Preparing for Scientific Conferences

A lot of the value of attending or speaking at a conference doesn’t come from being there. It comes from what you do afterwards. How many times have you come back from a conference or event and thought, “I should’ve done more to maximize that experience”? Not just attending the sessions or showing up at the networking receptions, but turning it into something meaningful for your visibility, your relationships and your business development efforts. Me too 🙋🏼♀️ It’s easy to get caught up in our busy lives, especially after returning from a conference and then move on to the next thing without following up. What you proactively do after the event is what can turn conversations into relationships and visibility into opportunity. Here are some ways to make the most of attending your next conference: ✔️ Prioritize the people you met and follow up with context on LinkedIn or by email, referencing your conversation and suggesting a clear next step ✔️ Follow up with organizers to share feedback and express interest in speaking or getting involved in future programming ✔️ Turn your conference notes into key takeaways and share them as content (LinkedIn post, blog post or short video) connected to your work, your clients or what you’re seeing in the market ✔️ Host your own webinar to recap key themes and extend the conversation ✔️ Interview speakers or attendees whose perspectives stood out and use that content in a webinar, blog post or on social media ✔️ Host an internal recap to share key insights and connect them to your team’s work ✔️ Turn questions or conversations from the event into content or targeted outreach ✔️ Share insights from the event in an email newsletter ✔️ Add relevant new contacts to your email list so you can stay visible with them ✔️ Create a simple system to stay in touch with the people who matter most ✔️ Review the attendee list and reach out to people you didn’t meet ✔️ Follow up with speakers you admired, even if you didn’t connect in person ✔️ Identify one trend or theme you kept hearing across conversations and proactively share that perspective with clients or colleagues You already put in the time and energy to be there. This is how you carry that momentum forward. Which of these ideas resonated most with you? #LegalMarketing #ClientDevelopment #LinkedInTips #BusinessDevelopment #PersonalBrandingTips

Too many conference sessions. Not enough time 🏃♀️➡️ If you’ve ever stared at an event agenda and thought: Where do I even start? You're not alone. An Assistant DM’d me this recently: “I’m heading to my first admin conference. How do you pick the right sessions when there’s so much to choose from?” Brilliant question. And one I still ask myself. Here’s the system I use and teach: 1. What does the business need? What’s changing? What’s urgent? Pick sessions that speak to the now, not just the nice-to-have. 2. What does my exec need? Where can I help them win? I choose sessions that sharpen my focus, not just expand my task list. 3. What do I need to grow? This is your time too. Pick one thing that stretches you- AI, confidence, strategy -and go there. If a session checks one or more of those boxes ...I’m in! That’s what I come home raving about. That’s what justifies the ticket price. That’s what drives change. And here's a lesson I had to learn the hard way: 👉 You don’t have to attend everything. You won’t “miss out” by skipping a session. You’ll gain more by choosing with purpose. Q: What’s your process for choosing sessions or spending your L&D budget wisely? Drop your tips👇 I’d love to learn from you. Know someone attending a conference? Send this post their way 📨📨

"You really bring up the energy when you smile." That was the feedback I got after one of my first major speaking events…referring to the fact that I smiled exactly ONCE during the whole presentation. In 2014, my co-worker sent me the video replay from one of my first major speaking engagements at an HR conference in Las Vegas. I watched myself lead that session and realized I smiled exactly once. The rest of the time, my overly-concentrating face was squished into what I can only describe as growly. I had been leading training events since 2005, but I had never once seen myself on video. I'd only received feedback from participants on my skills. Since that horrifying replay I made a commitment to get as much video of myself speaking as possible. Because no amount of presentation coaching fixes your quirks quite like watching yourself does. ▪️ A coach might say "smile more." But I wouldn't have known I was nearly scowling until I saw my own face. ▪️ A coach might say "cut the ums." But you don't notice how many you use or what triggers them until you hear yourself. ▪️ A coach might say "get to the point." But you won't catch the places you over-explain until you watch yourself tell stories. Self-observation is the most underrated leadership development tool. For many of my executive coaching clients, video presentation coaching comes hand in hand with our engagement. Why? Because as you advance as a leader, the time shortens and stakes rise for you to make an impact and condense an influential message. Watching “game tape” is a strategy that elite athletes also use. This is because when you observe yourself playing the game, you see new perspectives that you can't get while you're in the game.    This uncomfortable yet impactful self-coaching strategy works because we can begin to experience ourselves, for ourselves. Because when you experience yourself you stop needing someone else to tell you what to fix. Here are some simple ways to watch your "game tape" and quickly improve your presentation skills: ▫️ Record your next presentation on your phone ▫️ Rewatch a recorded Zoom or Teams call you led ▫️ Use your phone's audio recorder during a live meeting if video isn't an option Try this next: Record yourself in your next meeting for just five minutes. You might be surprised what you learn about your own delivery when you stop relying on other people to tell you.

