Have you ever felt like you were getting in way over your head, but didn't care because you were so excited?

I think this ties back to an earlier question about self-confidence vs. inadequacy. Trust yourself and move forward. I suspect you will find, if you are that enthusiastic, that you are as qualified as people who have been in the field longer.

One naturally loves what one does well

People with reputations for knowledge aren’t always as qualified as you might think. Remember the story of the guru:
Guru: “Life is like a river!”
Student: “What do you mean life is like a river?”
Guru: “You mean it’s not?”

This is my best advice, hard learned from speaking at conferences. My first one bombed. I learned how to do it better.

It is not the length of your study, but that your paper has something of value to impart to conference goers.

You can comfort yourself if it is accepted that having it accepted means that adherents of some skill and judgment viewed it as worthy.

Does your paper contain a new slant, new research or something that makes it a breakthrough? That can be a comfort.

Judge the learning level of your audience and make sure that your paper gives them something: a new way to view things, some tips or inside guidance.

Also, prepare, prepare, prepare. Practice your presentation verbally. Learn it so you are not reading it, but have your notes to refer to. Having it down cold will give you confidence.

Thanks Marina! This is a conference looking for presentations, not papers, but most of your advice definitely still applies. A closer look at the site reveals that even though presentations haven’t been posted to the conference schedule, submissions were actually due last month. I didn’t know, as I just looked into attending the conference today!

If my proposal won’t be accepted, maybe the exercise in imagining myself doing it will be the lesson here.

@Trustinglife Sorry. Might be worth still sending. I have seen deadlines extended several times.

Make it visual. Use Powerpoint as a slide projector (no words, except maybe a title). Illustrate your points so that people have a second channel to comprehend your information.

Get people involved if you can. People are much more excited and alert when they can participate. Otherwise they tend to fall asleep, especially if you are presenting right after lunch. If you can do a workshoppy presentation, that would be way cool. Active learning is the best!

If you can’t do something that involves the audience, and you are talking about something you do with people, take pictures of those people to illustrate what you are talking about. People love to look at pictures, and it gives them a real sense of what you are talking about.

As far as freaking out—if they like your proposal, it’s because they think you have something important enough to say at the conference. You’re an expert in whatever it is. It doesn’t matter that other experienced people are there. You’re the expert in your topic. But welcome the experienced folks. They can offer you some very good advice. If they are there, that’s a real compliment.