1 Introduction -- Part 1 The external framework of academic conferences -- 2 An 'Age of conferencing' -- 3 The TED factor -- 4 Affective factors influencing conference presentation performance -- 5 'Native' vs non-native English speakers (NES/NNES) and English as a lingua franca (ELF) at Academic Conferences -- 6 Implications of ELF for ESP/EAP teachers, learners, and international academic conference discourse -- Part 2 The conference and the structure of its core speech events -- 7 The academic functions of conference discourse -- 8 Genre and mode in the discourse community -- 9 Engagement and narrative -- Part 3 Academic conference discourse: The research background -- 10 Investigation process and research focus -- 11 Social and environmental factors -- Part 4 Practical ideas and suggestions for effective conference performance -- 12 Academic tenor and formulaic academic phrases -- 13 Conference presentation introductions and openings -- 14 The management of conference presentation outline slides -- 15 Effective conference presentation summaries, conclusions, and closings -- 16 Transition phrases in the conference presentation -- 17 Managing discussion sessions (Q&A) -- 18 Intonation, visuals, text, and narrative -- 19 Managing conference presentation and discussion session breakdown (Repair) -- Part 5 Academic conference agnates and extra-textual considerations -- 20 Poster sessions -- 21 Symposia, colloquia, and workshops -- 22 The attendee as a conference participant -- 23 Chairing discourse -- 24 The academic conference social dimension -- Part 6 Practical preparations for the conference presentation -- 25 Final-stage tips.

This book discusses and demonstrates the types of English discourse used at academic conferences and offers guidance to prospective conference participants from multiple perspectives. It is a combination of research taken from numerous academic conferences attended and observations made by the author, based on well-established research methods in applied linguistics, as well as a guidebook aimed at students, ESP teachers, and young academics and professionals wishing to upgrade their skills to participate fruitfully in, and contribute to, academic conferences. It offers academic novices and non-native speakers of English in particular much that is new and practical, far beyond the realm of simple ‘presentation tips’. It addresses various topics, such as chairing discussions, poster management, discussion sessions, the TED phenomenon, workshops, and the emerging field of English as a lingua franca. The style alternates between the accessible and practical, and the analysis of the linguistic categories underpinning the discourse: genre analysis, the nature of the specialist discourse community, features of academic spoken discourse, and the presentation as multimodal narrative are all explored. The book includes authentic samples of model speech discourse throughout, along with questions and exercises for deliberation or practice in each chapter.