Good: → "Thanks for the feedback." Better: → "Thanks for pointing that out. I'll try to do better next time." Best: → "I appreciate you taking the time to provide constructive feedback on my presentation style. I understand your point about pacing & will consciously work on varying my speed in the future." Next level: → "I actively solicit feedback after each presentation. I've found that asking specific questions like, "What was the most impactful part of the presentation?" or "What could have been clearer?" yields the most actionable insights. I then meticulously track & analyze this feedback to identify patterns and areas for consistent improvement." Reality: → "Sometimes, feedback stings. It's easy to get defensive, especially when you're passionate about your work. The reality is, even the harshest feedback often contains a kernel of truth. The key is to separate the message from the delivery, focus on the intent, and identify actionable steps for growth. Remember, feedback is a gift, even when wrapped in prickly paper." Accepting feedback takes practice sometimes. Have you ever felt stung by a constructive feedback? Share your stories before.

 I use this Framework to present my PBI projects (and win high-value clients) A lot of analysts start their presentations like this - “This dashboard has 19 visuals, 4 data sources, and custom DAX measures.” That’s not how you impress decision-makers. Because leaders don’t care how many charts you built. They care about What problem did you solved. Here’s a simple 4-step framework I use called LEAD to explain my work clearly and make it valuable for business leaders. 1️⃣ L - Landscape Start by setting the context. What business problem were you solving, and why did it matter? Example: |“The sales team used to manually combine data from 5 sources every week. It delayed insights by 2–3 weeks and led to lost sales worth $50,000.”| Once the listener understands the pain and its cost, you’ve got their full attention. 2️⃣ E - Essentials Then, talk about the metrics that matter. Don’t show every number you can calculate,  show the ones that truly move the business. I usually break it down like this:  • North Star: the main goal.   The one number the business is trying to improve, say revenue, customer retention, or MRR. It gives direction to everything else.  • Drivers: what moves that goal.  These are the levers: new customers, churn, repeat sales, expansion revenue. If these move, your North Star moves too.  • Diagnostics: what explains the drivers. These are the clues - complaints, usage patterns, response times, conversion rates. They tell you why something went up or down. When you structure your metrics this way, your report becomes more than a dashboard; it becomes a decision-making system. 3️⃣ A - Architecture Now explain how you solved it, but with a business context,  not just tool talk. Example: |“The model was slow because we had 7 years of data. Since decisions only need the last 2 years, we built a rolling model. The refresh went from 7 minutes to 2, and the report runs 4× faster.”| That’s how you show technical depth and practical thinking. 4️⃣ D - Design Design comes last, not first. Start with the problem, then metrics, then logic and then visuals. I follow four small design rules -  • Contrast: make the key numbers stand out  • Repetition: use consistent styles  • Alignment: nothing should float randomly  • Proximity: keep related visuals close together A simple, well-aligned report beats a colourful one any day. The point - When you show your Power BI work, don’t start with the visuals. Start with the thinking behind it. The best dashboards aren’t impressive because they’re fancy, They’re impressive because they solve real problems faster and better. I recently explained this entire LEAD framework step-by-step in my latest video - https://lnkd.in/giqr_Sam

