Designing Dynamic Conference Presentations

As a brand new librarian I find the steady stream of “calls for proposals and papers” that I come across quite motivating. In fact, I’d love to participate in any one of the myriad of conferences that would stimulate my professional development. The only problem is that since I’ve been a librarian for only four months I don’t feel as though I have anything significant to contribute to the profession (yet). A few weeks ago I shared my dilemma with a more experienced colleague and asked for help brainstorming a topic that I could present. She half joked that the lack of a good topic hasn’t prevented many other librarians from giving presentations---so anything that I come up with wouldn’t be the worst she’s ever seen. Her comment encouraged me to reflect on the only librarian-focused conference that I’ve attended: the Workshop for Instruction in Library Use, which was held in May at York University. I have to agree that although attending the conference was an overwhelmingly positive experience, individual sessions ranged from okay to extremely beneficial. I’d like to post some questions here, with the hope that those who’ve given successful presentations will provide some tips for the newbies!

• What do you believe is the difference between poor, mediocre, and outstanding sessions?
• How can I increase the likelihood that a proposal I submit will be accepted?
• Would you recommend giving sessions that encourage interaction with the delegates?