Presenting Papers

Anthropology News November 2003 TO WIT B “Tag Gazing” CELUTE RAY LUKE ERICLASSITER BALL STATE U With anthropological conferences growing larger each year, most everyone has experienced the “tag gaze,” during which an unknown person scans one’s nametag and proceeds to stare into one’s face either expectantly, or with some calculation. Worse still is when the gazers whip their heads away from the tag without raising their eyes to one’s face and thereby eliminahng any chance for engagement by the wearer of the scanned tag. The intensity of the encounter, of course, varies with the acuteness of the gazer’s vision. The younger, far-sighted graduate student is adept at the distance scan (preferably at conference hotels where descending and ascending escalators pass one another- permitting a smooth get-away after the gaze). Other gazers may rely on the slow movement of tag wearers in congested venues or even resort to the “acciden- tal” body-bump to slow a tag wearer down or rotate the tag position for an easier scan. At large conferences where meeting and greeting becomes selective, we sug- gest a merit badge system to aid in the selection process. u OF THE SOUTH Presenting Papers DAVID KENNEDY AND LANCE GRAVLEE QUAL AND QUANT ADVISORS ([email protected]) Dear Qua1and Quant I am presenting a paper at an upcoming conference and I have a problem. The paper is over 30 pages long and I only have 15 minutes to present it. This means that I have only half a minute or so to read each page. I’m not sure I can do this. Any suggestions? Not-a-speed-reader Dear No-Speed, Your problem is a common one. There are several approaches to presenting a large amount of information in a short amount of time. First, begin to read your paper at a normal pace until the moderator presents you with a “5 minutes” sign. At this point, show everyone how flustered you are that you still have 25 pages to go. Then start to flip quickly through the rest of the pages in the paper while you mutter to yourself, (wear your c.v.) “Sorry.. . I won’t be able to talk about this . . . or this . . .” Do this for the remaining 5 minutes. A second strategy is to start out read- ing your paper at a normal speed. As the minutes go by, begin to read the paper faster and faster as you race the clock to the 15- minute finish-line. (Remember, during the final minutes, annunciation is your enemy!) A third time-tested strategy is to just continue to read for 30 or 40 minutes past your allotted 15-minute time slot until you are forcibly removed from the podium by the moderator. Of course, these are only guidelines and the most interesting presentations find a way to combine all three strate- gies. American Anthropological Assn 2200 Wilson Blvd, Suite 600 Arlington, VA 22201-3357 68

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Transcript of Presenting Papers

Anthropology News November 2003

TO WIT B “Tag Gazing”

CELUTE RAY

LUKE ERIC LASSITER BALL STATE U With anthropological conferences growing larger each year, most everyone has experienced the “tag gaze,” during which an unknown person scans one’s nametag and proceeds to stare into one’s face either expectantly, or with some calculation. Worse still is when the gazers whip their heads away from the tag without raising their eyes to one’s face and thereby eliminahng any chance for engagement by the wearer of the scanned tag. The intensity of the encounter, of course, varies with the acuteness of the gazer’s vision. The younger, far-sighted graduate student is adept at the distance scan (preferably at conference hotels where descending and ascending escalators pass one another- permitting a smooth get-away after the gaze). Other gazers may rely on the slow movement of tag wearers in congested venues or even resort to the “acciden- tal” body-bump to slow a tag wearer down or rotate the tag position for an easier scan.

At large conferences where meeting and greeting becomes selective, we sug- gest a merit badge system to aid in the selection process.

u OF THE SOUTH

Presenting Papers

DAVID KENNEDY AND LANCE GRAVLEE QUAL AND QUANT ADVISORS ([email protected])

Dear Qua1 and Quant I am presenting a paper at an upcoming conference and I have a problem. The paper is over 30 pages long and I only have 15 minutes to present it. This means that I have only half a minute or so to read each page. I’m not sure I can do this. Any suggestions?

Not-a-speed-reader

Dear No-Speed, Your problem is a common one. There are several approaches to presenting a large amount of information in a short amount of time. First, begin to read your paper at a normal pace until the moderator presents you with a “5 minutes” sign. At this point, show everyone how flustered you are that you still have 25 pages to go. Then start to flip quickly through the rest of the pages in the paper while you mutter to yourself,

(wear your c.v.)

“Sorry. . . I won’t be able to talk about this . . . or this . . .” Do this for the remaining 5 minutes.

A second strategy is to start out read- ing your paper at a normal speed. As the minutes go by, begin to read the paper faster and faster as you race the clock to the 15- minute finish-line. (Remember, during the final minutes, annunciation is your enemy!)

A third time-tested strategy is to just continue to read for 30 or 40 minutes past your allotted 15-minute time slot until you are forcibly removed from the podium by the moderator.

Of course, these are only guidelines and the most interesting presentations find a way to combine all three strate- gies.

American Anthropological Assn 2200 Wilson Blvd, Suite 600 Arlington, VA 22201-3357