Presentation in Manly

The conference venue was just in front of Manly beach. It was named "Manly"because the first settlers who got to the shore found the indigenous people there very masculine. Quite an interesting story.

The sand was very very fine on the beach. It was so refreshing to walk around there. Some conference attendees were swimming, running and walking in the morning. Every time I come to Australia, it seems people are truly enjoying their life.

My presentation went alright, and so did my boss'. It wasn't an ideal setting on the stage with the computer and the microphone a little too close to me, but it went ok. I could have done a better job, but anyway.. People gave me lots of good comments on it, especially the conference secretary who complimented the tables and figures on my slides. He said his best graphics award goes to me. Yay~~

I found many people prepared slides with too small letters. It seemed they just copied and pasted the tables from their original database, often not of a suitable size for displaying on a big screen. I was in the third row from the front, so how much more to the audience in the back? It's stressful and a huge distraction. Plus, many of them do not practice, it seems. It is understandable that they don't need a script because it's in their native language, but they should rehearse at least once so that they won't mumble and say "erm.." too many times. Preparation affects how effectively you can deliver your message. Besides, a practice will give you an idea how much time your talk will take and how much you will have for Q&A. There were surprisingly many people who exceeded their time slot and couldn't put much emphasis on their conclusions, probably what they wanted to say the most. I didn't count exactly, but it felt like 15% of all presenters exceeded their time, 15% were not too fluent, and 50% had too small letters on their slides. (Overlap possible)

As not a few presenters/researches are like that, it seems relatively easy to stand out if you prepare properly. Another researcher said I was more efficient in carrying out experiments than other Aussies. Yes, I plan a little bit to make the most of my time. I thought it was normal. You haven't got all day. Yet, many laboratory job opportunities are limited to Australian nationality. I would work harder than most of them for sure... It's a protection of local labour force, not a pure competition.