How to announce an academic talk?

Giving talks is one of the frequent activities academics (and other professionals) do in order to disseminate knowledge and ideas. An academic talk announcement contains usually the following ingredients (besides the announcement of time and place):

1. A title. This is the first item somebody will check if your talk is worth their while. A title should be short and still capture the essence of your presentation.

2. An abstract. People interested in your title will read your abstract to figure out if your talk is worthwhile. Therefore the abstract needs to be well crafted, interesting and to the point. It should include the following information:

   1. Introduction: What is the underlying problem? Characterize the state of the art.

   2. Motivation: What are the challenges? What makes it worthwhile for people to listen to you?

   3. Sketch Results: What is the core of your solution idea? Quantitative results?

   4. Conclusion: What is your conclusion? (Is the problem solved?)

3. Your biography: potential listeners will want to know if the person is experienced in the field and has something interesting to say. Your biography should capture this information.