On 2 June 2026, approximately 100 presenters joined the HERDSA 2026 Roundtables & Showcases Workshop, an interactive professional development session designed to support accepted presenters in preparing engaging and impactful conference presentations.

Facilitated by HERDSA Executive members Professor Michelle Picard, Associate Professor Tania Leach, and Dr Alice Brown, the workshop explored practical strategies for designing and facilitating both showcase and roundtable sessions while highlighting the importance of participant engagement, scholarly conversation, and community building.

Michelle Picard opened the workshop by focusing on effective showcase presentations, encouraging presenters to think of their presentations as stories. Drawing on narrative structure, she highlighted the importance of clearly articulating the educational problem being addressed, grounding presentations in relevant scholarship, communicating key findings concisely, and concluding with a memorable message.

Tania Leach then provided an in-depth exploration of roundtable facilitation. Emphasising that roundtables are conversations rather than traditional presentations, she shared practical approaches for structuring discussions, facilitating equitable participation, managing group dynamics, and adapting to different audience sizes.

Alice Brown concluded the workshop by examining approaches to participant engagement across both presentation formats. Through interactive discussion and participant contributions, attendees reflected on the role of engagement in fostering active learning, collaboration, diverse perspectives, and community.

Key Takeaways for Presenters

Participants were encouraged to:

• Think of showcase presentations as a story with a clear purpose, message, and take-home point.
• Focus on a small number of key findings rather than attempting to present everything within the allocated time.
• Design roundtables as conversations that create opportunities for discussion, reflection, and knowledge exchange.
• Create low-risk opportunities for participants to contribute early in a session to build engagement and psychological safety.
• Plan for different audience sizes and remain flexible in response to group dynamics.
• Use purposeful facilitation strategies to ensure equitable participation and avoid relying on a small number of dominant voices.
• Consider what participants will take away from the session and how ideas can be applied in their own contexts.
• Use engagement strategies thoughtfully, including storytelling, discussion prompts, visual activities, polling tools, and reflective exercises.
• Leave time to synthesise and "harvest" key insights before concluding a session.
• View conference presentations as opportunities not only to share research but also to build connections, foster collaboration, and contribute to the HERDSA community.

A recurring message throughout the workshop was that successful conference presentations are not simply about disseminating information. Whether presenting a showcase or facilitating a roundtable, presenters were encouraged to create meaningful opportunities for participation, connection, and shared learning.

The lively discussion throughout the workshop reflected HERDSA's commitment to scholarly exchange and collegial engagement, with participants generously sharing experiences, questions, and ideas for their upcoming presentations.

Thank you to Michelle Picard, Tania Leach, and Alice Brown for generously sharing their expertise and practical insights, and to all participants for their active contributions.

We look forward to seeing these ideas brought to life at HERDSA 2026 in Singapore.

Workshop recording: https://youtu.be/zDxfTAV60As