Handshake key to landing a job, scientists claim - Telegraph

Handshake key to landing a job, scientists claim

I occassionally warn/inform my students about this perception in American culture. Handshakes are certainly common in Korean society, but what is considered proper firmness (and duration) is different. Koreans apply less force and tend to engage longer than Americans. Not to mention the fact that they tend not to maintain eye contact during the handshake. Additionally, women tend not to shake hands as much as they would in America and, if they do, the pressure is nearly indiscernible.

From my anecdotal data (personal experience and interviews), the reason for this are varied:
(1) Firm handshakes imply a confidence that is seen to be more aggressive, pompous, or otherwise disrespectful. This seems to be more of a no-no when dealing with someone that should be respected such as guests (me in most cases), elders, and superiors.

(2) Duration notes endearment or a desire to communicate affection (whether real or just the impression thereof).

(3) Lack of eye contact is similar to reasons in #1. This does not mean that there is no eye contact, but it is not sustained. Even if the gaze is in the region of the eyes, it's often just off the eye (eyebrow, nose, forehead, etc.).

(4) The handshake is still largely a male-male greeting. The more "westernized" people are, the more likely they are to shake your hand (both male and female). By westernized, I really mean that they have consistent contact with foreigners (non-Koreans & non-Korean residents), including those educated in English-speaking countries.

So, how do you explain proper handshake criteria to Koreans? You don't, just demonstrate it. If you need to explain it, you might say that the grip is firm enough to squish tofu, but light enough not to damage a grape :)

In addition, make sure they understand some of the cultural understandings (though these may differ from person to person or region to region). Weak handshakes may indicate moral/physical weakness, dishonesty, lack of confidence, and other negative characteristics. Strong handshakes are the opposite: moral/physical strength, honesty, confidence, and other positive characteristics (supported by the study above). These beliefs are not always (or even ever) true, but they are ingrained into the American psyche.

Twelve ways presenters can look more confident than they feel

Twelve ways presenters can look more confident than they feel

This post has a number of good suggestions and even overlaps with a few in our course packet.

1. Acknowledge your fears
2. Respect your knowledge
3. Prepare your own visuals
4. Practice simplicity
5. Anticipate objections
6. Familiarize yourself with the presentation environment
7. Introduce yourself to your audience
8. Prepare a written introduction: Experience and Facts.
9. Start on time; Do not start with an apology; Reduces stress.
10. Project to your supporters
11. Never take walk-outs seriously; Nature calling; Unavoidable calls; Traffic.
12. Avoid prejudging your performance

YouTube - The Elevator Pitch

YouTube - The Elevator Pitch

This is a great video about "elevator pitches". These are quick, 2-minute, presentations that attempt to sell your audience (small audience) on an idea in a short time. The focus here is on business pitches, but a lot of this can be applied towards getting your main ideas (most important ideas) across concisely.

Storytelling 101

Storytelling 101

Nice presentation on making good presentations. Emphasizes the need for a good story behind the presentation.

Most academics seem to think that they just need to push the information out to the audience and that these types of presentations are for business or just "non-scientists". This is certainly far from the truth. You want people to remember your presentation and, in fact, remember you (conferences are more about networking than exchanging ideas). I'm sure that you remember good speakers much better than poor ones...which do you want to be?

Storytelling 101

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: sherlock rockstar)

Speech Made Simple

Speech Made Simple

This is a very creative electronic book on public speaking. It was put together by a local teacher, Joshua Davies. I suggest you check it out.

It covers many of the things that we talk about through our session, yet in a cute package.

End of course party/lunch

Hi ladies. The course came to fun end at the Omurice place and here's a picture to prove it.
Thanks to Soo bin for the picture.



Thanks for the great session and I wish you all great luck in your conference presentations and beyond.

- Dan

Example Presentations in the bio-sciences and elsewhere

Here are some sample presentations of various quality (both in the content and media) that you can use to compare/contrast your performance with. Pay special attention to the organization of their presentations and the approaches that they take with their audience, their body language (when video of the speaker is available), and their spoken language.

SciVee TV - This is the coolest site that I've found so far. It's a video sharing site for scientific presentations. I think that you'll be impressed with the offerings.

Dr. Kronenberg research presentation - Actions of the PTH/PTHrP Receptor in Bone - Sept. 19, 2006 (video w/PPT -- 60 min)

Dr. Kronenberg research presentation - The Perichondrium in Bone Development - April 25-28, 2007 (audio w/PPT -- 30 min)

Rice University Webcasts - there are a great variety of topics associated with this site, with a good number being in the sciences. However, these are mostly in seminar formats around an hour in length.

