Guidelines for Oral Session Presenters
Welcome to the SER Annual Meeting OAS-OASS Presentations Guidelines Page. Below, are tips to assist presenters in pre-conference planning and present some guidelines on presenting at the conference itself. We hope you find this helpful!
Session Details
Speaker Ready Desk
SPEAKER READY DESK
There will be a speaker ready desk on location at the Hotel. The speaker ready desk will be located near the registration area. Presenters need to upload their slides the day of their presentation and no later than 90 minutes prior to their session start time.
Time Allocation
OAS sessions are 90 minutes; as such, most presentations will be allotted 12-15 minutes. The chair of your session will inform you of the exact time allocated to your presentation; if you have not heard from the session chair, assume that you will have 12 minutes. The time you are allotted will not include Q&A unless otherwise indicated by your chair; typically, session chairs reserve 10 or so minutes at the end of each session for questions and discussion.
OASS are 30 minutes long allowing 5-minute presentations for each of the 5 selected presenters.
Accessibility Guidelines for Presentations
- Use a font size of 20 or greater
- Use sans serif fonts such as Calibri or Arial
- Use contrasting colors (white text on dark background or dark text on a light background).
- Use plain language. See the CDC’s Guidelines for examples
- Check accessibility using your PowerPoint Accessibility Tool
- If you include images or graphs, add alt text
- If you include a video, add captioning.
Presentation Tips
Read aloud everything on your slide. Always describe the images or figures. For example, “The image on this slide shows a woman riding a bike on the new two-lane bike path”. Use descriptive language for figures and graphs. For example, “this map of Montana shows…” rather than saying “this shows”. Speak loudly, clearly and directly into the microphone at a moderate pace. Use active words and short sentences. Words should reinforce visual material. Use inclusive and culturally sensitive language.
Disclosures/Conflict of Interest
- Include the following elements in a presenter disclosure:
- Name of Presenter
- Title of Presentation
- Name of Commercial Interest
- Information about Nature of Relationship
- Financial Disclosure Means The Role They Play Or Service They Provide In Exchange For Some Form Of Compensation (E.G., Employment, Management Position, Independent Contractor Including Contracted Research, Consulting, Speaking And Teaching, Membership On Advisory Committees Or Review Panels And Board Membership).
- Repeat for each Commercial Interest
- If Presenter has no relevant financial relationships that must be disclosed as well.
- “No relevant financial relationship(s) exist.”
Presentation Checklist
At the session, please:
- Arrive early. Arrive at the session early and connect with the other presenters and session chair so that the session may start on time.
- Give your presentation. You are ready!
- End on time. You will be warned by the chair as your time draws to a close (typically 5 minutes, 2 minutes, and stop). It is essential that you end on time to ensure that all participants have the opportunity to present their work and there is time for audience questions and comments.