12 Impactful Tips to Deliver Presentation at a Conference Confidently

Conference presentations are crucial, as they provide presenters with an opportunity to share their work with like-minded individuals who share similar interests. 

The audience comprises researchers, peers, experts, business professionals, and others, providing the presenter with the necessary exposure and recognition. 

However, conference presentations might feel daunting precisely because of their high stakes.

It may feel intimidating or confusing to know how to start the presentation, especially after accepting the conference abstract.

To tackle this, we have presented some tips to help you present at the conference with grace and confidence. 

What is a Conference Presentation?

Conference presentations are when individuals come together to gain an understanding of a topic that’s of interest to all.

These presentations can vary from one-day events to those lasting up to a week. 

Conference presentations differ from other presentations in several ways, offering numerous advantages. They are an opportunity for people to learn from each other on new research or significant topics or events. 

There are many types of conference presentations, including panel presentations, press conferences, roundtable presentations, annual general meetings, poster presentations, conventions, workshops, academic conferences, and product launches.

Tips to Excel at Conference Presentations 

1. Start with a Clear Outline

It is essential to have a clear outline when you start drafting your conference presentation. Without a clear outline, it’s easy to get lost in slides, becoming bogged down by unnecessary information or losing track of the main message.

• Take the time to create a clear outline that includes your main message and the order in which it will be presented. You can make a flowchart that showcases the sequence of your ideas.
• Utilize online tools or sticky notes to organize your thoughts effectively. They will help you structure your ideas and information effectively and logically, ensuring a coherent flow. 
• Use the outline as a roadmap to shape your slides. You will have organized, on-point, and succinct slides in hand that can be finished well within the time limit. 
• Let people know what you will be covering. Follow a clear structure, which will help them fully understand where the presentation is heading.

2. Know Your People

Have a clear understanding of who your audience comprises to tailor your content accordingly. Although it’s a conglomeration of like-minded people, the knowledge level, interests, and inclinations, as well as stress points, will differ for each individual. 

When your content is aligned with the audience, they are more receptive and interested in listening to you.

• Conduct thorough research regarding who will be in the conference room. Learn about their background (professionals, students, researchers, experts) to understand how much context to provide. It will help you know whether you can benefit from generic information or a more in-depth exploration of advanced topics.
• Review past conference materials, such as participant lists, abstracts, and recordings, to gain valuable insights into the type of audience that can attend the conference.
• Learn about the interests and concerns of people and what they seek to derive from this conference.

3. Create Engaging Slides with Catchy Visuals

Create inclusive slides by leveraging visuals. They are a great way to explain data-heavy content, making it more comprehensible and easier to retain. However, visuals should support your key points and not just be decorative.  

• Use charts, videos, graphs, icons, etc., to explain complex information that words alone won’t be able to do justice to.
• Go for clean, clear, and simple visuals that are directly relatable to your work. It’s not wise to overcomplicate to look smart. It will confuse people rather than aid comprehension.
• The visuals you select should be directly related to and support the content of your slides. Don’t overstuff your presentation with unnecessary content.
• Your visuals should be easy on the eyes with clear and consistent labels, colors, and scales.
• Use pointers or visual cues to highlight essential information. It will guide your audience’s attention and reinforce the key points. 

Note – You can use readymade, aesthetically designed presentation templates comprising visually consistent slides to take your presentations to the next level.

4. Stay Within Your Allotted Time

Since it’s a conference presentation, you will likely not be the only speaker. Crossing your time limit would mean adjustment for others. Always remember to prepare and practice your content to stay within the allotted time. 

• Whatever your time limit is, prepare your presentation in a way that you finish on time. It will ensure you don’t rush in the end and skip important information which might impact the overall efficiency of your presentation. 
• Rehearse your presentation with a timer to gauge the speed and make corrections wherever needed. Trim your content to focus on the main points you want people to remember and eliminate all unnecessary details that don’t directly contribute. 
• If you find yourself running short on time for your presentation, don’t focus on completing all the slides quickly; instead, prioritize the key points. 

Time management will not only help you deliver a clear, impactful and engaging presentation but also leave an excellent first impression on the audience. 

5. Be Comfortable on the Day 

Reach out before the time to set up so you don’t have to rush once people have arrived. Take the time and space to relax your mind and focus on the presentation. Numerous physical and psychological techniques can help you calm your nerves. 