MedicalRounds lots of great presentations in audio/ppt format. These are mostly longer presentations (around 1 hr). They mostly focus on medical clinicians, but could be for researchers as well.

Colons, commas and semi-colons, and particularly/especially

There were some questions in class today on the following topics. Check out these resources for clarification.

Colon Usage
For more information on colons Wikipedia has a really good entry with examples at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colon_(punctuation)

Semi-Colon vs. Comma
The Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) has an article on this at: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/grammar/g_commacomp.html

Particularly/Especially
http://www.towson.edu/ows/comma.htm

Dan

Formatting Guidelines for Bio-Medical Journals

Here are some resources on formatting guidelines for bio-medical journals.

* http://www.icmje.org/
* http://www.mlanet.org/publications/style/
* http://jama.ama-assn.org/misc/ifora.dtl
* http://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/uniform_requirements.html
* http://www.liu.edu/cwis/cwp/library/workshop/citama.htm

Craig Syverson on giving presentations

Lab with Leo Laporte Episode 62 - Craig Syverson

This is a great video discussing how to give a good presentation. He repeats many of the things that I say in class, but it's certainly worth watching for a couple gems that I don't talk about (or that you slept through in my class :)

Dan

Clive on Learning: Clear and to the point

Clive on Learning: Clear and to the point

This is a good review of a book that pulls out some helpful suggestions for using PowerPoint.

Here are the highlights directly quoted from the blog.

1. Present neither too little nor too much.
2. Build on your audience's prior knowledge.
3. Make sure the most important points stand out and that unimportant things don't.
4. Make differences clearly distinguishable.
5. Make clear what should be grouped together and what separated.
6. Where possible, make the form of an object compatible with its meaning.
7. If you vary properties, such as colour, size, font, transition, etc., do it to convey something meaningful.
8. Take account of your audience's limited capacity for remembering and processing information.

Check out the original posting for some criticism of these suggestions.

Dan

On the Academic Interview Circuit: An End-to-End Discussion

On the Academic Interview Circuit: An End-to-End Discussion

Is it possible to have too much information? This might be, but it's great. Give it a read.

Dan

Academic, Faculty, Interviews, Questions

Academic, Faculty, Interviews, Questions

A very good good-example/bad-example. The moral of the story is to be prepared to deliver what they want to hear.

Dan

Succeeding in Academic Interviews - Career Development - jobs.ac.uk

Succeeding in Academic Interviews - Career Development - jobs.ac.uk

While academic interviews are a little off-topic for this blog, they are something that many students are going to encounter and should be prepared for. Also, the advice given on this topic is good for question and answer sessions at the end of presentations (and even preparing the presentation itself).

Dan

Do You Recognize These 8 Body Language Killers? at Ririan Project

Warning: Do You Recognize These 8 Body Language Killers?

This is a pretty good list of don'ts that apply just as much in a conversation as they do in a presentation.

To summarize:
1. Keep eye contact
2. Don't let anything get between you and your audience (e.g., equipment)
3. Don't fidget.
4. Don't keep your hands in your pockets or clasped together
5. Don't stand perfectly still (look alive)
6. Don't slouch, lean back, or hunch over.
7. Don't use "phony" gestures. Don't practice your hand guesture too much. You want them to look natural.
8. Don't do any repetitive movements (similar to #3) that take attention away from your message (don't play with stuff in your pockets).

Dan

PubCon Street Tips: Giving a Kick Ass Presentation

PubCon Publishers Search and Marketing Conferences 2007

This is a great article of giving good presentation. A lot of common suggestions and a few unique gems. The overall article is for presenters at technology conferences, but most of the advice is good for general presentations, including academic presentations.

Dan

How NOT to use a PowerPoint

This is a very funny, yet very true video on how not to design a PowerPoint presentation.

Creating Photo Stories

In our class, I am planning on doing a photo story. I see this as a way for you to create and present a presentation for all to appreciate, while remaining anonymous, thus removing some of the stress of presenting.

This type of project allows us to work on using visuals to convey meaning, pronunciation, timing, and organization. This will take us the rest of the semester to complete.

Take a looks at some of the examples below and let me know what you think about this.

Kids & Chess: A Photo Story

This one doesn't have anyone speaking, but it's funny :)
My Cubicle - Karaoke Version

Welcome to SNU Introduction to Presentation

Welcome to SNU Introduction to Academic Presentations.

The Web is FULL of resources to help you to develop better presentation skills. From pronunciation help to structuring your presentation, there is something out there for you. This blog will help connect you with those resources.

Check back often for new postings.

Transitional Words and Phrases

Here is a good list of transitions categorized by purpose. These are invaluable for both presentations and writing.

Dan