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AEA
PRESENTER GUIDELINES
AEA hopes that each session is welcoming,
inclusive, fair, respectful and most importantly, an opportunity for
professional learning and networking. Towards that end, the AEA
Conference Policy Committee has developed the following guidelines for
serving as a chair, discussant, or presenter at Evaluation 2007:
Guidelines for
serving as a Session Chair
The quality and tenor of the session
depends greatly on the active and early participation of the session chair. The
chair can build a network among the presenters, set the tone for the
session, make connections among the people and topics, ensure fair
allocation of the time available, and foster collegial and professional
exchange. Should challenges arise, the chair will be looked to for
guidance. Throughout the session, the chair will be looked to for
leadership. The role of the chair ideally includes both pre-conference
preparation and during-conference facilitation. We offer these
guidelines to you as the chair of a valuable conference session.
Pre-conference:
We are asking something new of
session chairs this year. At least one month before the
conference, please connect with all of your presenters, including
discussants, co-chairs, etc., as a group, in
order that each may learn from the other and the session may go as
smoothly as possible. You can see the list of everyone in your
session, with their email addresses, by
clicking here to go to the
online program. Pre-conference, as a chair you should:
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Use technology to connect: Begin by emailing everyone as a group, then consider setting up
a blog or connecting via phone.
Example letter
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Help to build professional
networks: Ask each presenter to introduce him or herself and
the focus of their presentation. Encourage discourse.
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Insider tip: If no
presenter representing a particular presentation responds,
reach out a second time, one-on-one, to be sure that he or
she received the original correspondence and is still
planning to attend the conference.
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Set the ground rules for the
session: Lay out the format for the session, and discuss as
needed, noting the time to be allocated for each portion. If
this is a paper session, each paper will be limited to fifteen
minutes, including questions, until everyone has had an
opportunity to present. If there is a discussant (or
discussants) work with them to identify the length of their
contribution. Be sure to reserve time for audience questions at the
end.
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Exchange materials
electronically: Ask that the presenters share any materials
available in advance of the session including slides, papers, or
resource links. Encourage presenters to build upon one another's
work and identify linkages in their presentations.
At the session:
The time has come - seize the
opportunity to build a learning community in your session room! At
the session, as a chair you should:
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Arrive early and
greet those in attendance:
Locate and welcome your speakers and attendees and make everyone
feel at ease.
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Start on time
and end on time:
Maximize the time allocated. Encourage people to sit and focus
as the session start time approaches. Be courteous to the next
group and allow time for transition between obligations by ending on
time. Get the presenters in place as early as possible.
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Insider tip: If the
setup for the room allows, have your presenters sit beside one
another in the order of their presentations. As the chair, sit
immediately next to the podium, if there is one, as you will be
the person getting up and down the most to speak and provide
transitions.
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Set the stage:
Welcome the audience, introduce yourself (name and affiliation)
as the chair, and identify the session topic.
Example language
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Introduce each
presentation: Transition between presentations by
thanking the previous presenter and introducing the next, noting
the name and affiliation of the individual or group and the
general topic.
Example transition language
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Watch the clock:
In a multipaper session,
each paper is allocated 15 minutes. In other formats, you should
have developed a plan for time allocation for the session in
advance. Warn your speakers as their time draws to a close.
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Insider tip: A timing card is placed in each room, noting ‘3
minutes’, ‘1 minute’, and ‘stop’. Show these to the
facilitators and use them – or enlist a colleague in the
audience – to provide warnings. If the card is gone, make
your own.
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Facilitate discussion: During discussion periods, keep notes as to who has raised hands
and call on people in turn. Set an expectation for professional,
courteous, discourse. Ask that questions be short and targeted
and encourage attendees to follow-up after the session as well.
If there are many people with questions, avoid letting one
person monopolize the discussion.
Repeat back questions from
the audience to be sure that everyone heard the question clearly.
