Sharing Research: A Behind the Scenes Look

This past year has been such an exciting adventure in professional growth and development. When 2019 was nearing, I took the time to reflect on my professional aspirations. One of my goals was to start sharing my research findings from my dissertation. My dissertation chair encouraged me to submit my research to the Dysphagia Research Society (DRS) for their 2019 conference. That was goal #1. Goal #2 was submitting for an oral presentation at my annual state organization conference. I completed both applications and I was thrilled when my presentations were accepted at both conferences!

My goal for this blog post is to talk about my personal experience in preparing and presenting research. The process of sharing your research can be intensive but it is truly an invaluable experience. There are two main types of presentations out there. An oral presentation which can last for a variety of times, 30 minutes, 1 hr, 2 hrs, 3 hrs, or full day institutes. Then there is a poster presentation.

POSTER PRESENTATIONS 

Preparing a poster presentation is very different than an oral presentation. I’ve presented two poster presentations in my career. The first was on my research I conducted as a graduate student. It was at my state association and lasted for maybe and hour and a half. My second poster presentation was just this past year at DRS 2019 in San Diego, California. This poster presentation was about my research findings from my dissertation. At this conference, we were required to stay at our poster for, I believe, an hour and a half. 

I was so thankful to have my dissertation chair, Dr. Fred DiCarlo, alongside to present these research findings. Preparing for the DRS 2019 conference was intimidating for a few different reasons. First, the best of the best dysphagia researchers are at this conference! Second, it is incredibly challenging to summarize a dissertation, that was 100 pages in length, down to just one poster. However, we did it! 

Dr. DiCarlo and I had several meetings to select the material we specifically wanted on the poster. We reviewed the poster more times then I can count! Then, we prepared for the inevitable questions that we would be answering while various people reviewed our poster. One of the very best things that I did to prepare for this presentation was to have my own colleagues review my poster and then ask any question(s) that came to mind. This process was critical component for me in preparing for this presentation and I would highly recommend it to anyone that is interested in presenting posters in the future!

When it came time to present this poster, it felt like second nature. The atmosphere was welcoming. Fellow colleagues were there with curious minds and an eagerness to learn! I loved discussing my research findings in more of that one-on-one setting. In this format I could listen to the concerns of other speech-language pathologists and discuss thoughts for improvement in the field. 

ORAL PRESENTATIONS

Oral presentations are another ball game! I’ve given a few lectures before, but they have always been in a group setting. I was very involved in forensics and debate in high school. I loved public speaking classes. But in forensics and public speaking classes, the presented content was always someone else’s work. It was a humorous interpretation or a debate about policy. Giving a lecture on my own research, my own content, was a vulnerable experience. But it was a big goal for me to share my research, so this year I presented an hour lecture at the Missouri Speech-Language Hearing Association independently! My specific topic was discussing the evolution of the gold standards for dysphagia evaluations. I cannot tell you how much time I invested into this presentation. Day after day, night after night, I worked or thought about this presentation. 

Originally, I was nervous that I wouldn’t have enough content to fill an entire hour. However, when I sat down to practice, I had around 2.5hrs worth of content. Then I had to work on cutting down the presentation. This is actually a challenging process. You have to ask yourself “what is going to benefit the audience the most?” Then I rehearsed, rehearsed, and rehearsed! I’m pretty sure that my dogs have the speech memorized.  I also had trusted friends and colleagues listen to my lecture. I asked for honest feedback and then made more edits. 

Finally, the state conference arrived! I was terrified and incredibly excited! My colleague and I checked out the room the night before. They had it set for a small banquet so it looked like maybe 40 or so people could fit into that room. The next day, they had the room changed back over for presentations. I was in that room earlier in the day to listen to other lectures. The room could hold around 150 people. While I listened to other lectures during the day, the class size seemed pretty small, maybe 30 people. “Okay, I can do this,” I kept telling myself. Then it was time for my presentation. We had a 15 minute transition between speakers. I was able to hook up my computer without and difficulty. But wait! My speaker notes were being displayed on the projection screen. Oh no no no, I wasn’t ready for that. I kept trying to change the presentation format so my speaker notes would disappear but no luck. 

At this point in time I was starting to panic. The room was 80% full and I could feel my heart pounding. I was convinced that I would have to give the presentation by memory and without any of my notes. Finally, one of the techs came in and was able to fix the presentation with about 5 minutes to spare. Although we had everything fixed, I was feeling dizzy at this point. I looked out into the crowed and it looked like it was a full house. I estimated at least 140 people in the crowd. I had a moment where I thought I was actually going to faint. Only two minutes until presentation. I looked at the front row at an empty chair. Maybe I should sit down? Maybe I could give my presentation in the chair? One minute until presentation. Okay, well it’s time to do this! With a deep breath I started my presentation…

The presentation went by so quickly. Honestly, I don’t even remember all of it now because of all of the adrenaline. I know that my voice likely shook for the first 5 or so minutes but then I slowly got into my groove. The audience even laughed at a few of my jokes! At the end, a few people stayed to ask questions. One gentleman asked if my research was published yet and another woman came up to me later and shared with me that my presentation changed the way she would conduct her dysphagia evaluations in the future. The countless nights, the rehearsals, the anxiety, all totally worth it!

ADVICE

If you are just starting out with research and you are wanting to present at different forums like me, then consider the following for success!

1. Get started early on your presentation. A lot of conferences will require for you to turn in your slides about a month before the presentation. 

2. Proof read. This is should be a given, but always proof read multiple times!

3. Practice, practice, practice. It is great to practice by yourself but be sure to practice with colleagues or maybe even someone that makes you a bit nervous! Then it isn’t as terrifying when you are lecturing.

4. Print out your speaker notes. This was a lesson learned for me at the MSHA conference! If the tech wasn’t able to fix my slides, then I would have been up a creek without a paddle! So I will always have a copy of my speaker notes available from now on! 

5. Own it! You’ve worked hard, you put in the hours, you know your stuff. Go into the lecture with confidence and know that you will do great!