Like many, this is the longest I've gone w/out giving an academic talk to a live audience. I was arranging my 100,000+ baseball card collection (Unopened '89 Fleer Set in background!) for fun during a pandemic, and found my job talk at Queen's from December 2007 and have thoughts

I barely spoke in classes as an undergrad student, and had to work up the courage to visit profs during office hours to figure out how I could become like them someday. It took a while to realize that they welcomed the curiosity.

First professional talk to US FDA as a grad student about measurement distinguishing negative Sx and cognition. Filled in for my mentor. When senior person wrote to tell him I did a great job, it was a huge turning point (mentors, let your trainees behind the curtain!).

Next presentation was to clinical rounds at a hospital - just reviewed that .ppt. Wow, everything I tell trainees not to do now, I did. Animations? More the better. Bullet points and read from the slide? They'll love it! Jokes about Bleuler and Kraepelin's mustache? At least 3.

So, my job talk at Queen's? I can't believe how limited my ideas were then and how naive I was about what it means and what it takes to run a lab and mentor. I know what I meant to portray as a lab director, being my work, but I don't think the audience would be drawn in.

So much of that talk was: I did this & found this. I might do that next & I might see that. I think it is so important not only for the audience but for your own thinking to present in a way that makes you think about the story of the work-paper session or job talk, an arc helps.

When I look back, I see how important it is to talk as much as you can, borrow styles from presenters (but be yourself, or at least your academic self), and try something new each time you present to grow (test those presentation hypotheses!)

Now I watch my incredible UG students & trainees. Can't believe how effective they are, but they still have doubts. Becoming an effective presenter is a process & those whose presentations you admire now, were once probably reading bullet points and making jokes as bad as mine.

Conference organizers: We need to create more opportunities for our trainees to give talks. Overcrowded poster sessions with fake cheese and stale crackers are only so helpful. I'd like to see at least an equal share of registration/presentation time for junior investigators.