The audience member is likely facing front and those behind her or
him may find it difficult to hear the question posed.
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Wrap-up and end:
Provide a clear conclusion to the session by thanking the
presenters and the audience and stating that the session has
concluded. At the end of the session, if there is a session
following, ask that everyone leave the room and continue the
discussion in the foyers so that the next session will have time to
set up.
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Troubleshoot: As the chair,
people will turn to you should problems arise and expect you to
manage the session and respond to challenges.
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Setting and room: Should
the overhead projector not work, the room be too hot or too
cold, or something happen to the room itself (a spill, noise
intrusion, etc.), contact the hotel or the AEA staff using
either an in-house phone or by sending someone to the
registration desk (do not go yourself).
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Long-winded presenters:
Should someone go over the allotted time, and not heed
your cards noting that time is up, you may try initiating
applause during the next pause, or simply walk to the front
and thank the presenter for the presentation but note that
the session must move on to the next presenter. This will be
far easier if you have laid the ground rules in advance of
the session via email and at the start of the session in
your introduction.
Example language
Pre-conference - example
letter: "Evaluation 2007 Colleagues, I am
the chair for the multipaper session entitled 'Surveys as a Data
Collection Tool.' This year, each chair has been asked to connect with
the presenters in his or her session in advance of the conference so
that we may know of each other's work, improve the flow of
the session, and set some timing guidelines. I work at the University of
West Florida's Data Center and am looking forward to meeting you all in
person. Would you each be kind enough to a) introduce yourself and your
topic, and b) share any materials - notes, slides, papers, links - as
they become available? I also want to take this opportunity to set the
basic ground rules for our session (and for all multipaper sessions).
We'll open with a very brief introduction from me to be followed by each
of you in turn, in the order that you appear in the conference program.
Each presentation is allocated fifteen minutes during which you are
welcome to take questions, or not, at your discretion. However, after
the fifteen minutes have elapsed, we will need to move on to the next
presentation in order to be fair to everyone. After the presentations, I
will facilitate a question-and-answer period from the audience. To help
keep us all on track, we'll be using timing cards to warn you when
you have three minutes left, one minute left, and when it is time to
stop. Please 'reply to all' so that we may all learn, one form the
other. I look forward to our exchange and to seeing you in
Baltimore!" Return
Set the stage - example language:
"Welcome everyone to multipaper session 307 focusing on using surveys as
a data collection tool. Thank you for joining us on this lovely Friday
morning. My name is Shara Ibaru. I work at the Data Center at the
University of West Florida, and I will be serving as the session chair.
We have ninety minutes for today’s session and four presentations. Each
presentation will be allocated 15 minutes during which time the
presenters may take questions at their discretion. However, once the
time elapses for each presentation, we will move on to the next and ask
that further questions be held until after all of the presenters have
had the opportunity to present. I will stop presenters who run over
their allocated time out of fairness to all. Today we'll be hearing
about innovations in surveying using new technologies, useful ways to
access difficult to survey populations, and how a targeted survey
provided actionable information to a multifaceted nonprofit. Together,
today's presentations offer both process and product lessons for
improving our own surveying practices. Let's begin."
Return
Introduce
each presentation - example transition language: "Cori and Anu,
thank you for sharing your work. Now we will turn to our colleagues from
Think and Do Consulting so that we may learn about the strategies they
used to access and survey homeless men and women in Detroit. Welcome!"
Return
Long-winded
presenters - example language: "Manuel, thank you for your time.
I realize that you have more to share, but we must move on to be fair to
all of the presenters. I encourage everyone to reconnect after the
session, or after the conference via email, to learn more."
Return
Guidelines for serving as a Discussant
While not all sessions have discussants,
when one is present, that person serves a pivotal role in tying the
multiple components of the session together. Discussants are expected to
respond from their own base of knowledge rather than to conduct further
research on a topic. However, discussants should participate in
pre-conference discussions and exchange of information, and be prepared and thoughtful in
their answers. As a discussant, you should strive to foster the exchange
and development of ideas and the professional growth of the presenters
and the audience.
