The information offered here was partially adapted from the site of the Academy of Management, originally presented in a PDW session, "How to make Academy of Management sessions exciting!", organized by Russell Coff and Jing Zhou, Sunday, August 8, 1999.
The Role of the Presenter
Your goal as a presenter is to motivate audience members to read your full paper. The following are some ideas for how authors can get the audience engaged and excited about their papers. You should not attempt to summarize your paper; rather, you should “sell” your paper to the audience by making a compelling argument about why the paper should be read.
DESCRIPTION |
DON’T |
DO |
Purpose of presentation |
· Present summaries of all sections of the paper. |
· Present enough to tell the audience that the paper is worth a read – tell a good story. |
Presentation format & timing |
· Save the punch line as a sort of surprise ending
· Plan for 20 minutes in case there is extra time.
· Use small fonts or too many overheads.
· Don't focus on theory or methods (unless that is your contribution). |
· Consider starting with the conclusion and then explain why you reached it (e.g. methods/results).
· Provide a 1-page handout summarizing your contribution & key points as a takeaway.
· Plan for 10 minutes – it is easier to expand on points than it is to cut things out.
· Use fonts larger than 20 pt & no more than 8 overheads.
· Do focus on your results |
Introduction |
· Don't focus on why you decided to do the study.
· Don't be too conceptual |
· Do focus on what is interesting and new about what you have learned
· Do try to start off with a real-world analogy/story |
Audience Interaction |
· Give a monologue describing your research |
· Look people in the eye and talk to them (not at them).
· Identify places for audience input. Ask rhetorical questions at key points and wait for responses.
· For an empirical paper, ask the audience to vote for alternative explanations of the results.
· Consider using brief exercises or scenarios that draw on the audience’s personal experiences/knowledge. |
Theory |
· Present a literature review of the area (cites, etc.)
· Explain every arrow in a complex figure |
· State the problem, why it is interesting, and what you will add.
· Explain what is new in this model over past contributions. |
Methods |
· Describe the sample measures, and validation of instruments |
· Provide an overview of why the measures are linked to the theoretical construct. Establish face validity and assure that more rigorous methods were applied. |
Results |
· Present any tables with numbers |
· Present what was significant (+ and – signs). Explain what the data tell you – not tests. People will read the paper to get details if the paper seems important. |
Conclusion |
· Review each result and summarize what was significant. |
· Answer broadly what we have learned and what needs to be done now.
· Urge the audience to read the paper for details. |
Equipment for Presentations
Presenters must bring their own laptops. Laptops will not be provided by conference organizers. Rooms will be equipped with projectors and screens. Large rooms will also have microphones.
We encourage all presenters to e-mail their presentations to themselves as back-up.
Which language?
The official language of the Iberoamerican Academy of Management is English. However, in some sessions you may use Spanish or Portuguese in your presentation, provided that all participants agree.