• Physical Techniques – Take sips of water, practice deep breathing, adopt a power pose, or laugh or smile.
• Psychological Techniques – Affirmations, visualize yourself delivering to a standing ovation. 

Pro Tip – When you get to the stage, walk calmly and at your natural pace. Look at people, take a pause, and then smile before speaking. The pause and smile are critical, as they will prevent nerves from settling in right from the start. It will also project warmth and confidence to the audience. 

6. Speak Confidently and Conversationally

Be confident and comfortable in your skin when addressing your audience. Show your enthusiasm and interest in the work. 

• Enunciate clearly. Ensure the audience can hear and understand what you are saying clearly from every corner of the room. Be natural in your voice and tone, and try to connect with people. 
• Nerves can cause you to speak faster and less clearly, so keep that in check by regulating your breathing to calm yourself. Speak slower than your usual speaking rate. 
• Ensure your microphone works properly. 
• Take pauses in between for impact. Use the time to gather your thoughts and refine your speech in case you forget something. It will also give you the space to calm down and speak with more clarity. Strategic pauses are crucial, as they allow the audience to absorb and internalize your message more effectively. 
• Drink water in between if nervousness gives you a dry mouth. It will also provide you with calming pauses.
• Work on the intonation of your voice. Modulate your voice, rhythm, pitch, volume, timbre, and other elements to keep it engaging and interesting. A lively voice will convey enthusiasm and interest. Similarly, a monotonous speech can bore and lull people to sleep.
• If you make some mistake while talking, for instance, wrong pronunciation, the first and foremost thing to remember is not to panic. Stumbling is a part of everyone’s journey, even the most experienced speakers. 

For minor slips, correct yourself, and remember that you might be judging yourself too harshly in comparison to others. For bigger ones, you can acknowledge it in good humor and set it right. 

A panicked reaction will make people uncomfortable as the audience, too, wants you to succeed. So, try again with a smile, and things will be back to normal quickly. 

7. Keep it Interactive 

Engage people in your presentation by keeping it interactive. Encourage people to ask questions and utilise interactive techniques like audience polls and quizzes.

• Speak in a language that connects to people, avoiding unnecessary jargon. If you are unsure of people’s level of familiarity, you can ask them. It will not only instill clarity but will also engage people, making the presentation more interactive. 
• If people are attending the conference, they will likely have a basic understanding, so avoid going into too many basic or background details. Instead, include what’s new, engaging, and relevant. Start with the key findings, case studies, and the research within the first few minutes of your speech.

8. Have a Backup Plan Ready

A conference would be held in a venue large enough to accommodate the audience. There will be numerous things to keep track of. Prepare for any unforeseen glitches and technical issues beforehand to avoid any discomfort later. 

• Visit the conference room ahead of time. Ensure all equipment is in place and functioning correctly. Make a mental note of things you need to carry along.
• Familiarize yourself with the stage area. Take your notes with you to see if you can comfortably read them in that light. 
• If you are using your equipment, familiarize yourself with the location of the plug sockets.
• Save your presentation in multiple places, such as a hard drive, cloud storage, email, or a paper copy. You can also send a copy to the event organizer to ensure a smooth operation.
• If the presentation incorporates multimedia elements, ensure the venue’s systems are technologically up-to-date. You can communicate the necessary technological support to the organizers well in advance.

9. Work on Your Body Language

Communicate well through your body language. Facial expressions, eye contact, hand gestures, and body language are crucial to effective communication. Ensure you project confidence through both verbal and nonverbal communication.

• Be Visible – Don’t hide behind the lectern. Ensure you are visible to others and that you can see them as well.
• Eye Contact – Eye contact is vital for building rapport. Focusing intently on your notes, laptop, or blank space can make you look anxious or disinterested, giving a bad impression again. 

Remember to spread your gaze rather than fixating on a few people for too long. Look at one person for approximately 15 seconds, then move on to the next person. Divide the audience into distinct segments and cover all sections to ensure everyone feels included.

• Body Posture – Maintain a tall, open, and relaxed body posture.
• Move Around – Cover the stage to make the audience feel included. You will be able to project more confidence by walking around the stage than being glued behind your lectern. However, avoid unnecessary wandering or nervous pacing, as these movements can also be distracting.
• Hand Gestures – Use hand gestures to guide people’s gaze towards something and emphasize a point. Hold your notes or pointer in one hand and gesture with the other. However, avoid making idle or distracting movements, such as frequently putting your hands in and out of your pockets, fiddling, or making numerous arm movements to and fro. Also, refrain from jingling keys or coins in your pockets. 
• Facial Expressions – Smile at people. Use your facial expressions to underline your words. If you share intense or serious information, your facial expression should be somber, matching the tone. Avoid confusing readers with expressions that don’t align with the tone of the content/material. 

