Conference presentations: Tips, tricks and traps

Public speaking is frequently referred to “as the number one fear in life, well ahead of death” (Sawatzky, 2011, p. 37). Most agree that public speaking is daunting. However, in healthcare, sharing research and other initiatives is crucial, and public speaking is central to the dissemination of this new knowledge. Conferences in particular provide a great opportunity for sharing insights, and networking with our professional peers (Sawatzky, 2011). In this paper we discuss how to best navigate and use conferences to gain maximum benefit and exposure for your research activities including the pitfalls and grey areas around presenting research.