence to Sai Sreenidhi Ram .

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SRs PhD is sponsored by the ERS. No other authors have no competing interests.

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The study was deemed exempt from ethical review after application to the Regional Ethics Committee of the Canton of Bern (member of the Swiss Association of Research Ethics Committees, Switzerland) BASEC-Nr: Req-2021-00833 (Acquired: 22/07/2021). To gain informed consent, all attendees of the ERS Congress 2021 were e-mailed with a brief description of the study which contained a link to the survey. It was explicitly stated that by filling in the survey, participants were providing consent for their answers to be used as part of a PhD research project. Measures were taken to ensure confidentiality and anonymity of all data by removing any identifying information from participant responses.

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Ram, S.S., Stricker, D., Pannetier, C. et al. Voices of conference attendees : how should future hybrid conferences be designed?. BMC Med Educ 24 , 393 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-024-05351-z

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TCNJ students “far and away” national undergraduate leaders in health communication conference presentations

According to the world-renowned organizer of the nation’s most prestigious health communication conference, Professor Nancy Harrington, TCNJ students are far and away the nation’s leaders in undergraduate paper presentations. She offered this opinion when three TCNJ undergraduates (two majoring in communication studies, another in public health) and one master of public health graduate student presented co-authored papers on April 5 in Lexington, Kentucky, at the biannual Kentucky Health Communication Conference (KCHC 2024), the nation’s oldest and most revered health communication conference in the U.S.

Commenting on TCNJ student presentations, Harrington, who has organized the University of Kentucky conferences almost since their founding in the late 90s, said: “Since 2006, when students from TCNJ first began presenting their research at the Kentucky Conference on Health Communication, a biennial conference that attracts national and international participants, they have been far and away the leaders in undergraduate participation. In fact, TCNJ students have presented more refereed papers and posters than have undergraduates from any other college or university. KCHC 2024 is the first conference for which we have two other colleges bringing a significant number of undergraduate students. I like to think that TCNJ has paved the way.”

All three co-authored undergraduate papers and the single graduate paper were written in classes in Communication Research Methods and International Communication taught by social scientist John C. Pollock , professor of communication studies and public health, designer of the health communication specializations in both departments, who said: “I am especially proud of this year’s TCNJ representatives, co-authoring papers on such diverse topics as nationwide multicity coverage of abortion access ( Roman Fabbricatore ’25 ), birth control access ( Shannon Allen ’25 ), and opioid misuse ( Chandler Storcella ’25 ), as well as on cross-national coverage of water pollution (MPH student Jessica Munyan ).” Each media sociology paper was written using “community structure theory,” developed by Pollock over several decades at TCNJ, comparing community-level (city or country) demographics with variations in coverage of critical issues in major city or national newspapers. Over his nearly 32 years of teaching at TCNJ, Pollock has co-authored almost 200 papers with over 500 student co-authors, papers presented at state, national, or international conferences, co-authoring additional articles or chapters, and even a book with 28 student co-authors.

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According to Susan Ryan , chair of the Department of Communication Studies, “We continue to be impressed by the exemplary work in Dr. Pollock’s classes leading to student presentations at national conferences. This accomplishment reflects well on the students and on the health communication specialization that has long been a major department strength.”

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Students who choose this format present their research in an original five-minute video in one of the following categories:

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Gemini Code Assist

After reading about Google’s new Gemini Code Assist , an enterprise-focused AI code completion and assistance tool, you may be asking yourself if that sounds familiar. And you would be correct. TechCrunch Senior Editor Frederic Lardinois writes that “Google previously offered a similar service under the now-defunct Duet AI branding.” Then Gemini came along. Code Assist is a direct competitor to GitHub’s Copilot Enterprise. Here’s why

And to put Gemini Code Assist into context, Alex Wilhelm breaks down its competition with Copilot, and its potential risks and benefits to developers, in the latest TechCrunch Minute episode.

Google Workspace

Image Credits: Google

Among the new features are voice prompts to kick off the AI-based “Help me write” feature in Gmail while on the go . Another one for Gmail includes a way to instantly turn rough email drafts into a more polished email. Over on Sheets, you can send out a customizable alert when a certain field changes. Meanwhile, a new set of templates make starting a new spreadsheet easier. For the Doc lovers, there is support for tabs now. This is good because, according to the company, you can “organize information in a single document instead of linking to multiple documents or searching through Drive.” Of course, subscribers get the goodies first. Read more

Google also seems to have plans to monetize two of its new AI features for the Google Workspace productivity suite. This will look like $10/month/user add-on packages. One will be for the new AI meetings and messaging add-on that takes notes for you, provides meeting summaries and translates content into 69 languages. The other is for the introduced AI security package, which helps admins keep Google Workspace content more secure. Read more

