Presentations & Publications

By Dr. Stephen B. Thomas

Higher Education Administration & Student Personnel
Purposes of Presenting
Promotion & tenure,
Share research findings or opinions,
Enhance professional reputation,
Job requirement,
Networking, etc.
For first timers remember that you have only one
opportunity to create a first impression.
Do not attend too many conferences without being on the
program. Your resources for development will be limited;
learn to spend them wisely. Never fail to invest in your own
human capital.
Multi-task (see discussion on publishing below)
Select a topic that also is marketable as a publication and
a class presentation (assuming you teach). Accordingly,
your research will result in a class presentation, conference
presentation, and hopefully a publication.
Topic Selection
Select a topic that is of current/future interest within your
field of study.
Presentation Style
Know your strengths as a speaker/presenter; build on your
strengths (e.g., some folks are better at leading a discussion,
1

others at lecture, and yet others at facilitating an activity). If

you are imparting information, a lecture format is often used
(generally permitting questions when in smaller groups). At
other times, you might consider preparing a poster board,
discussion board, table display, technology-based display,
etc.
If making a traditional lecture presentation, determine
whether your presentation may be enhanced by the use of
technology. If so, be sure to determine the compatibility of
your equipment/software with the equipment/software
used at the conference site.
Back up your technology-based presentation with hard
copy as there will be times when use of the technology will
not be possiblee.g., compatibility, breakdown, loss of
electricity, bulb, and union contract.
Handout Preparation
Provide enough for the audience to get a general idea
regarding your methodology (assumes a research paper)
while focusing primarily on results. Make the handout as
error free as possible.
Organizewhat does the audience need to know first,
second, etc. (This requires you to know your audience;
general background, education level, experienceat least
to the degree feasible.) You do not want to talk over their
heads; equally you do not want to dumb it down to the
degree that your research and findings seem rudimentary or
perhaps sophistic.

If pre-conference submission of your handout is required, be

sure to submit in advance of the deadline. Also, check to
see if a request for large print has been made to
accommodate those with vision impairments.
Presentation
Never apologize for having limited experience as a speaker
or for being a poor speaker. The impression created by that
statement will likely shape the memories of your attendees.
When presenting you have two primary challengesyou
need to get the attention of your audience; you need to
keep the attention of your audience.
Your first minute will dictate whether your audience remains
with you in both body and mind. A clever comment about
the conference, location, or room is often good; or provide
an interesting facet about your research or data collection.
(Avoid joke telling, however, and remember that humor is
not necessarily understood or appreciated by an
international audience.)
Do not be redundant and speak with some level of energy.
Too slow of speech will lose the audience. If you find your
presentation dull, so will your audience.
Recognize time limits (know if you must share time with other
presenters, reactors, or evaluators). Going over the time
provided to you reduces the time available for speakers
who follow you on the program. Moreover, some folks will
leave your session to attend the next desired presentation
so as not to interrupt that speaker by arriving late. Those
who leave will not be present for your conclusion.
3

END WITH A BANG! Save your most interesting data,

scenario, or application to the end. Do not hurry off, stay
and see if there are any questions or observations. Folks may
want to meet you and share what they are doing. Journal
editors and book publishers may take this opportunity to
approach you. Accordingly, try not to schedule somewhere
to be immediately following your presentation.
Turn that Research/Presentation into a Publication
Identify the proposed audience and the journals read by
that audience.
Among the identified journals, select one that is most
appropriate for submission of your article. In making this
decision, consider whether the journal:
(A) Is refereed,
(B) Is indexed,
(C) Requires a familiar writing style, and
(D) Represents a quality product.
Note that some publications claim to be refereed, but
evaluation is "in-house" (i.e., either editor only or editor &
staff) while several others are not indexed. Also, some
publications require an "author contribution (such
publishers are commonly considered vanity presses and
should be avoided--e.g., some publications by Amazon
Books, Cricket Publishing).
Call the editor to ensure that the journal you have selected
is interested in your topic. The journal may already have
covered that topic in a recent edition or one may be in
press.
4

Prepare your paper.

(A) Delimit the scope of your paper--even if your
research is broad;
(B) Understand your subject or research findings before
you begin writing;
(C) Organize in a logical form and identify your topic in
your opening paragraphs;
(D) Use few direct quotations;
(E) Use terms understood by your audience (however,
most journals do not like a "chatty" or "wordy" style);
and
(F) Have a person from the proposed audience read
your paper.
Send your completed manuscript to one publisher. To the
best of your ability, the article needs to be free of error and
be consistent with the requested manual of style.
Follow-up your submission within three months if you have
not received a decision.
Identify a second publisher in case your article is rejected by
the first.
If you need to revise your article, pay attention to the
recommendations and address each one thoroughly. The
editor will not ask you to rewrite if not interested.
Related Issues
Mentor relationships,
Joint authorship and the listing of authors, and
Book royalties and copies.
5