Instructions for session Chairs at EUNIS 2011 Congress in Trinity College
Dublin
Aim of Document: This document aims to provide some guidelines for session chairs at EUNIS 2011.
Obviously chairing a session is something which partially depends on the "personal touch" of the
chairperson; however there are a few guidelines and pieces of advice that the Conference
Committee would like to share.
Before the Session:
Contact Your Speakers
Before the conference contact your speakers to ask them if they have any questions about
their presentation. Make sure your speakers know the date and time of their presentation
and that they bring any special requirements, for example AV requirements to the attention
of the conference organisers.
Be Prepared
It is assumed that the session chairperson is familiar with the topic of the session in general,
and with the content of the presentations in particular If you notice that two of your
speakers look in danger of covering the same or very similar issues, please contact them as
soon as possible so they have the opportunity to tailor their presentations slightly to avoid
repetition.
Meet Your Speakers
Arrange to meet your speakers early in the conference, try and get them involved with other
appropriate sessions. Make sure that they are familiar with the resources available.
Session Format
Although the overall time allocation and order of the speakers have already been defined in
the Conference Programme, it can be very helpful to spend some time preparing the format
of the session. For example, to think about a general introduction to the session and/or each
speaker, to decide whether questions will be taken after each presentation, or after all
presentations have been made, etc. Timing is very important, so please keep to the
timetable and do not shuffle talks around in the session.
During the Session:
Introduction to the Session
There should be an initial phase of making contact with the audience to get everyone's
attention and to introduce the audience to the topic(s) that will be addressed in the session don't assume that everyone is familiar with the topic already. The initial opening of the
session by the chairperson should not evolve into an unscheduled invited talk, but should
introduce the framework for the following speakers. This is also a good opportunity to
present the format of the session, for example whether questions will be taken at the end or
after each presentation.
Introducing the Speakers
When introducing your speakers, please do so at the lectern microphone, ask the delegates
to move down in the lecture theatre to be closer to the speaker. The minimum introduction
to a presentation should be a mention of the title and a few words about the speaker. If the
presentation has been co-authored it may be advisable to mention the names of the coauthors as well. In general, make the introduction short and accurate, so that the speaker
doesn't have to correct you during his or her presentation.
Time Allocation and Control
Having introduced the speaker, sit on a seat facing the speaker in the front row, this will
allow you make eye-contact with the speaker and to prompt them with the time cards that
are provided. 5-minute, 2-minute, 1-minute and "Time's Up" laminated sheets will be
provided.
This is the most difficult task, since speakers tend to forget about time as soon as they have
the floor. Never rely on the speaker to have eye contact with you on a regular basis to
determine how much speaking time is left as he or she will either look at the audience or
stare into their notes. As a last resort you may have to speak up and remind the speaker that
he or she is running out of time. If there is no sign of the speaker drawing their presentation
to a close you should interrupt at least 2-3 minutes before their allocated speaking time is
over in order to give them a chance to wind up their presentation. Keep in mind that each
time slot usually includes a few minutes for discussion. This time is the session chair's buffer
space. If a speaker has 20 minutes presentation time and 10 minutes planned for questions
and answers, it may be OK to let the speaker continue talking for 22 or 23 minutes, as soon
as you realise that he or she will finish within that limit. However, if a speaker crosses the
25-minute mark, he or she should be notified.
Remember that there are other parallel sessions going on in other theatres and people may
wish to swap between sessions, it is important that all sessions start and end at the same
time in order to facilitate this changeover.
Coordinating Discussion
Usually taking questions in a certain order is the task of the speaker, but you may have to
start by announcing that the floor is now open for discussion. It is also a good idea to ask
members of the audience asking a question to give their name and affiliation. If there are no
questions, which often happens for a variety of reasons, it is face preserving for the speaker
(and the audience) if the session chair has one or two questions to ask, but in general
questions from the audience should have preference. If there are too many questions or the
questions are too difficult to understand or answer you may step in and remind the
audience that such specific issues can be discussed after the session. Sometimes, even
questions from the audience can turn into small presentations. It is your responsibility to
keep this under control, and to interrupt the question if necessary.
Closing the Session
When the speaker is finished, move to the front of the theatre and take questions. It is
possible that you may need to repeat the question so that the delegates can hear the
question properly.
It is good practice for the session chair to sum up the session after the last presentation,
instead of letting the speakers and the audience discover that the session is over because
the session chair is leaving the stage. A few sentences summarising the content of the
session, a final acknowledgement of all the speakers and the audience (for their
participation), and probably an announcement of the next sessions are a good way to
conclude a session.
Summary - 10 Tips
1. Make Contact - contact your speakers before the conference to answer any questions they
may have and to make sure they know when and where their presentation will take place.
2. Be Prepared - familiarise yourself with the general topic of the session and read abstracts
(and full papers if they are available) to familiarise yourself with the content of the individual
presentations. If you think two speakers are in danger of covering the same issues contact
them in advance to give them an opportunity to tailor their presentations.
3. Face-to-Face - arrange to meet your speakers at the conference venue to ensure they know
the time and venue of their presentation, and that they bring any problems or special
requirements to the attention of the conference organisers.
4. Think and Plan - plan the general format of your session, think about how to introduce the
speakers and whether questions will be taken at the end of the session or after each
presentation.
5. Introduce Session - get the attention of the audience, introduce the topic of the session and
present the format of the session.
6. Introduce the Speakers - prepare some information to introduce each of the speakers. Keep
the introductions short and accurate.
7. Timing - monitor the timing of each speaker closely, speak up and remind them they have
only 2-3 minutes of speaking-time left if they show no sign of concluding their presentation.
Remember to leave enough time for questions.
8. Discussion - have a few questions ready in case the audience doesn't. If questions are too
long, or complicated interrupt and suggest that the issue is discussed after the session.
9. Closing - conclude the session with a short summary of the content of the session,
acknowledge the speakers and announce the next sessions.
10. The End - before they leave the room, thank each of the speakers for their contribution.