Networking at academic events
Academic events, whether in-person or virtual, can be daunting experiences for everyone involved, even experienced professors. After your presentation you may ask "what do I do with myself for the rest of this event?"
This section will provide tips on making connections and using good professional etiquette in stressful situations.
Top tips for networking
The presentation below introduces examples and strategies you can use networking.
Click the arrow at the bottom of the slide to work through the activity.
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Etiquette in a Q-and-A session
This video looks at ways to connect with other scholars at conferences by making strategic use of question time. It encourages you to consider that factors that make up a good question and provides examples of effective and ineffective questions.
As you watch, think about how you could adapt the example questions to suit your discipline.
Activity: Planning questions to ask a presenter
Step 1: Think back to a presentation you’ve attended recently or watch a presentation from TED Talks or the 3-Minute Thesis. Imagine that you want to ask the presenter a question about their talk.
Step 2: Consider the following questions and brainstorm a few points for each
- What surprised you about this presentation?
- What does the presenter seem to want to say more about?
- If you are not convinced by a speaker’s claims, what information would persuade you?
Step 3: Use your brainstormed ideas and the following sentence frames, formulate questions that you could ask the presenter of the talk that you watched.
- ‘Thank you for that compelling presentation! You mentioned _____, and I was hoping you could speak a little more about that...’
- ‘Thank you for sharing your research! Would you mind returning to the slide about _____ for a moment? I was hoping to ask about _____’
- ‘Your research reminds me of ________. Do you think there is a connection there?’
Responding to questions about your presentation
The presentation below introduces examples and strategies you can use to respond to questions.
Click the arrow at the bottom of the slide to work through the activity.
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Final tip
Managing a graduate research project involves not only disciplinary and technical knowledge about your topic but also a high level of planning, organising and relationship-building skills. To set you up for success, use planners and timetables to help you monitor your progress, maintain regular communication with your supervisor, and build a sustainable routine that centralises your wellbeing.
For more information and support in your writing, explore Academic Skills Graduate Research services
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For more about the importance of the opening and closing moments of presentations, see
Hongwei, 2020
Lenz et al., 2015
Panagopoulos, 2011 -
Hongwei, Z. (2020). Analysis of the Persuasive Methods in Barack Obama’s Speeches from the Social Psychology’s Perspectives. The Frontiers of Society, Science and Technology, 2(10).
Lenz, P. H., McCallister, J. W., Luks, A. M., Le, T. T., & Fessler, H. E. (2015). Practical Strategies for Effective Lectures. Annals of the American Thoracic Society, 12(4), 561–566. https://doi.org/10.1513/AnnalsATS.201501-024AR
Panagopoulos, C. (2011). Timing Is Everything? Primacy and Recency Effects in Voter Mobilization Campaigns. Political Behavior, 33(1), 79–93.