7.2) Annual Symposium

The WEG Annual Symposium provides the group an opportunity to present their latest research results and gain valuable feedback and input from people from the energy industry, financial sector, non-profits, and government agencies. It is an opportunity for you to hone your communication skills to a critical, but friendly, audience and interact directly with sponsors and potential employers. The symposium takes place over two days in the beginning of January. Dress is formal business attire.  This event is considered by many attendees to be an excellent overview and “crash course” on energy because we touch such a wide array of topics. At the symposium, make a point to introduce yourself at breaks and meals to the invited guests.

Presentations should be submitted to Dr. Webber for review before January.  Make sure to synchronize and integrate your talk with other group members to avoid overlap and repetition.  Here ares some tips and guidelines to help make the symposium a success:

Speaking

• Things to keep in mind about speaking:
  • It's important, so take it seriously
  • This is a smart, but friendly audience, so don't be nervous
  • Look at the audience when you speak
  • Remove your name tags before speaking 
  • It's OK to be funny, but don't feel like you need to force it
  • Avoid "you guys"–too informal, sounds disrespectful
  • Avoid "As you can see..." or "You can see..." or "obviously..." or "clearly..."
  • Avoid "um," "like," "such as," etc.
  • Have a cough drop or a glass of water ready to go
  • If you're getting flustered, dry, nervous,....breathe
  • Laser pointers should be braced against your body

Behavior

• Professional behavior at all times (manage alcohol intake, etc.)
• Make sure you introduce yourself to the people you don't know

Dress code

• Men: coat w/ tie, coat w/o tie, or shirt w/ tie but w/o coat
• Women: whatever is equivalent to the dress code for men
• Refer to section 14 in the handbook.

Presentation Design

• Don't bury the lede: start with your punchline, then explain how you got there (no suspense)
• Avoid small fonts: use fonts that are legible from the back row, especially for axis labels
• Use the latest presentation templates in *.key or *.pptx
• Get Microsoft Powerpoint 2016 (free download from UT)
• Choose your colors/graphics carefully
• More graphics, fewer words
• Thank your sponsors
• Acknowledge your collaborators, co-advisors, contributors, etc.
• Cite any figures/data that aren't yours
• Cover pages need to be uniform, and should include a title, your name, "WEG Research Symposium," and the date of the talk
• Footers need to be uniform (Name | Title | Date)
• Make a PDF and have it handy just in case the PPT or KEY software fails

Shared computer

• Confirm your presentation works on the computer
• Check images, fonts, and layout (are the edges cut off? were there any unexpected font substitutions?)
• Check colors on the projection system
• Confirm you know how to advance the slides (there will be a clicker)
• Presentation mode – get used to it
• Confirm who will load the presentation while Dr. Webber introduces you