One great presentation can do what multiple applications can't. Over the years, my presentations have earned awards, speaking invitations, and opportunities I never applied for. Most recently, at MAA MathFest 2024, someone from the audience approached me and said: "Your talk was so engaging. You made such a complex topic accessible." On the spot, he invited me to speak to high school students in Chicago. Full expenses paid + speaker fee. Here is the framework I use every single time... (You might want to save this.) 1. Know your audience before you make a single slide → Kids? Public? Policy makers? Academics? → Your job is to design your talk to suit them. → Picture one person in the audience, let's call them "Bola." 2. Map out the entire talk first → Write the takeaway from each slide in one sentence. → Connect each slide logically to the next. → Ask yourself: Will Bola digest this information? 3. Ditch the jargon → Would Bola understand this? → If not, go back to the drawing board. → Use simple, plain English. 4. Make it visual → One message per slide. Big font. Bullet points. → Use visuals or illustrations instead of text (if possible.)  → The moment your audience starts reading your slides, you've lost them. 5. Practice as you build each slide → After creating each slide, ask: What will I say here? → This reveals what to add, remove, or fix as you go. → Once done, practice the full presentation again. 6. Never read off your slides during delivery → Deliver like you're telling a story. → Everything on screen is just supporting visuals. → Know your slides inside out. Keep eye contact. 7. Use your body language intentionally → Don't stare at the ceiling, ground, or stand frozen. → Your movement and energy speak louder than words. → This automatically communicates confidence and authority. Great presentations aren’t about showing how smart you are. They’re about making your audience feel something... curiosity, clarity, and inspiration. That’s what makes you memorable. And that’s what opens doors. --- PS: What's ONE thing that's helped you improve your presentations? PPS: Want to see this framework in action? Link to the Chicago talk is in the comments. ♻️ REPOST if this was useful. Thanks!

Teams spend $3k - $10k making important decks prettier. The napkin math feels obvious: What’s $3k if it helps win a $1M deal, raise a round, or land an executive decision? But they're solving the wrong problem. Don't confuse pretty slides with effective presentations. Here’s the counterexample: YC has seen thousands of pitch decks with millions of dollars at stake. And its recommended deck template is almost aggressively plain. [See 1st image] No fancy formatting. No visual sorcery. No expensive design work. Just ruthless focus on what matters: the story. That got me thinking, so I made a simple pyramid for building effective decks. I call it the 4S framework: Story → So what → Spotlight → Style [See 2nd image] Most people build decks backward. They start with style. Great decks start with story. 1. Story This is the backbone of the presentation. Your deck is not a collection of slides. It’s an argument you're building. Each slide should create enough momentum for the next one. Less information dump, more of an engaging journey. 2. So what Every slide needs a reason to exist. As the reader, why should I care? If I can’t tell within 10 seconds, the slide has failed. Don’t write: "Revenue declined 8% YoY in Q3." Write: "Revenue declined 8% YoY in Q3, primarily due to enterprise churn, signaling an urgent need to stabilize the top 20 accounts before expanding new-logo acquisition." The first reports a number. The second explains why the number matters. 3. Spotlight Once you’ve made the point, show me the evidence. Don’t make me hunt for it. The most important number, chart movement, customer quote, or insight should already be screaming for attention. 4. Style Only after the fundamentals are strong should you worry about making the slide beautiful. Because visual appeal without narrative clarity is just eye candy. Good design helps the story land. It cannot replace the story. ---- As we build Slidely, I’m also putting together a collection of presentation principles from the best resources I’ve found: Analyst Academy, Vinod Khosla, YC, and what we’re learning from building Slidely itself. Worth sharing?

I've found that how we introduce ourselves shapes the entire conversation that follows. Standard introductions with name, title, and company get forgotten fast. Instead, I use a simple three-part structure that works better: 1. Your name and current focus 2. One fact that stands out 3. A link to the current setting For example, instead of "I'm Nancy, Global News Anchor at the BBC with 20 years of experience," I might say: "I'm Nancy, working on how news covers different regions with balance. I started as a reporter in East Africa, which changed how I tell stories from around the world. I'm curious about how your team handles diverse viewpoints in your work." This approach creates a bridge to real conversation instead of just listing your resume. What introduction method works for you? Have you found ways to help people remember you after first meetings? #ProfessionalCommunication #NetworkingTips

