Presentation Information
ORAL PRESENTATION INSTRUCTIONS
All Oral Presentations will have a total duration of 15 minutes. It is highly recommended that presenters use 12 minutes for the presentation and allow 3 minutes for questions and transition.
Priority is given to presentations from Spallanzani and Villa Awardees, as well as Student Oral Honors. Student Oral Honors oral presenters may only present in a session designated for student presentations (they may not present in a topical, plenary, or other special session later in the symposium). For information on award eligibility see the Student Awards section of this website.
All presentations will be in PowerPoint on a Windows computer, therefore, Mac users should verify that their presentations work well in a Windows environment. Anyone using video or sound clips should make sure in advance that they will operate seamlessly with the presentation equipment provided – no extra time will be allowed for compatibility issues. Contact the Program Directors before the abstract deadline if you are requesting specialized media capabilities for your presentation.
Please do read the following documents:
How to Avoid PowerPoint Presentation Problems
Slides should consist of short headings and main points with relevant graphics. Do not overcrowd information on slides. Use large fonts that will project clearly and be readable by people in the rear of a large room of up to 400 people. Avoid complex tables and graphics. If you have to tell the audience, “you can’t read this,” then please do not include it. For example a phylogenetic tree can be simplified to show only the major branch points not every branch on a complex tree.
There are many good resources available on giving effective oral presentations. We encourage presenters to seek guidance and feedback on the preparation of their presentation. Some excellent resources include:
Alley, M. 2013. The Craft of Scientific Presentations: Critical Steps to Succeed and Critical Errors to Avoid. 2nd Edition. Springer.
Brigham, R. M. 2010. Talking the talk: giving oral presentations about mammals for colleagues and general audiences. Journal of Mammalogy 91:285-292.
Langin, J.M. 2017. Tell me a story! A plea for more compelling conference presentations. Condor 119:321-326.
Please NOTE:
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Name your file as Day_Time_YourLastName (e.g., Thursday_1430_Horst).
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To ensure that sessions run smoothly and on time, all oral presentations PowerPoint/PDF files should be uploaded to the provided Dropbox link or brought on a flash drive to the registration desk by 5:00 pm the day prior to the presentation. Presentation files will not be accepted the day of the presentation. Failure to submit your presentation file in a timely manner may result in a cancelled or rescheduled presentation.