For Presenters

This page  includes links to author assignments, instructions, and resources for those presenting posters or talks at the meeting.

 

Workshop presenters should consult their session chair directly for presentation instructions. You will not use the instructions below.

Important Note: If you are a concurrent session speaker and your abstract was selected from your poster abstract submission, you should plan to present your talk in your assigned session AND bring a poster for the poster sessions. You will notice two listings for your abstract on the author assignment page which will be available the first week in February.

Author Assignments

Author Abstract Assignments ≫

Presenter Information

Presenter Guidelines

Oral Presenter Guidelines ≫

Poster Presenter Guidelines ≫

Presenter FAQs ≫

 

Oral Presenter Guidelines

All plenary and concurrent session speakers must check in at the Speaker Ready Room, located in Triton, the day before their presentation to upload and preview their talk.

Talk Length

• Plenary talks are 29 minutes total (24 minutes for the talk, plus five minutes of Q&A).
• Concurrent Platform talks are a total of 19 minutes (15 minutes for the talk, plus 4 minutes of Q&A with 1 minute for transition).
• The Perkins/Metzenberg Address is 45 minutes total with no Q&A

Speaker Check-in

All plenary and concurrent session speakers must check-in at the Speaker Ready Room (Triton) the day before their presentation to upload and test their talk. You will not be able to upload your talk in the meeting room.

You will be able to test the equipment, view your slides, and run through your presentation if necessary. Technical support will be there to help you. On the day of the presentation, speakers should arrive at the meeting room 20 minutes prior to their session to check in with the session chair. See the schedule of events for room assignments.

The Speaker Ready Room (Triton) will be open at the following times:
Tuesday, March 12: 4:00 p.m.–7:00 p.m.
Wednesday, March 13: 7:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Thursday, March 14: 7:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Friday, March 15: 7:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Saturday, March 16: 7:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m.

Timing

To keep the session on time and allow people to move between concurrent sessions, the session chair may alert you as follows:

• After 15 minutes, “4 minute remains, start Q&A”
• After 18 minutes and 30 seconds, “30 seconds remain, wrap up”
• After 19 minutes, “STOP”

Important Notes:

• File name: Your presentation file should be labeled with the following information: presentation number, weekday, room, surname. For example: 25_Wed_Triton_Smith  

Meeting rooms will be equipped with a PC running Windows 10 using PowerPoint 365.  Mac computers will not be provided in any of the session rooms. When you arrive in the meeting room to present your talk, your file will already be uploaded to the computer. The podium will be equipped with a clicker to enable the speaker to move the presentation forward from the podium. Simply launch your presentation from the podium and then use the computer mouse to move about the screen.

You will not be able to upload your talk in the meeting room.

Technical support

Speaker upload details. On the day of your session, technical support will be monitoring your presentation from the Speaker Ready Room. There will also be a large help button on the podium that you can hit if you run into a problem.

Presentation Day and Time

You can look up your presentation time on the Author Abstract Assignments page. All presentation times are shown in Pacific Daylight Time.

Presenter Registration

You must register for the conference by January 25 to confirm your participation.

Preparing Effective Oral Presentations
Projection will be 16:9 format. We encourage presenters to use color blind-friendly palettes and accessible fonts. An online tool such as Coblis will help you prepare posters that are more accessible to all.

• Keep visuals clear and easy to read. Embed your fonts. SIMPLE graphs, charts and diagrams are much more meaningful to an audience than complex cluttered ones.
• Avoid using too many patterns and graphics in one frame.
• Use a minimum of words for text and title frames. Five to six lines per frame and five to seven words per line are the maximum suggested. Less is more.
• Use upper and lower case lettering, which is more legible than all capital letters.
• Vary the size of lettering to emphasize headings and subheadings, but avoid using more than three sizes per frame.
• Select a sans serif font (example: Arial) which projects better and is easier to read than a font with serifs.
• Maintain the same or similar type sized from frame to frame, even if some frames have less copy than others.
• Keep all type horizontal, even in charts.
• Consider color with care. A dark background with highly contrasting text and graphics is most readable. Cool colors (example: deep blue, turquoise, purple) appear to recede and make white or light colored text more readable. Do not use red for text; it is extremely difficult to read.
• Highlight your main point or heading with a dominant color (example: yellow for the heading, white for body text). Avoid the use of intensely bright or saturated colors that compete with the text.
• Maintain a consistent color scheme. Use no more than six colors throughout your presentation.
• Select backgrounds to enhance your text or graphics.
• Remember the basics of good design: Plan a template. Use colors consistently with light fonts on a dark background. Keep text clear and easy to read.

