June 28 - July 2, 2010
Le CENTRE DE CONGRÈS de CAEN
Caen, France
Presentation
Guidelines
The following guidelines and forms will be helpful as you prepare for your oral
presentation at the conference. Please note the list of audio-visual equipment which
will be available for your use at the conference. If you require any other
equipment, you must advise us well in advance and note that you may be responsible for the
cost. We will try to accommodate your needs without extra cost to you, but special
orders may be charged directly to you. Please check with us for prices and
availability.
INTRODUCTION
Good visual aids can greatly enhance the effect your presentation has on the
audience. Experience at past conferences has shown that many of the oral
presentations have not been adequately prepared. Often an attempt was made to
present too much material and too much detail. Visual aids, the primary means to
hold the attention of the audience, were often poorly conceived and inadequately
prepared. It is our hope that these guidelines will help you prepare a better visual
presentation.
Most sessions run 90 minutes without a break and typically include four papers.
Unless otherwise noted, this allows for introductions and then 20 minutes per paper, of
which about 5 minutes should be reserved for audience questions and comments.
REMEMBER, your entire paper is published in the Proceedings and on the CD-ROM. Your
objective in the oral
presentation should be to describe the highlights of your paper, progress since the paper
was written, and future plans. DO NOT try to present the paper in its entirety, and
do not read it!
PREPARATION OF PRESENTATION
BASIC ORGANIZATION
The most significant constraint facing the speaker is the time limit for
presentation. As described above, presentations are nominally allotted 20 minutes
unless otherwise noted.
This time limit also restricts the number of concepts or major technical points that can
be made by the speaker and absorbed by the audience. As a guideline, it is suggested
that a presentation cover no more than 10 technical points. Logically linked by the
theme of the paper, each of these technical points can be expressed as a declarative
statement, substantiated with supporting material. Though the selection of no more
than 10 significant points may seem like a great hardship, it will enhance the audience
appreciation of a paper by focusing on the most significant information.
VISUAL AIDS
The best way to present material in a limited time period is to use well-conceived visual
aids that support each of the points to be made. As a first approximation, the
speaker should plan for overhead slides or ýVIEWING FRAMESý for each of the 10 technical
points to be presented. All rooms will be set up for overhead computer projected
presentations. Any additional audio- visual requirements must be arranged with HPCS
prior to the conference.
Visual aids significantly simplify the presentation task. They simultaneously focus
the audience attention and provide cues for the speaker. The speaker should plan to
speak about all of the material on a slide (or it shouldnýt be there) before amplifying a
single item.
In general, include no more than six supporting concepts on each slide presenting one
technical point. If there are more, simply select the most pertinent. Remember
once again, visual aids are not a complete reconstruction of the manuscript. The
full story appears in the Proceedings and visual aids are only attention-focusing cues for
the most interesting highlights.
TIMING
A speaker can expect to speak about SIX sentences per slide, which normally runs about 120
words or 1 to 1.5 spoken minutes. Since a speaker will have ten slides, the basic
presentation will run ten minutes. This allows 5-10 minutes to title, identify, and
summarize the basic material, recognizing that audience receptiveness peaks at the
beginning and conclusion of each talk. Therefore, a total of 15-20 slides will be
more than adequate normally.
SPEAKER ATTITUDE AND SPONTANEITY
The primary advantage for the speaker who organizes her presentation in this manner is
that she can approach the audience with the assurance that she can easily and effectively
present the salient points in her paper.
Since the speaker is cued by his slides, and since he certainly can speak to any of the
technical points he has selected for at least one minute, the speaker no longer needs a
written speech or even prepared notes. Thus, a measure of spontaneity can enter the
technical presentations. Coming well prepared makes things go much easier.
DEVIATIONS FROM GUIDELINES
The Session Chairperson makes the final decisions regarding timing of presentations,
subject to the constraint that all papers in the session must be completed within the time
allotted. Any deviations from these guidelines should be approved by the
Chair. If the time allotted by the session chair is increased, your preparation can
be scaled up accordingly.
SPEAKER'S BREAKFAST
On the morning of your presentation, a Speaker's Breakfast will be held for you to meet
with your Session Chair and Co- Presenters. This meeting is mandatory. Please
do your best to attend.