How to prepare for a successful parallel talk at IC2S2

Not too long ago, I (Jianlong) played a wise man to someone stressed about an interview. Instead of wishing her luck, I conveyed my faith in her through my usual contrarianism: "No luck required—only preparation." The words came naturally as it had been my mantra this year.

Consistent, calm, and predictably excellent—that's how I like to present myself to unsuspecting individuals I wish to impress. But when I found myself on a flight bound for Sweden, feeling not at all confident about what was to come, I knew I had to practice what I preached. I used every opportunity to prepare for the talk over the next two days. In the end, there was no stage fright; only confidence and eloquence. I was pleasantly surprised by how much in my element I felt in front of the audience.

To assist fellow I2SC members in delivering successful talks at conferences—with or without luck—I have compiled the action guide below.

Step 0: Submit an extended abstract

Short on time? Don't worry. You can first copy-paste your current draft to ChatGPT to generate a draft abstract. Then throw it away and motivate yourself by realizing how much better you can write yourself. Finally, get to work with your co-authors.

Step 1: Prepare your slides

Start early. Think about how you can tell a good story. You will only have 12 minutes, so don't try to cover all your findings. Tailor the messages to your audience; don't bore social scientists with your interface’s high usability score. Keep the slides simple so that the attention is on you.

Step 2: Travel

Start the journey early to ensure you have plenty of time to sleep before the conference. Try not to take an exam in the morning if you can avoid it.

Step 3: Promote your talk on Bluesky and LinkedIn

No followers on Bluesky? Don't worry, you've still got time. Insert yourself into a group of friendly strangers at lunch, introduce yourself confidently, and crack dry jokes about how your colleagues told you not to stress because conference attendees would only be interested in the food and small talk anyway. As soon as your new friends agree that the salmon is indeed delicious, you know you have dominated the conversation. Casually shift the topic to your research and ask if they are on Bluesky.

Step 4: Practice

Now that your friends are coming to your session, it's time to practice the presentation to save some face. Start practicing at least a week before the presentation if possible; otherwise, wake up early to enjoy the morning breeze of your host city. My practice method is to practice with a full script and a note card: first read out the exact words you plan to utter a few times to familiarize yourself with the flow of ideas, then reduce the script to a note card to make sure that you can reconstruct the ideas without memorizing the words, and finally rehearse without looking at the note card. If it's not too late to update your slides, adjust the bullet points after a few practice runs to turn them into effective note cards. If you are still nervous before your session, drag a colleague out of a coffee break to rehearse once more. Remember to thank them afterwards.

Step 5: Promote and practice again

Speak to the most senior academics you can find at the conference and give an elevator pitch. When they ask about the time and location of your talk, you know you have to practice even more.

Step 6: Be confident

Befriend a fellow presenter in the front row—it's nice to have an ally cheering for you in a room full of strangers. When your turn comes, take a deep breath and smile (while the latter isn't strictly necessary, you will thank yourself when you have to write a blog post). Trust that your thoughtful preparation and the 6am practice will all be worth it.

Updates from I2SC