Question and Answer

There will be audience microphones for the attendees to ask questions.

Presentation Device

You will use the computer at the podium for your presentation. You will not be able to use your own computer.

Privacy and Recordings

Sharing of results without permission is a violation of the Code of Conduct

Code of Conduct

All registrants agreed to abide by the GSA Conferences Code of Conduct when they registered for the conference. The GSA Code of Conduct was established to communicate a transparent set of standards and guidelines for acceptable behavior at GSA Conferences and to provide a positive, safe, and welcoming environment for all attendees. Note that all sessions will be moderated and actively monitored for disruptive behavior. Any attendees disrupting the session will be removed.

Poster Presenter Guidelines

Most submitted abstracts will be scheduled as posters. Authors will be assigned a designated time to present their posters. Posters should be no larger than 46” (inches) wide by 44″ inches high.

To find out your specific day and time for your presentation, please access your poster number at the author assignments page. The schedule, based on the letter accompanying your poster number, is listed below.

Poster Presentations

Poster Session Schedule – Important Notice: Posters will be on display for one day. Please remove your poster at the end of your session.

Wednesday, March 13: All “A” posters must be displayed 7:00 p.m. – 10:30 p.m.

7:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. – Odd-numbered posters

8:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. – Even-numbered posters

9:30 p.m. – 10:30 p.m. – Open Viewing

10:30 p.m. – Remove posters

Thursday, March 14: All “B” posters must be displayed 7:00 p.m. – 10:30 p.m.

7:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. – Odd-numbered posters

8:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. – Even-numbered posters

9:30 p.m. – 10:30 p.m. – Open Viewing

10:30 p.m. – Remove posters

Friday, March 15: All “C” posters must be displayed 7:00 p.m. – 10:30 p.m.

7:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. – Odd-numbered posters

8:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. – Even-numbered posters

9:30 p.m. – 10:30 p.m. – Open Viewing

10:30 p.m. – Remove posters

Please keep personal items with you at all times. GSA cannot be responsible for items left in the hall including but not limited to poster tubes, purses, backpacks, etc.

All posters will be located in the exhibit and poster area at the conference site. You must be wearing your official meeting badge to enter the exhibits and posters.

IMPORTANT: Poster Size and Format

Posters for the in-person session should be no larger than 46” wide by 44″ high. The GSA staff, facility staff, and personnel breaking down the boards will not be responsible for posters left up by their authors. Please remove your poster promptly after your session concludes. Posters that are not removed in a timely fashion will be recycled.

If a presenter is unable to attend their poster at their designated time, GSA asks that they find an alternate person to present in their absence. GSA will place a sign on your poster board that will include your poster number along with two other poster numbers (the other two posters listed will use the same board space on different days). Please do NOT move the sign indicating poster numbers and times on the board.

GSA’s Code of Conduct states that photos should not be taken without the presenter’s permission.

Preparing effective posters

Here are some tips for ensuring your poster presentation is effective:

• We encourage presenters to use color blind-friendly palettes and accessible fonts. An online tool such as Coblis will help you prepare posters that are more accessible to all.
• An effective poster requires careful thought and preparation. It is not sufficient to enlarge an abstract and add a few figures. First identify your one, two, or three principal messages. Then work out the most effective way to convey those points and choose a headline to help highlight each message. Your poster should be self-explanatory so that you are free to answer questions and expand on particular points.
• Your poster text should be easily readable and the design well organized. Use a type size that can be read easily at a distance. Text that is too small is the most common problem in poster design. Keep the text succinct.
• Summarize current research with clear and self-explanatory graphics: charts, tables, micrographs, diagrams, etc. Simple use of color can add emphasis.
• Prepare a heading at the top of your poster indicating the abstract title, authors, and affiliations. Make the title large enough to be read easily from a reasonable distance (~4 feet). Authors may opt to include a picture of themselves to allow people to find them to discuss their work after the day of their presentation.
• Details of methodology should be brief and placed at the end of the legend.
• Many successful posters provide a bulleted list of conclusions and questions raised.
• Some references should be provided, but they need not be as extensive as those in papers.