Strengthening Disability Advocacy
Conference
Melbourne Park Function Centre
Monday 4 & Tuesday 5 August 2014
Speakers Information Sheet
The program for Strengthening Disability Advocacy conference: Champions of Change is
strong thanks to your contribution. The conference Planning Committee appreciates your
participation.
It is in our best interest to ensure that you feel confident and comfortable on the day. For
this to happen there is a lot of planning and arrangements that need to be made in the lead
up. The aim of this document is to provide you with the information you need to develop
your materials and to assist your session coordinator make everything run smoothly for you.
Your Session
You have been working with a Session coordinator who is your contact person on the
conference Planning Committee. This is a checklist about what you should know about your
session and the details you should have provided to them:
 Date and time
 Session description/outline
 Audio and visual requirements
 Dietary and access needs for registration purposes
 Full contact information
 Biography (max of 50 words
 Pphoto In JPEG format
 Presentation notes and slideshow in Pllain English provided electronically
Plain English
This conference aims to be a model of inclusion. To be truly inclusive to the widest range of
needs, we ask that you use Plain English during the delivery of your presentation and in the
presentation notes you provide.
Note: Plain English should not be confused with Easy English that uses pictorial
representation to illustrate concepts.
To assist your preparation we have provided some points you might like to consider when
preparing your material:

Have you considered your audience and who your message is aimed at?

Are the things you want to communicate to your audience easy to identify?

Does the structure present the information in a logical order?

Does your document avoid jargon and acronyms? See the glossary of Plain English
alternatives for jargon words at: http://www.kerryr.net/webwriting/plain_english.htm

Are your sentences concise? Does each sentence contain just one idea?

Are your paragraphs concise and focused on a single idea?

Is your wording clear or can your sentences be interpreted in a number of ways?
(Tip: use the Microsoft Word readability statistics tool)
For more Plain English writing tools and tips, visit the Plain English Foundation website at:
https://www.plainenglishfoundation.com/free-writing-tools
PowerPoint
PowerPoint can be a useful tool to structure your presentation and prompt you, however it is
important to speak to your slides rather than reading them. Remember to speak slowly and
clearly when delivering your presentation.
Here are some tips to optimise your message and improve accessibility when using
PowerPoint:

Melbourne Park Conference centre screens are best suited to 4:3 ratio slide size
(this is generally the default setting)

Give each slide a title

Shorten sentences to key words

Use a maximum of 6 bullets per slide and limit each bullet to one line

No more than 6 bullet slides in a row

Font 18 point minimum

Choose high contrast colour scheme. Combinations to be avoided are red with
green, blue with green, yellow with light blue or light green, red with black

Avoid backgrounds that obscure text such as Busy patterns, Grey/poor contrast or
Shading

Built-in slide layouts (templates) we recommend are Citris, Median, Module, Metro
and Technic.

Provide captions and text alternatives for images and multi media content

Review whole presentation, delete anything that is not essential
Registration
Your participation entitles you to a free ticket to conference for the day you are presenting. If
you wish to attend both days, a half price ticket will be arranged for you. Your Session
Coordinator will provide DARU with the information required to complete registration. Once
this is done, you should receive a confirmation email detailing your access and dietary needs
from Eventbrite.
Further details of arrangements on arrival will be emailed to you closer to the conference.
The most current information on the program can be found on the conference website where
you will also find information about the venue and how to get there.
http://www.daru.org.au/strengthening-disability-advocacy-conference