How to get your message across: Creating a powerful (conference) presentation

A conference is a wonderful way to expand your knowledge and catch up on the latest developments in your field. However, it is sometimes hard to tell at the end of a presentation what the main finding and message was – and that is usually not because you didn’t listen well enough or you are not ‘smart’ enough. It’s an experience everyone at the conference had (at least once). So, as a presenter, how can you help your audience? How can you get and keep their attention? How can you help them understand and remember your message? How can you create a powerful presentation that sticks to your audience?

In this workshop, we will discuss how to avoid common and more subtle pitfalls, and how to grab and maintain the attention of your audience. Hands-on tips and tricks will be provided that help you to get your message across. We will focus on several topics, including how to best structure your presentation, achieving the desired impact, and designing slides that do not distract the attention of your audience but rather support your message. After this workshop, you will have several tools that will help you to get your message across and to make a powerful presentation!

Bio

Marlies Maes is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Interdisciplinary Social Science: Youth Studies, Utrecht University, the Netherlands. She studies loneliness among youth, focusing on the conceptualization and measurement of (different types of) loneliness and on factors contributing to its development and maintenance. Marlies collaborates with (inter)national experts from different disciplines and integrates complementary methods (e.g., meta-analysis, longitudinal research, cross-national research, large-scale cross-sectional research, and qualitative methods). As an expert on the topic of youth loneliness, she was invited as keynote speaker, presenter, and discussant during (inter)national conferences and events. Her teaching focuses on methods (systematic reviews and quantitative methods), open science, and bridging science and society (e.g., science communication, and interpreting and using science (for policy or practice).