Pre-conference:
We are asking
all session chairs
to connect with the presenters in their sessions, including any
discussants, as a group via email, before the conference.
Pre-conference, as a discussant you
should:
-
Participate in pre-conference
discussion: The pre-conference exchange will give you the
opportunity to learn about the session content and prepare remarks.
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Review materials: We are
encouraging, but not requiring, the exchange of materials (notes,
slides, resources, papers) among presenters pre-conference. Take the
time to review the materials to familiarize yourself with the session
content.
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Be a mentor: Often, discussants are
more senior or more experienced. Provide guidance, where appropriate,
regarding questions that might be raised by attendees, resources that
might strengthen a presentation, and what to expect at the conference
and session.
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Air concerns: If you have concerns about a presentation (methodology,
theoretical base, etc.), share them with the presenter before the conference. Be a critical
friend, striving to coach and support colleagues. Encourage the presenter to
have a strong response to any concerns that you intend to share at the
session.
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Prepare notes: Looking across the presentations, try to find the
commonalities that weave them together.
At the session: This is your time to listen intently to each
presentation, take notes, and provide your thoughtful response.
At the session, as a discussant you
should:
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Arrive early: Arrive at the session
early and connect with the other presenters and session chair so that
the session may start on time.
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Listen actively: Attend to each presentation, focusing on the big
picture messages. Do not critique minutiae of content or delivery, but
rather attend to the themes and lessons of the presentation.
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Insider tip: Take notes. One option
is to put a line down the center of a piece of paper and write brief
quotes or snippets from the presentation on one side and your response
on the other.
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Insider tip: Consider using post-its for your notes that may be
rearranged on the spot to sequence your response.
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Respond thoughtfully: Especially in paper presentations, you are the
linchpin that ties together the many, sometimes disparate, presentations. A
few dos and don'ts:
Do:
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Succinctly identify common themes among the presentations
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Tie
the presentations to a broader context
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Critique rather than deride, taking on the role of a 'critical friend'
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Emphasize application and ways to learn more about the topic
Don't:
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Restate what each presenter said - the presenter's have already done that
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Walk
through each presentation in turn with a detailed response
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Give
an additional presentation on the topic - you are responding to what you
heard
Guidelines for serving as a
Presenter
Presenters share their knowledge and
expertise through the 500+ presentations at the event. As such, you are
the backbone of the conference. Presenters need to prepare
in advance, deliver content articulately and concisely, and follow-up to
build knowledge networks. Please note that the guidelines below have
intentionally be left broad so that they apply to all session types with
the exception of posters and roundtables which are unique among AEA
offerings. If you are presenting a poster,
click here for poster guidelines, and if you are presenting a
roundtable,
click here for roundtable guidelines.
Pre-conference:
We are asking
all session chairs
to connect with the presenters in their sessions, as a group via email, before the conference.
Pre-conference, as a presenter you
should:
-
Participate in pre-conference
discussion: The pre-conference exchange will give you the
opportunity to learn about colleague's presentations as well as the
session's timing and pace. It will allow you to coordinate with
others in your session to limit overlap and respond to one-another's
work.
-
Share materials: We are
encouraging, but not requiring, the exchange of materials (notes,
slides, resources, papers) among presenters, chairs, and discussants, pre-conference.
Share your materials as part of the pre-conference email exchange.
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Prepare handouts: At a minimum, you
should have 50-100 copies, depending on room size, of an abstract for your presentation that
includes your name and contact information, including email, for
follow-up to learn more and access longer documents, including full
papers for paper presentations.
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Insider tip: Outstanding
presenters include as part of their handouts a) key lessons to be
learned, and b) a list of resources (web links, books, people) to
learn more.
