What can I do to be able to understand conference presentations?
It's not your fault if you don't understand a talk

Unfortunately, many speakers at scientific conferences do a poor job. Most speakers I've seen talk more for themselves than for an actual audience. Unwittingly, they focus more on exhibiting knowledge than on being actually helpful towards the people sitting in front of them.

This mostly happens because people don't know. They see bad examples, which they assume must be good because everybody does it and just do what other people do.

So if you did not understand, don't blame yourself. It's the speaker's job to make you understand something. It's quite a paradox that many speakers thank the audience for their attention (!) after a talk—as if the audience did them a favor by paying attention. Instead, good speakers should be thanked by the audience, because they made things understandable.

Become a better presenter yourself

What I recommend to understand other's presentations better is to start giving better presentations yourself. Effective scientific communication cannot be explained in a simple post, but here are some basic principles:


Before starting to introduce yourself or reading the title of your talk (which is unnecessary anyway), draw the audience's attention. Explain to them in a way they can relate to why your problem domain is relevant.
Then, explain the problem you are addressing (and why it is a problem).
Next, immediately state your conclusion. Don't make your presentation a cliffhanger. Tell people the main point upfront; this helps them (decide to) focus on the remainder of the presentation.
Continue with a preview of your main points that support the conclusion. This is a mental map for the rest of your talk.
Elaborate on your points as necessary.
Close the story by putting your points and the conclusion into perspective.


Many speakers fail to do one of the points above; especially postponing the conclusion towards the end is a common mistake that makes it hard for the audience to follow.

Why should you do this with your own talks?


You become part of the solution. Other PhD students will now finally see a presentation they understand.
You will inspire people to give better talks, which you will understand more easily.
Doing the exercise for your own material, will eventually help you do it for others. If you see a poorly structured presentation, you will mentally start rearranging it into a better talk—helping you finally understand what others do more clearly.


Why is the above presentation structure relevant?

By stating the conclusion first, you give people a mental map. If they get lost during elaboration (like you often do), it's not a disaster: they know the most important thing already. Furthermore, the preview will help them get back on track if they get lost during one of the subpoints.