“Giving a Great Talk”: Wowing Your Audience in Any Setting

Following feedback from SPSP's early career members (ECs), this session brings together diverse (i.e., gender, race, nationality, affiliation) peer-nominated panelists at varied career stages (i.e., early, mid & advanced) to share advice for giving engaging talks to varied audiences. Panelists will give 10-minute presentations on tips for specific types of talk (conference, job talks, TED talks) and audiences (e.g., people with anxiety, hiring committees, general public), followed by an interactive Q&A addressing common questions (building a compelling story; marketing to different schools; speaking to laypersons) and what they wish they had known when starting out. Engaging talks are crucial for career progression (i.e., promotion, visibility, impact) and can help researchers disseminate to and engage with non-academic audiences. However, ECs are often forced to learn what does or does not work with trial and error. This session is intended to benefit people from all career stages, but will especially leave students and ECs feeling inspired and armed with new ideas and resources for making engaging talks to the different audiences they might interact with throughout their careers.

Speakers: Veronica Lamarche, University of Essex; Franki Kung, Purdue University; Aneeta Rattan, London Business School; Thalia Wheatley, Dartmouth College ; Eranda Jayawickreme, Wake Forest University; Eli Finkel, Northwestern University