That moment when someone asks "Tell me about yourself" or "What's your research about?" doesn't have to be the conversation killer it often becomes. Whether you're at a conference, meeting a potential collaborator, or chatting with a professor in the hallway, your introduction can be the difference between doors opening or closing. ❓ Why Your Introduction Matters More Than Your CV As Rebecca Okamoto discovered, it doesn’t matter how brilliant your research is or how perfect your qualifications are if you can’t capture someone’s attention in those first few moments. Your introduction isn’t just about grabbing attention; it’s about being seen, heard, and recognized in an academic world where networking can sometimes feel overwhelming. The Two Secrets That Change Everything Secret #1: Think soundbite, not data dump. Academic audiences may be highly educated, but they’re also distracted, multitasking, and have limited attention spans. Your goal isn't to explain every detail of your methodology; it’s to spark curiosity. Secret #2: Focus on "about them," not "about me." Instead of listing your achievements, explain what value you bring to their world, their research community, or their problem. The Five Ways to Introduce Yourself (and Your Research) in 20 Words or Less 1. The Benefit Formula "I help [target audience] achieve [benefit they desire]." ❌ Instead of: "I study renewable energy systems" ✅ "I help companies reduce energy costs while meeting sustainability goals." 2. The Breakthrough Formula "I help [target audience] achieve [benefit] without [negative consequence]." ❌ Instead of: "I study urban planning" ✅ "I help cities reduce traffic without building new roads." 3. The Passion Formula "I'm passionate about [something I value] to achieve [something the audience values]." ❌ Instead of: "I study educational inequality" ✅ "I'm passionate about leveling the playing field so every student can succeed" 4. The Strength Formula "I'm known for [my strength] to achieve [something audience values]." ❌ Instead of: "I analyze big datasets" ✅ "I'm known for turning complex data into actionable business insights." 5. The Mission Formula "I'm on a mission to [achieve something audience values]." ❌ Instead of: "I study climate change adaptation" ✅ "I'm on a mission to help communities prepare for tomorrow's climate challenges." When introducing your research, your 20-word introduction should answer: ⭕ What problem are you solving? (not what methods you’re using) ⭕ Why should they care? (the broader impact, not just your field) ⭕ What makes your approach unique? (your specific angle or breakthrough) Practice Different Versions! Different audiences value different things. Prepare multiple versions and test them out. Notice which ones feel most authentic to you and which generate the most "Tell me more" responses. Because the difference between someone walking away and someone leaning in might just be 20 words!

As a CDO, how do you cut through the noise of 'unmissable' conferences? After years of attending both massive events and intimate gatherings, I've developed a 3-step checklist to pick the conferences that will actually add value to your growth. Here's how I evaluate them: 1. The Reality Check I am not a fan of reality TV shows, but I am a big fan of real talk at conferences. I've sat through too many presentations where everything was perfect - flawless execution, perfect alignment, zero challenges. But I've never worked in paradise. What really adds value are speakers who are open about their challenges, talking about their wins and their struggles. What I look for now: Speakers who are honest about their challenges and share experiences of what didn’t work before they found success. 2. The Attendee Mix Here's a not-so-secret secret: some of the most valuable conference moments happen outside the formal presentations. Those networking breaks, lunches, and informal conversations? Pure gold. But how do you know who'll be there before you arrive? Here's my trick: I look at who's on the advisory committee. Committee members typically attend the conference, giving you a sense of the caliber of professionals you'll meet. I also coordinate with colleagues or industry peers to attend together. It's like creating your own friendly huddle within the larger event. 3. The Vendor Integration Test Let's talk about vendors. We all know the standard setup - a trade show floor with booth after booth. I prefer conferences that integrate vendors into the educational aspects rather than just relegating them to a booth. Why? Because vendors who work with multiple companies can share broader patterns of successes and failures - without naming the names. Here's my hard-earned truth: Bigger isn't always better in the conference world. Often, it's the smaller, focused events that pack the biggest punch. Apply this 3-step checklist so your time away from the office gives you the best experience. What's been your experience? Which conference format delivers the most value for you?