I am a graduate student. Occasionally for some reason I am asked to give a talk on my research at a conference whose stated purpose is almost completely unrelated to my research. To preserve my anonymity, I won't say what I actually do, but as an example: Imagine I do research in some particular aspect of exterior differential systems, and I am asked to speak at a special session on some particular aspect of numerical analysis.
In the past when I have done this, it has not been a pleasant experience. I sit through a bunch of talks I don't understand, try to socialize with a group of people who already know each other and who I'll likely never see again, and then give my talk, which I feel is seen as irrelevant.
But I am still encouraged (by my advisor and others) to give such talks, because it is good for my career. In particular, I've been told that it's good to advertise my work to a broad audience, and that people in my audience may someday referee my papers. This seems very unlikely to me, but I am uncertain.
Is giving such a talk really a worthwhile endeavor?
Best Answer
Rather than an unqualified "go anyway" or "stay home", I would suggest exploring why you are getting invited to these conferences. Unless the conference is a total sham (such things do exist; does it have a hefty registration fee?), the organizers are noted experts in (following your example) numerical analysis, and they have some reason to think your talk would be interesting to the audience. If it isn't clear to you why that is, you should try to find out.
Perhaps there are connections between numerical analysis and exterior differential systems that you're not aware of. Talk to your advisor, and also try to find a numerical analyst to talk to (your advisor may know someone if you don't). Ask them, "What aspects of my work would be most interesting to numerical analysts?" If you can learn about what these connections are, you can use them as a guide for what you should highlight in your talk.
You could also ask the organizers who invited you. "Thanks for the invitation. I've recently been working on topic X, do you think that would fit well with the theme of your session?" They might offer a suggestion as to aspects that might interest their intended audience (especially the other invitees), and you can plan your talk accordingly. Or they can say "We were actually hoping you'd speak on your recent work on Y", which gives you another hint.
Of course, there's the remote possibility that you've been invited by mistake. Do you have a similar name to a famous numerical analyst? If this should be the case, contacting the organizers as above will help them figure it out and gently fix the error without embarrassing anyone. (If they say "We were hoping you would speak on Y", and Y is something you've never heard of, then this would suggest a mistake has been made.)
Like the other answers, I don't think you should stay away just because you're not 100% comfortable; one can often get a lot out of conferences that seemed unlikely. But if you really have absolutely no idea why you're there, and therefore your talk is completely irrelevant, I agree with you that it doesn't seem like it will give you positive exposure. So my answer is neither "accept regardless" or "stay away", but "find out why you're there" and "give a more relevant talk"!