IADR Barcelona
ORAL SESSION CHAIRS
 

Thank you for contributing to the scientific program by helping your GROUP and the IADR manage the oral presentations. The following very short presentation will guide you through topics such as (1) management of the room, (2) speakers, (3) presentation technology, and (4) questions for the speakers.
 
Generally, the Chair and Co-Chair share responsibilities and switch in the middle of the oral session.  The Chair starts as the moderator and the Co-Chair starts monitoring the lights and doorway.

BEFORE the Meeting

To be prepared, you must examine the session and abstracts in advance.  BEFORE YOU LEAVE for the meeting, go to the MEETING WEBSITE (as shown below) and PRINT the session and PRINT the individual abstracts.  If you click on the underlined phrase you will be taken to the site. At the site, click on the session, click on the session time, and you will have the list of presentations in the session.

http://iadr.confex.com/iadr/2010barce/webprogram/programs.html


Use the time before the meeting or during your travel to the meeting to review the contents and come up with at least 3 questions you could potentially ask each presenter – and write them on the printed abstracts.  Then at the meeting you will be ready to immediately lead the Q/A session and jump in with questions to start the discussion if necessary.

Management of the ROOM

Each room in the convention center is equipped in about the same way.  Study the image below in preparation for the meeting. 

If you are the Chair, plan to arrive at the room about 30 minutes in advance to check out the room setup and to familiarize yourself with the AV technology.  Check the computer, microphone, and mouse operation.  Check the room lights.  Make sure that the speaker can see the screen – even though a monitor is available to watch the entire presentation.  Water is available at the podium.  Position yourself near the podium so that the speaker can see when you stand up at 9-10 minutes as a warning to finish the presentation. 

 
If you are the Co-Chair, position yourself at the back of the room. Make sure that the door is closed during the presentation.  Guide people coming into the room to available seats.  Discourage any conversation at the back of the room. Room lights are generally preset to a neutral position.  Only if necessary, dim the lighting level at the start of the presentation, and raise them at the end for the discussion.
 
Announcements Just Before Starting

When Speakers arrive – thank them – and then gently remind them that they are expected to participate in the entire oral session.
 
Be at the microphone about 5 minutes before the start of the oral session to make several announcements.  Thank the participants and speakers at the outset.  Advise visitors who might not be IADR members or Scientific Group members that they can join on the IADR website, www.dentalresearch.org – and then introduce yourself and your Co-Chair.  Advise the attendees that photography and videotaping are strictly prohibited during the sessions.
 
To save time, do not read the titles.  Simply introduce the next speaker by name.  Help the speaker with the clip-on microphone, make sure the light is on, and tell them they have only 10 minutes to present.  After 9-10 minutes stand to warn the speaker of the time.  After 10 minutes, interrupt, stop the presentation, and take questions.  It is not acceptable for the speakers to run on into the last 5 minutes.
 
HELP the speakers

While you are managing the session for the attendees, you must also the advocate for the speaker.  Help them in any way possible.  Help them with the microphone, podium light, and orientation to the mouse.  Warn them about their 10 minute limit. As a Co-Chair, monitor the operation of the room so that no distracting operations are occurring.
 
Never leave the room during the presentation.  Efficiently manage the question and answer session.  Be prepared to ask the first couple of questions.  More about that in a moment.
 
Remember that you need a few seconds to get the current speaker off the stage and the new speaker positioned to start – so leave about 30 seconds for the exchange to occur.
 
Questions for the Speakers

Most speakers are anxious about possible questions that would challenge them or cast questions about the value of their work.  Be prepared to ask the first question to get things start.  Do everything possible to put the speaker at ease. Make questions open-ended so they can respond in any way they feel comfortable.  If necessary, repeat a question.  Do not let anyone in the audience badger or berate the speakers during the Q/A session.  All discussion should occur in a civil manner.
 
Here is a general rule-of-thumb:  Ask an easy question first.  Then try to get the questions focused beyond just the simple facts of the presentation.  Then try to go further and extend the research into new areas.
 
Always make sure that questioners use the microphone.   Do not allow a long string of questions from one person that would dominate the dialogue.  Help the speaker to understand the question if necessary.  Make sure that you leave 30 or more seconds to get the last speaker off the podium and the next one started.

AV Technology

Presenters must use the existing technology in the convention center.  All PPT presentations must be added to the network either online in advance of the meeting or from the Speaker Ready Room (VIP Room) by the AV technicians. 

To run the PowerPoint presentation for each speaker, please do the following:

  • On the left hand side of the screen, all the session times will be listed for the day.  Click on the correct session time and all the presenters for that session will be listed.  Click on a presenter’s name and select his/her PowerPoint file.  Once you select the PowerPoint file, it will launch automatically into show mode.
  • Once the presentation is complete, continue clicking on presenter’s name to launch the PowerPoint
  • Once the session is completed, be sure to launch the walk-in PowerPoint before leaving the room.  You can locate the Walk-in button at the bottom of the screen on the left hand side.

If videos are included they must be planned and tested in advance.  As a Chair, it is best to open and run through all the clicks in all the slide presentations in advance. 

If you need assistance before, during or after your presentation, please click the Assistance Needed button on the bottom of the screen on the left hand side.  This will send an alert to the Speaker Ready Room and they will send an AV Technician to assist you.

Do not stop the presentation to wait for assistance.  Everything must stay on time.  Apologize to the speaker but then ask that they proceed in their presentation the best they can.  Unfortunately, the fix for any problem (computer or LCD projector) will generally occur after this speaker is done and before the next one is due to start.

Session Feedback

It is important to provide feedback to the IADR Annual Session Planning group.  Please complete the form on the podium or on the computer to do this. Generally, there are three pieces of core information being requested – (1) Were there technical problems during the presentations?; (2) What was the attendance at each session?; and (3) Were there any other problems or are there suggestions for modifying the management of the oral sessions.

"THANK YOU"

The IADR is grateful to the contributions of all members who accept the responsibility as Chairs and Co-Chairs to assist in the conduct of the meeting and support their fellow scientists.  This is a crucial activity to insure the successful presentation and discussion of dental science.