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Oral Session Chair Guidelines

All oral sessions take place at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center.   Please check the meeting program for specific room assignments.

NOTE:  All Presenters and Session Chairs are required to pre-register for the Seminar.  Discounted rates are available.

As Session Chair, you will share with your Co-Chair the responsibility of ensuring the quality of the presentations in your session. The responsibilities for Session Chairs are outlined below:

  • Attend a Presenters Training breakfast on the morning of your session to review the format and timing of the session with the presenters, and to alert us if there have been any last minute changes in presenters.  Presenter Trainings are between 7:00am - 8:00am on the morning of your session.  All presenters have been asked to meet you here for introductions and coordination.
  • Presentations - Speakers have been asked to provide a PowerPoint presentation and to upload it prior to the August deadline. Those who fail to meet the September 16 Deadline will be required to submit their presentations at the Speaker Ready Room a minimum of 4 hours in advance of the session.  If completed, the PowerPoint presentation will be pre-loaded into computers found in their assigned rooms.
  • If  Presenters have not met the requirements above, please direct them to the Speaker Ready Room prior to the start of the session.
  • Each oral session room is equipped with computer projection equipment. Authors using this equipment have been encouraged to bring a back up presentation in an alternate format in case of technical difficulties.  Speakers should not connect laptops into computer projectors in the meeting room.
  • Coordinate with your co-chair to write Opening Remarks for your session (you will each have 5 minutes). If you will use PowerPoint slides during your Opening Remarks, you will need to submit a copy of your slides to the Seminar by September 16th. You can also bring a copy of your presentation to the Speaker Ready Room onsite, and an audiovisual technician will upload your slides onto the master computers. You should ensure that you check in at the Speaker ready room at least 4 hours prior to your session.
  • Coordinate with your co-chair to introduce each presenter in your session. A biography for each presenter has been sent to you prior to the Seminar and is also included in your chair packet. Familiarize yourself with the pronunciation of names and affiliations. Please check the Addendum for any changes to your session
  • Monitor the timing of each presentation and make sure that each presentation starts and stops on time. Use any reasonable means to stop a speaker who has exceeded the allotted time. The session must stay on schedule so that individuals who are presenting a paper or individuals who wish to hear a specific talk may do so at the time indicated in the program.  A speaker timer will be on the podium to help the presenter run on time; however it is your responsibility to ensure this is followed.
  • If a paper has been withdrawn or a speaker does not appear, either call for discussion of previous papers in that session or call a recess. Do not start the next paper until the time listed in the program. Each presenter in your session has a 15 or 30-minute time slot, so they must allow 5-minutes at the end of their presentation for Q&A.  It is essential that each session run on time, as the schedule is extremely tight and there is not extra time built into the seminar agenda for the sessions to run late. Each presenter must save time in his presentation slot for a 5- minute question and answer period.
  • You may politely interrupt speakers in order to ask them to speak more audibly, slowly, or clearly; to face the audience; or to briefly explain the message of an illegible slide or transparency.
  • The chairperson, not the speaker, conducts the discussion by recognizing participants on the floor. During discussions, ask participants to identify themselves and speak audibly so the audience can hear the questions as well as the replies.
  • If a paper draws no questions from the floor, you are encouraged to ask questions in an attempt to stimulate discussion, if time allows. On the other hand, some papers elicit more than the usual number of comments; judge accordingly.   To maintain the schedule, it may be necessary to defer lengthy discussions to the end of the session or to suggest that the discussion be continued in private, once the session has ended.
  • Complete and return the Chair Evaluation form that will be included in the packet for the session.