Some Thoughts on Academic Presentations Dan Quint University

Some Thoughts on Academic Presentations Dan Quint University of Wisconsin November 16, 2016

Introduction Preparation Delivery Answering Questions Almost Freakish Attention to Detail 1

Introduction w Presenting well matters 2

Introduction w Preparing a good talk takes much longer than you think “Hofstadter’s Law: it always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account Hofstadter’s Law. ” – Douglas Hofstadter 3

Introduction w Giving a good talk is hard… …and you’ll screw it up Your first practice talk will probably go worse than you expect, even when you account for this. 4

Introduction Preparation Delivery Answering Questions Almost Freakish Attention to Detail 5

Preparation w “Own your paper” 6

Preparation w Think about who your audience is w Assume we’re smart, but haven’t read your paper, or the one you’re extending 7

Preparation w Think about the best way to teach them your paper 8

Preparation w Start with a puzzle, or a story 9

Preparation w Make us understand, quickly: What the question is w What you found w Why we should care w 10

Preparation w Your lit review is terrible easy Show you know the literature you’re supposed to w Put your paper in context and clarify its contribution w hard good place to take advice from advisors, etc. 11

Preparation w Your lit review is terrible 12

Preparation w Get to your model FAST! 13

Preparation w Simplify! You don’t need to present the most general case w Help us out with the “right” leading example w 14

Preparation w Define things rigorously 15

Preparation w Have examples in mind 16

Preparation w Plan where you want to spend your time 17

Preparation w Plan where you want to spend your time 18

Preparation w PLAN WHERE YOU WANT TO SPEND YOUR TIME 19

Preparation w Highlight the things you want us to notice 20

Preparation w Don’t drown us in equations w Every equation you show should have a purpose 21

Preparation w Tables source: A. Sengupta and S. Wiggins (2014), “Airline Pricing, Price Dispersion, and Ticket Characteristics On and Off the Internet, ” AEJ: Economic Policy 6(1) 22

Preparation w Visuals good! source: T. Piketty, E. Saez and S. Stantcheva (2014), “Optimal Taxation of Top 23 Labor Incomes: A Tale of Three Elasticities, ” AEJ: Economic Policy 6(1)

Preparation w Ask for advice – and follow it 24

Preparation w Practice! 25

Introduction Preparation Delivery Answering Questions Almost Freakish Attention to Detail 26

Delivery w Face the audience, and don’t laser-point every slide 27

Delivery w Go slow, except for the technical parts – then, go really slow 28

Delivery w Going slow is crucial for equations probability h of my opponents do one thing and the rest do another increase in probability stuff happens expected payoff I get if it happens 29

Delivery w I like dot points to appear one by one w Guides people through each point I make w Reinforces each point w (Means I can’t present without a clicker) 30

Delivery w But don’t “foreshadow” dot points You may think it looks cute But it makes people read ahead while you’re talking Which means they aren’t paying attention 31

Delivery w But don’t “foreshadow” dot points w You may think it looks cute But it makes people read ahead while you’re talking Which means they aren’t paying attention 32

Delivery w But don’t “foreshadow” dot points w You may think it looks cute w But it makes people read ahead while you’re talking Which means they aren’t paying attention 33

Delivery w But don’t “foreshadow” dot points w You may think it looks cute w But it makes people read ahead while you’re talking w Which means they aren’t paying attention 34

Delivery w Also, don’t put everything you want to say on your slide w If you do, then all you can do is read your slides w And that isn’t a very compelling way to present w Better to leave some things off your slide and just talk about them w And use your slides as an outline of the major points you want to cover… w …not every detail 35

Delivery w Don’t be limited by your slides Control pace, adjust accordingly w Use white board as needed w 36

Introduction Preparation Delivery Answering Questions Almost Freakish Attention to Detail 37

Answering questions w Anticipate likely questions 38

Answering questions w Don’t take it personally Don’t get defensive w Don’t be a dick w 39

Answering questions w Don’t interrupt someone asking a question 40

Answering questions w Don’t interrupt someone asking a question 41

Answering questions w DON’T INTERRUPT SOMEONE ASKING A QUESTION 42

Answering questions w Be sure you understand the question before you start to answer 43

Answering questions w Don’t defer questions more than necessary w If you keep saying, “That will be clear when I show you the model”… maybe you should have gotten to the model sooner? 44

Answering questions w But don’t lose control of the seminar 45

Answering questions w Don’t be a bullshitter w But don’t undersell your work 46

Introduction Preparation Delivery Answering Questions Almost Freakish Attention to Detail 47

Almost freakish attention to detail w Minimize typos, incorrect notation, etc. w But don’t overreact if you catch one during your talk 48

Almost freakish attention to detail w If your dot points appear one by one, 49

Almost freakish attention to detail w If your dot points appear one by one, w Make sure you do it properly, 50

Almost freakish attention to detail w If your dot points appear one by one, w Make sure you do it properly, w Because if they don’t line up right, 51

Almost freakish attention to detail w If your dot points appear one by one, w Make sure you do it properly, w Because if they don’t line up right, w It makes me want to kill you! 52

Almost freakish attention to detail w Plug in your fucking computer 53

Almost freakish attention to detail w (Also: don’t use the word “fuck” in a presentation until you have tenure) 54

Thanks for listening, and good luck! 55