Session Chairs
Welcome! Certain conferees are identified in the program as the chair of a session. If you have been selected to play this role, we ask that you please note the guidelines for session chairs below. These will give you some information about the way successful sessions proceed (e.g., the time limitations and structure of the session). As a chair, your duties are as follows:
- To arrive early at the session.
- With the Roving Superchair attending your session, to check the room for accessibility--room for wheelchairs, cleared aisles, working microphone, appropriate lighting, etc. If you discover a problem, ask the Roving Superchair to seek out the conference accessibility point-person.
- With the Roving Superchair, to work closely with those assisting with presentation technology.
- To introduce yourself to the presenters and familiarize yourself with pronouncing their names as well as honoring the way in which they wish to be addressed and referred to.
- To remind presenters that at the beginning of their remarks they must inform the audience if they prefer not to have their presentation posted, tweeted, or blogged about. If a presenter states no preference, audience members can assume they have permission to use social media according to the conference guidelines.
- To remind presenters of time restrictions. If three people are presenting, remind them that twenty minutes per person has been allotted; if four people are presenting, advise them that each has fifteen minutes. NOTE: Very few (if any) sessions have four; generally speaking, these are sessions proposed as such by a group of presenters.
- To briefly introduce each presenter and presentation title in program order.
- During the presentations, to advise presenters if they have exceeded their time allotment and to insure every presenter receives the fair share of presentation time. It is generally advisable to agree on a signal beforehand; for instance, some chairs alert presenters of the coming time limit by passing over to the presenter a slip of paper or index card when "5 minutes" remain.
- To facilitate discussion after all the presentations have been made. Chairs normally save questions/discussions until after all presentations have been made. It is generally advisable for the chair to have a question ready to ask each presenter.
- To dismiss your session on time so that the next session can begin promptly.