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Prepare your presentation: Consider
the time available, the audience's likely desire to ask questions, and
the multiple learning styles of attendees (auditory, visual, etc.), when
preparing to
create a memorable and valuable presentation.
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Identify the time allocated: As
part of the ongoing pre-conference discussion, clarify the time to be
allocated to your presentation. If you are presenting a paper, you
will have 15 minutes. However, if you are part of a panel,
demonstration, think tank, etc., then you will need to determine
among the presenters how much time is to be devoted to what content.
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Determine when questions and
discussion will take place: Again, as part of the pre-conference
discussion, identify the time to be devoted to questions and
discussion and whether you will take questions during your
presentation or only afterwards. If you are presenting a paper, you
may choose to take questions during your 15 minute presentation
time; however, you must cede the floor at the end of 15 minutes, and there will be an open question time at
the end of the session.
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Plan your presentation: Create
an outline for yourself of the key points to be conveyed and then
develop notes regarding what you wish to share relating
to each key point. Develop visual aids (see below) to illustrate
your key points and serve as an outline to the session.
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Prepare slides or other visual aids:
The vast majority of presenters use overhead transparencies as
part of their presentation. Each room is equipped with a traditional
transparency projector for plastic transparencies (NOT an LCD
projector for computer-based presentations). Guidelines:
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Type: Use at least 24 point
type so that it may easily be read from across the room. Avoid
italics and ALL CAPS for more than a few words as they are
difficult to read.
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Bullets: Limit yourself to
at most 6 bullets per slide and 10 or so words per bullet.
Describe details verbally and use the bullet points to provide an
outline of key concepts.
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Number: A rough rule of
thumb is to prepare no more than one slide for every two minutes
you will be presenting. This is an upper-limit. The slides are
an aide, not the presentation itself.
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Avoid acronyms, jargon, and
abbreviations: Past evaluations have clearly indicated that
one frustration, in particular for new and international
attendees, is the use of 'insider' language, acronyms, and
abbreviations that make it difficult to comprehend readily a
presentation.
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Contact information slide:
Prepare one slide that you can put up at the beginning and end
of the presentation with your presentation title, name, and
contact information. In case you do not have enough handouts, encourage
attendees to write down this information for follow-up.
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Proofread and spell-check.
Spell-check and proofread. Please.
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Practice: Practice repeatedly,
alone and then in front of a colleague, to ensure that your
presentation highlights key point, your delivery is clear, and you can
finish within the time allocated.
At the session: This is your time to listen intently to other's
presentations and to share your own knowledge and expertise.
At the session, as a presenter you should:
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Arrive early: Arrive at the session
early and connect with the other presenters and session chair so that
the session may start on time.
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Identify who will be holding the timing
cards: Timing cards in each room identify "3 minutes", "1 minute"
and "Stop" to prompt presenters. If these will be used for your session,
identify who will be holding them so that you may watch them during
your presentation.
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Give your presentation: You have
already practiced and prepared - you are ready! Speak clearly, maintain
eye contact with the audience, and relax. Stick to the pre-agreed upon
time for your portion of the session to ensure that everyone has the
opportunity to present and interact with the audience.
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Respond to questions: Whether you
take questions during your presentation or at the end, you should be
prepared to respond to inquiries. Be aware of the limited time in the
session and offer concise responses, noting - when appropriate - that
you may be able to follow-up post-session or post-conference to continue
the conversation.
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Depart on time: At the end of the
session, if there is a session following, leave the room and continue
the discussion in the foyers so that the next session will have time to
set up.
Post-conference: After the event is
over, you likely will receive emails or calls from those who heard, or
heard of, your presentation. If you were making a paper presentation,
you should be prepared to email the completed paper. This is an
opportunity to build your professional network and sustain the field
through collegial exchange. Where appropriate, you may want to ask
those inquiring about their work to see how it might mesh with your own
in ways that could be advantageous to you both. |