10. Leverage Stories

Connect more effectively with people by crafting a narrative arc. Incorporate relatable stories, anecdotes, metaphors, case studies, comparisons, analogies, etc., to make your content more relevant, relatable, and understandable.

• Keep your opening strong to grab attention immediately. It could be a thought-provoking question or statistic, or you can jump straight into the anecdote.
• The body of the presentation should include the main points and reasoning that clearly articulate the solution to the problem.
• Progress into the end, highlighting your Call To Action (CTA). 

11. Dedicate Time for a Q&A Session 

Your audience should have the time and space to have their queries and concerns addressed. Have a dedicated time for questions and answers. Let people know at the beginning when you will be fielding questions (during the presentation or at the end). 

• Prepare well in advance so that you are not rushing during the actual address. Anticipate questions, especially for topics that might pique curiosity and require further explanation. 
• See it as an opportunity to expand on your work, as the audience might ask questions that you have overlooked. It’s a chance for you to brainstorm and get deeper.
• If you don’t know the answer to a question, it’s better to admit it and promise to respond later. Don’t try to answer just for the sake of responding. 
• If you encounter someone who is trolling or being unusually provocative, respond firmly with politeness. Don’t lose your composure, as it will make you look unprofessional and may undermine your authority. Speak with calmness and confidence.
• Leave time at the end for at least 4-5 questions. Don’t go into lengthy responses. Provide a concise response and include your contact details for further information.
• Keep a notepad handy to write down interesting and challenging questions that arise. You can ponder over them later to further improve your speech. 

12. Rehearse Well

Have multiple practice sessions to get comfortable with your content, build confidence and time the talk well.

Knowing the presentation inside and out will keep you relaxed and anxiety well-managed. It will also help you refine the content and delivery to their most polished form, ensuring your presentation is seamless from start to finish. 

• Practicing full presentations with busy schedules might be challenging for some people. If you are practicing in small windows of time, divide your presentation into parts and practice each part separately. 
• Also, for pronunciation (in case you are presenting in a different language), get help from online resources or people around you. 
• Practice for Q&A, as it will help you preempt questions and prepare apt answers.
• Record yourself and practice in front of mentors to gain constructive feedback. It will help you spot issues like a fast speaking rate or avoiding pauses, etc., and make necessary modifications. Simulate a real presentation setting for others and notice their reactions. You can also include unfamiliar people in your rehearsals to get an unbiased opinion and reception. 
• Familiarize yourself well with each slide and its transitions. The more comfortable you are, the more at ease you will be on the day of the presentation. 

A Few Useful Tips 

• Rest Well – Sleep well the previous night. A well-rested mind is bound to deliver more efficiently. You will be able to concentrate more effectively and maintain a clear, alert, and focused mind.
• Dress Well – Your clothes, in all senses, should be comfortable and right, meeting the audience’s expectations. Flashy, uncomfortable, skimpy, see-through, or overly accessorized outfits can make you appear extremely unprofessional. If you tend to sweat when nervous, avoid wearing colors that will accentuate it. If you are unsure, inquire with the event organizers about the appropriate dress code. 
• Design Well – Focus on basic design principles. Stick to a maximum of two complementary colors. Your font should be readable across all parts of the room. Do limit yourself to five bullet points per slide. Leverage negative space to let your slide breathe. 
• Seek Feedback – Feedback is crucial for improvement. Be open to improvising for the following presentations. You can also adjust the current one if needed.

Summarizing It 

Conference presentations are a great platform to share months or even years of work with experts and peers, communicating the findings and engaging in brainstorming discussions. They also offer a chance to meet potential collaborators for future endeavors, making presenting at conferences a highly sought-after yet intimidating task. 

The result is more visibility for your work, which could lead to more citations. Presenting at conferences can be daunting because you fully reveal your thought process and knowledge to the audience. 

However, the anxiety and nerves can be managed well with proper planning and consistent practice.

Try to understand and engage your audience, leverage visually solid and clear slides, and work on a clean delivery. You will be strong enough to deliver confidently and contribute positively to your field.

You can use the above-given tips to achieve your goal.