Enjoy Your Science Meeting!

The following sections are included:

• Preface
• About the Authors
• Acknowledgements
• Contents

The following sections are included:

• Introduction
• Chapter 2: Choosing a Meeting
• Chapter 3: Preparing a Conference Abstract
• Chapter 4: Preparing a Poster
• Chapter 5: Preparing a Formal Talk
• Chapter 6: Figures and Tables
• Chapter 7: Presenting a Poster
• Chapter 8: Giving a Talk
• Chapter 9: Chairing a Session
• Chapter 10: Talking to the Public
• Chapter 11: Practical Arrangements for Going to Meetings
• Chapter 12: Making the Most of Your Meeting
• Chapter 13: Publishing Your Conference Paper
• Chapter 14: Organising Your Own Meeting
• Key Points

The following sections are included:

• Introduction
• The Main Types of Scientific Meetings
• Registering for a Meeting
• Key Points

The following sections are included:

• The Purpose of Conference Abstracts
• Writing the Abstract
• Submitting a Conference Abstract
• Key Points

The following sections are included:

• Why Do We Have Posters?
• Designing Your Poster
• Preparing the Text and Figures
• Practical Issues
• Key Points

The following sections are included:

• Introduction
• Drafting What Goes Into the Talk and Thinking About the Number of Slides
• Designing the Slides
• Final Steps
• Key Points

The following sections are included:

• Introduction
• Photographs
• Diagrams
• Graphs
• Other Plots
• Tables
• Key Points

The following sections are included:

• Before the Poster Session
• At the Poster Session
• Dealing with Questions
• After the Poster Session
• Key Points

The following sections are included:

• Practise, Practise, Practise!
• Scoping Out the Audio-visual (AV) System
• What to Wear
• Giving Your Talk at the Meeting
• The Talk Finishes. Then What?
• Key Points

The key thing to remember about Chairing a session is that everyone, audience and speakers, like a strong Chair, so that they know what they are doing. The people in your session are your sheep and you are their shepherd, so it’s your responsibility to look after them, even if they have 50 years more experience than you do (Figure 9.1) …

The following sections are included:

• Why We Should Talk to the Public
• How Should We Go About It?
• Know Your Audience
• Structuring Your Talk
• Creating Your Slides
• Important Things to Remember
• Key Points

So, you’ve found the perfect conference that you want to go to, to present your results, meet like-minded folk, and generally have a good time, or at least visit a new location. How do you get to where you want to be?

One of us doesn’t particularly like going to conferences (it’s a confidence thing probably) and is constantly amazed by the enthusiasm of other people for attending them. This author moans about having to go, and then usually (but not absolutely always) has a great time, especially if the meeting is small. We’re all different, and you may just leap into a conference like a dog launching itself into the sea; or you might be more like one of the authors — a snail only slowly sticking its head out of the shell. Whatever your confidence/style/enthusiasms, here are some points to think about beforehand.

The following sections are included:

• Introduction
• Types of Conference Publications
• Should You Publish?
• Key Points

The following sections are included:

• Introduction
• Small Meetings Such as Lab Meetings
• Informal Meetings for 20–50 People, for a Day or Less (Where by ‘Informal’, We Mean That You Have No Budget …)
• Larger Meetings Where You Need a Budget
• Key Points

Scientific conferences have been taking place for many many years because people have found them to be an effective way of communicating. Nowadays it would be possible to use electronic means such as Skype to keep in touch with people, and many talks are available on YouTube. But despite this, people still want to get together in person to talk and discuss because the quality of face to face interaction is so much better…

The following section is included:

• Index