GUIDELINES FOR PRESENTERS

The following guidelines have been put together in response to delegates’ evaluations of previous conferences, and as part of JSWEC’s commitment to developing best educational  and research practice. They are intended to assist presenters and facilitators, particularly those new to the conferences, in understanding delegates’ expectations in relation to the nature and delivery of conference papers, symposia and workshop sessions and the presentation of posters.

As someone who has had an abstract accepted, you will already be aware of the range of presentation formats at the conference. However, they are outlined here to help in planning your session in detail:

• Presenters must ensure that the content and delivery of their presentation is in the format that has been accepted i.e. either a paper, poster, workshop, symposium or special interest group.

• Presenters must ensure that the content is clearly and explicitly linked to the conference theme and pathway for which it has been accepted.  

Enabling full involvement in the conference

As is increasingly common in UK social work education and research the conference involves service users and carers in both the planning and delivery of the conference. They will also be present at the conference as delegates, presenters, co-presenters and exhibitors. The following suggestions for good practice, written by ‘Advocacy in Action’ and ‘SureSearch’ Service User organisations, should help to ensure the full involvement of everyone regardless of background, advantage or difference.

• During your presentation/workshop, you should check out delegates’ requirements and strive to accommodate them as far as possible.

• Please ask whether people can see and hear what you’re doing

• Please ask what people require to feel comfortable

• You should avoid as much as possible the use of abbreviations, jargon and over-technical language

• You should avoid using words that will exclude people or single them out in a negative and disempowering manner

• You should be sensitive to the fact that some professional language may have been the cause of discomfort and pain for some delegates

• If you are using PowerPoint / overhead presentations please use easily viewed blocks of large print text wherever possible

• In preparing hand-outs please use clearly laid out text

• People’s involvement is best facilitated through a blend of graphics, images, audio and video supplementary material. Whilst this is particularly important for non-reader delegates, a varied presentation assists everybody

• Any accommodation of British Sign Language or other interpreters will require you to reduce the pace of your presentation

• You should try to enable and value people’s involvement during discussions - not everyone will wish to speak but please look at and talk to everybody  and ensure that the least confident voices have the opportunity to be heard

In order to work well together we all need to find out about one another, so do not be afraid to check things out if you aren’t sure.

Papers

Papers aim to present and disseminate information – normally 3 papers in 75 minutes; the role of the presenter in a paper session is to ensure that delegates are given information relevant to;

• the published abstract and
• the theme and pathway for which the abstract has been accepted

Generally, paper sessions are not expected to be interactive during the delivery.  Delegates will be expecting to receive information from the presenter(s), followed by the opportunity to ask questions, and, if time allows, to engage in some discussion arising out of the paper.

Presenters can expect that their paper will normally be grouped together with two other papers in a parallel session. The opportunity to ask questions might be after each paper or at the end of the presentations and presenters need to agree the timing of questions with one another at the start of their session.  There will not be a pre-allocated ‘chair’ for paper sessions so to assist time keeping we suggest that the last person to present acts as ‘chair’.

Preparation

• Please provide copies of a synopsis of your paper’s key points, or a handout from PowerPoint slides, as an ‘aide memoir’ for those attending to take away and share with colleagues in their work setting.
• We would like to pre-load PowerPoint presentations in each room.  Please provide a copy of your presentation (if using PowerPoint) to John Williams (j.m.williams@soton.ac.uk) by 1st July. If this is not possible and you intend to bring your presentation with you on a USB memory stick you will need to load this on to the computer yourself. If this is the case please leave a copy of the presentation on the computer’s desktop this will enable us to make presentations available on the JSWEC website after the conference.
• Amendments to your handouts or PowerPoint presentations can be made using the photocopying and computing facilities available in the Learning Resource Centre, adjacent to the conference exhibition area.
• Check the location of the room where you are giving your paper and arrive there at least 10 minutes before the scheduled starting time in order to check that any requested audio-visual aids/resources are available and working, and to meet with the other presenters who are sharing that session with you.

Workshops

Workshops are intended to share experience and develop practice and are interactive – 75 minutes.  The role of the presenter/facilitator is to ensure the smooth running of the workshop and to enable experience to be shared and reviewed, and practice developed in the relevant area of learning and teaching or research.  

It’s important to think in advance about facilitation, in particular some of its practical aspects.  As a guide, no more than 50% of the time should be taken up by the input; in some cases it may work better if the input is broken up with small group discussion after key areas have been covered.

E-learning workshops - If you have requested the use of ICT/AVA devices (e.g. data-projectors, television, video player, computer, etc.) these will be provided in the room or PC suite where your presentation is scheduled to take place. Technical support will be available on a ‘need’ basis throughout the scheduled parallel sessions and details of how to contact technical support staff will be available in each room.

Preparation

Provide copies of a short, written synopsis of the workshop’s key points, or a handout from PowerPoint slides, as an ‘aide memoir’ for those attending to take away and share with colleagues in their work setting.

• We would like to pre-load PowerPoint presentations in each room.  Please provide a copy of your presentation (if using PowerPoint) John Williams (j.m.williams@soton.ac.uk) by 1st July. If this is not possible and you intend to bring your presentation with you on a USB memory stick you will need to load this on to the computer yourself. If this is the case please leave a copy of the presentation on the computer’s desktop this will enable us to make presentations available on the JSWEC website after the conference.

