Guidelines for Guest Speakers

Making Geography Work for a Live Audience

Geography talks succeed when they connect a place to the people listening. Our audiences usually include long-standing members, students, teachers, retired professionals and curious newcomers, so it helps to pitch your material for an interested general audience rather than specialists. Explain technical terms the first time you use them, and give a quick sense of scale: how far, how large, how long ago. A single locator map at the start, showing where your study area sits in relation to Brisbane or Queensland, saves a lot of confusion later.

Maps and images

Maps are often the heart of a geography presentation, and they are also the slides most likely to be unreadable from the back of a room. A few habits make a big difference:

• Simplify base maps and remove labels you will not mention.
• Include a scale bar, a north arrow and a short source credit on every map.
• Choose colour schemes that remain distinguishable for people with colour vision deficiency.
• Use your own photographs where possible, or confirm you have permission to show other people's images.
• Limit text on slides so people listen to you rather than read ahead.

Telling the story of a place

The most memorable talks usually follow a clear thread: a question you set out to answer, what you found in the field or the archive, and why it matters now. Personal observations from fieldwork, such as the weather that changed your plans or the local knowledge that redirected your research, help an audience picture the landscape. If your work touches on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Country, acknowledge Traditional Owners and take care to present cultural information respectfully and with appropriate permission.

Questions and follow-up

Leave genuine room for discussion. Members often bring their own experience of the places you describe, and some of the best exchanges happen in the question period. It is worth preparing a short list of further reading or sources you are happy to share. If your talk links naturally to a landscape members could visit, let us know, as it may suggest ideas for future field trips. Recorded or adapted versions of talks may also suit our podcasts, though we will always ask your consent first. To discuss a proposal, please get in touch through our contact page.