May 8, 2010

PhD Students

Dear PhD students,

Having just spent three days in a conference, with lots of presentations, and a PhD defence the day before I left, I had plenty of time to think about how we (that’s you and me) might do better than the people I saw. Here are some suggestions for you.

First of all, in thinking about your dissertation, I think you should be very clear on what you are doing and why you are doing it. What is the reason, the real reason, for doing this research? Why should anyone care? Try to dig below the immediate research question and think about the big picture. What motivated you? Why does this research matter in a world that has starvation, wars, and climate change? I don’t mean that you have to end war or solve global environmental and social problems, but you should have a strong reason for doing the work you do. If you don’t have a good answer to that then you won’t be able to position your research to people who don’t care about it like you do.

Second, have absolute clarity about your method. Understand it, know what its limits are, know the criticism of it and how that criticism has been dealt with. Know for sure that it is an appropriate method for your research question and be prepared to defend your choice. But in preparing that defence don’t become wrapped up in some sort of extended inquiry into methods. Adopt, adapt, and deploy with expertise a method but leave “methodology” (the study of methods) to other people. I am not interested - without first hearing a very strong argument to convince me otherwise - in a PhD dissertation that tries to break new ground, advance an extended critique of, or otherwise fool around with method. Leave such activities to senior scholars. If you have concerns with a method, pick another one. It is foolhardy and unnecessary to launch into such adventures in your dissertation.

Third, in preparing a talk for a conference, try to remember that we are professionals, that we come from a School of Communication and at the very least we should be able to communicate. I strongly recommend that you follow these guidelines: Follow the 10, 20, 30 rule: this means that you should have 10 slides, that you can present in 20 minutes, and that nothing on those slides is in anything less that 30 point font (I’d keep it to 44/46 point, myself).

Don’t put things on the slides that you are just going to repeat aloud. Amazingly enough, audiences at academic conferences can read. And they can read faster than you can talk. So by the time you’ve repeated bullet number two, they have read the whole slide and are getting bored. Make the story that you tell (see below) reinforced by the slides, not repeated.

Give your research question and then your conclusions right at the beginning. This is not a mystery novel and if for any reason you don’t get to your last slide, what do you want them to walk away with?

Tell a story. Make it interesting, in other words. Try to have some examples that anyone can understand. Some pictures might help. Don’t be afraid to reduce key concepts to a table or figure.

Don’t just recapitulate your paper (and you DO have a paper written, right?). Instead take a small part of the paper and make that sound so interesting that people want to read your paper. In fact, your whole objective at an academic conference is to get someone to read your paper. It is NOT to read your paper aloud. Even if you reduce it to bullet points. Bring some copies of your paper and have a version of it on the web with a short (try http://bit.ly or some other URL shortener) link that people can remember or write down quickly.

Leave the methodology section and other dry bits out of your slides and your talk, but prepare a slide (or slides) with information that might help someone better understand that in case you get asked a question. Be adept at jumping to a new or hidden slide (see next point about becoming a Powerpoint ninja).

Practice. Know how to operate Powerpoint on Mac and Windows. Know the differences in the last three versions for basic functions. Know where the “launch presentation” icon/menu item is and the equivalent keystroke (F5, on Windows...). Know basic file management on Windows and Mac operating systems so you can find your file, launch it in Powerpoint, and get going without getting lost. Look like you know what you are doing. You are a professional and this is part of your professional practice. It is not acceptable to stand in front of bunch of people not knowing what button to press. We are not luddites, we are not making some ironic commentary about the suitability of Powerpoint by being clumsy (if you want to do that, don’t use it all).

Time yourself. I am serious about this. It is the height of rudeness to go over the time allotted by the conference. It is poor professional practice, and it makes you - and me - look like an idiot. Be prepared to trim. If you thought you would have 30 minutes and arrive there to find you will have 20 minutes, don’t try to cram all the material in by talking faster or taking time from the next speaker. Cut stuff out. Believe me, if you go over your time in order to say one more thing, no one will remember that one thing. The only thing people will remember - and talk about with their friends - is how rude you were and your lack of courtesy.

From time to time you approach me to sign forms for travel funding or otherwise support your attendance at conferences. From now on I am not going to sign those forms or support that attendance without first seeing your paper and second having you present to me your talk. I can afford twenty minutes and so can you.

I hope these are helpful suggestions and I look forward to having a workshop with all of my PhD students (and MA students, if they are interested) so we can discuss these, improve on them, and generally create a habit of presenting our work in a professional and lively way.

Sincerely yours,  Richard Smith