• Check the location of the workshop and get there 5-10 minutes before it’s due to start.

• Check that any requested audio-visual aids/resources are available and working.

• Rooms will be laid out cabaret/café style. Please allow yourself extra time if you wish to  change this layout and please return tables and chairs to their original positions when you are finished.

Delivery

• You may wish to ask participants to briefly introduce themselves: name, organisation, role, why they are interested in the workshop topic, etc.

• Outline the purpose of the workshop, either verbally or using an OHP, PowerPoint, or flipchart. Indicate the time to be spent on each section, how you will work with them as a facilitator and expected outcomes.

• Get any appropriate ground rules briefly agreed - e.g. listening, constructive feedback, confidentiality, etc.

• Ending:
  • Pull together the strands of small/large group work.
  • Offer any final thoughts/observations of your own
  • Thank all participants

Symposia

Symposia allow for an informed in-depth discussion of themes – 75 minutes. The lead presenter submits an abstract for two or three presentations around a theme followed by a group discussion.

Preparation

• Provide copies of a short, written synopsis of the symposium’s key points, or a handout from PowerPoint slides, as an ‘aide memoir’ for those attending to take away and share with colleagues in their work setting.

• We would like to pre-load PowerPoint presentations in each room.  Please provide a copy of your presentation (if using PowerPoint) to John Williams (j.m.williams@soton.ac.uk) by 1st July. If this is not possible and you intend to bring your presentation with you on a USB memory stick you will need to load this on to the computer yourself. If this is the case please leave a copy of the presentation on the computer’s desktop this will enable us to make presentations available on the JSWEC website after the conference.

• Check the location of the symposia and get there 5-10 minutes before it is due to start. Check that any requested audio-visual aids/resources are available and working.

• Rooms will be laid out theatre style. Please allow yourself extra time if you wish to  change this layout and please return tables and chairs to their original positions when you are finished.

Delivery

• You may wish to ask participants to briefly introduce themselves: name, organisation, role, why they are interested in the workshop topic, etc.

• Outline the purpose of the symposium, either verbally or using an OHP, PowerPoint, or flipchart. Indicate the time to be spent on each section and the expectation of discussion taking place.

• Ending:
  • Pull together the strands of the discussion
  • Offer any final thoughts/observations of your own
  • Thank all participants

Special Interest Groups (SIG).

These sessions provide the opportunity for existing or new networks to lead a discussion forum around a common interest and allied one of the conference themes. – 75 minutes.   

Preparation

• Provide copies of a short, written synopsis of the symposium’s key points, or a handout from PowerPoint slides, as an ‘aide memoir’ for those attending to take away and share with colleagues in their work setting.

• Check the location of the special interest group and get there 5-10 minutes before it is due to start. Check that any requested audio-visual aids/resources are available and working and check the room layout.

• Rooms will be laid out theatre style. Please allow yourself extra time if you wish to  change this layout and please return tables and chairs to their original positions when you are finished

Delivery

• You may wish to ask participants to briefly introduce themselves: name, organisation, role, why they are interested in the special interest group topic, etc.

• Outline the purpose of the special interest group, either verbally or using an OHP, PowerPoint, or flipchart. Indicate the time to be spent on each section and the expectation of discussion taking place.

• Explain how the discussion will be captured, and disseminated to the participants.

• Ending:
  • Pull together the strands of the discussion
  • Offer any final thoughts/observations of your own
  • Clarify how the discussion will be taken forward
  • Thank all participants

Posters

Poster Sessions allows participants to view your poster and discuss it with you individually. Authors are asked to be by their posters during timetabled poster sessions for discussion and questions.

Preparation

• Provide sufficient copies of a short, written synopsis of your poster’s key points as an ‘aide memoir’ for those attending to take away and share with colleagues in their work setting.

• Check the location of the room/space where you are showing your poster and get there 5-10 minutes before the poster viewing is due to start.

Posters guidelines (including advice on making your poster accessible)

• Posters should be A1 size and laminated.
• The heading should include the authors' names and affiliations
• Lettering for titles should be readable from at least 6 feet away –  minimum 1-inch (96pt) high type is suggested
• Words should be spelled out - avoiding abbreviations which require decoding
• Words should run from left to right
• The text, tables and graphics should look integrated. The same typeface should be used for all and ruled lines separating different types of information should be avoided
• Type should be in upper and lower case in a sans serif face (e.g., Arial, Helvetica or Verdana) that is clear and precise
• Lines of text should contain about 10 to12 words
• Lettering for text in the body of the poster should be readable from at least 4 feet away - minimum ½ inch (48pt) high type is suggested
• Text colour should contrast well with the background; avoid white text on a pale/pastel background and/or dark text on a dark background.
• Tables are preferable to graphics for small data sets
• Tables also work well when data presentation requires many localised comparisons
• Explanations should be used to enhance access to the richness of data and make graphics more attractive to the viewer
• Words and illustrations should go together - tables and graphics should be integrated within the text whenever possible, avoiding clumsy diverting segregation
• Lines in data graphics should be thin
• Graphics should tend toward the horizontal, greater in length than height, ideally 50 percent wider than tall
• Elaborately coded shadings, cross-hatching and colours should be avoided