In February, Google announced an image generator built into Gemini, Google’s AI-powered chatbot. The company pulled it shortly after it was found to be randomly injecting gender and racial diversity into prompts about people. This resulted in some offensive inaccuracies. While we waited for an eventual re-release, Google came out with the enhanced image-generating tool, Imagen 2 . This is inside its Vertex AI developer platform and has more of a focus on enterprise. Imagen 2 is now generally available and comes with some fun new capabilities, including inpainting and outpainting. There’s also what Google’s calling “text-to-live images” where you  can now create short, four-second videos from text prompts, along the lines of AI-powered clip generation tools like Runway ,  Pika  and  Irreverent Labs . Read more

Vertex AI Agent Builder

We can all use a little bit of help, right? Meet Google’s Vertex AI Agent Builder, a new tool to help companies build AI agents.

“Vertex AI Agent Builder allows people to very easily and quickly build conversational agents,” Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian said. “You can build and deploy production-ready, generative AI-powered conversational agents and instruct and guide them the same way that you do humans to improve the quality and correctness of answers from models.”

To do this, the company uses a process called “grounding,” where the answers are tied to something considered to be a reliable source. In this case, it’s relying on Google Search (which in reality could or could not be accurate). Read more

Gemini comes to databases

Google calls Gemini in Databases a collection of features that “simplify all aspects of the database journey.” In less jargony language, it’s a bundle of AI-powered, developer-focused tools for Google Cloud customers who are creating, monitoring and migrating app databases. Read more

Google renews its focus on data sovereignty

Image Credits: MirageC / Getty Images

Google has offered cloud sovereignties before, but now it is focused more on partnerships rather than building them out on their own. Read more

Security tools get some AI love

Image Credits: Getty Images

Google jumps on board the productizing generative AI-powered security tool train with a number of new products and features aimed at large companies. Those include Threat Intelligence, which can analyze large portions of potentially malicious code. It also lets users perform natural language searches for ongoing threats or indicators of compromise. Another is Chronicle, Google’s cybersecurity telemetry offering for cloud customers to assist with cybersecurity investigations. The third is the enterprise cybersecurity and risk management suite Security Command Center. Read more

Nvidia’s Blackwell platform

One of the anticipated announcements is Nvidia’s next-generation Blackwell platform coming to Google Cloud in early 2025. Yes, that seems so far away. However, here is what to look forward to: support for the high-performance Nvidia HGX B200 for AI and HPC workloads and GB200 NBL72 for large language model (LLM) training. Oh, and we can reveal that the GB200 servers will be liquid-cooled. Read more

Chrome Enterprise Premium

Meanwhile, Google is expanding its Chrome Enterprise product suite with the launch of Chrome Enterprise Premium . What’s new here is that it mainly pertains mostly to security capabilities of the existing service, based on the insight that browsers are now the endpoints where most of the high-value work inside a company is done. Read more

Gemini 1.5 Pro

Everyone can use a “half” every now and again, and Google obliges with Gemini 1.5 Pro. This, Kyle Wiggers writes, is “Google’s most capable generative AI model,” and is now available in public preview on Vertex AI, Google’s enterprise-focused AI development platform. Here’s what you get for that half: T he amount of context that it can process, which is from 128,000 tokens up to 1 million tokens, where “tokens” refers to subdivided bits of raw data (like the syllables “fan,” “tas” and “tic” in the word “fantastic”). Read more

Open source tools

At Google Cloud Next 2024, the company debuted a number of open source tools primarily aimed at supporting generative AI projects and infrastructure. One is Max Diffusion, which is a collection of reference implementations of various diffusion models that run on XLA, or Accelerated Linear Algebra, devices. Then there is JetStream, a new engine to run generative AI models. The third is MaxTest, a collection of text-generating AI models targeting TPUs and Nvidia GPUs in the cloud. Read more

We don’t know a lot about this one, however, here is what we do know : Google Cloud joins AWS and Azure in announcing its first custom-built Arm processor, dubbed Axion. Frederic Lardinois writes that “based on Arm’s Neoverse 2 designs, Google says its Axion instances offer 30% better performance than other Arm-based instances from competitors like AWS and Microsoft and up to 50% better performance and 60% better energy efficiency than comparable X86-based instances.” Read more

The entire Google Cloud Next keynote

If all of that isn’t enough of an AI and cloud update deluge, you can watch the entire event keynote via the embed below.

Google Cloud Next’s developer keynote

On Wednesday, Google held a separate keynote for developers . They offered a deeper dive into the ins and outs of a number of tools outlined during the Tuesday keynote, including Gemini Cloud Assist, using AI for product recommendations and chat agents, ending with a showcase from Hugging Face. You can check out the full keynote below.