Advice for Speakers

Since IMC 2023 will be a hybrid event, all speakers will use Zoom to share their slides, rather than sharing them directly with the in-room audience. This is to ensure that delegates connecting remotely can follow along and see your visual aids. Therefore, if you are speaking at the IMC, we recommend that you practice your presentation prior to your session, ensuring that you are comfortable with accessing Zoom, sharing your screen, and navigating through your slides.

Presentation Format

It is up to you what format you choose to present any visual aids or slides. However, to ensure your paper runs smoothly and without hitches we recommend that all speakers follow the below advice:

  • If you are speaking in-person, either email your presentation to yourself, or bring it along on a memory stick, or access it via cloud storage. Due to the hybrid nature of the IMC this year, we expect all in person presenters use the in room PC for their sessions. Virtual presenters should make sure they save a copy of the presentation on the device you are using to present.
  • Use PowerPoint, or save your presentation as a PDF file.
  • If you require access to specialist software or your own device to present, you must contact imc@leeds.ac.uk to arrange this in good time before the IMC begins
  • If your image has a large number of images or other content, ensure the file size is as small as it can be by following the guidance here.
  • Upload a copy of your presentation and/or a short summary of your paper to your session listing page prior to the session for delegates with poor bandwidth or accessibility needs to follow along. You can do this by clicking ‘Manage’ on the session where you are speaking, then ‘Files’, and ‘Add new file’ and selecting the relevant file from your computer.
  • Take advantage of PowerPoint’s real-time automated captioning feature, details of which can be found here.

Using Zoom to Share Your Screen

All presenters, both in-person and virtual, must share their slides via Zoom and not directly with the room audience. This is to ensure that delegates attending virtually can see your slides and that they will be included in session recordings.

Presentation Guidance

Our advice to speakers is to help make your presentation as accessible as possible.

  • Make sure your paper is presented within the allotted time (20 minutes for sessions with three papers and 15 minutes for sessions with four papers). To prevent screen fatigue amongst participants attending your session, we recommend that you keep your paper as brief as possible.
  • Arrive 20 minutes before the session to prepare. You will have the opportunity to conduct a sound and camera test in the digital session room to ensure that your microphone and webcam are working correctly.
  • Use PowerPoint’s built-in captioning system to add automatic live captions to your presentation
  • If presenting remotely, please note that the IMC team will not be able to regulate or monitor your internet connection. Should your connection breakdown it will not be possible to reschedule your paper.
  • Speak clearly and slowly so that everyone in the room and at home can follow your paper. The language in which you are speaking may not be the first language of everyone in the audience.
  • Support your paper with a PowerPoint, PDF, or other presentation using the ‘Screen share’ option.
  • Upload a copy of your slides, or a short summary of your talk, plus any supporting materials which you are happy to share via the ‘Files’ section on the ‘Session Details’ page.
  • Ensure you describe any images or visual aids used in your presentation so that it is accessible for any attendees with visual impairments.
  • Ensure you have any video, audio, or weblinks you need loaded and ready before you begin speaking.
  • Make sure that all materials you use are clearly legible for delegates with visual impairments. We recommend using the guidelines on making presentations accessible from Sight Advice.
  • You may wish to produce a PDF copy of your presentation, or paper text in a large print for delegates with visual impairments and have these available in the room, or uploaded via the  ‘Manage’ button on the ‘Session Details page’ in advance.
  • If you are presenting your paper in a language other than English, we recommend producing a short handout summarising the key points of your paper in English.
  • It is likely that there will be members of the audience with hearing impairments or who rely upon lip-reading. Therefore, please ensure that you are facing the camera head on and that your face fully appears on the screen.
  • Before you begin speaking, check that you are audible to remote attendees by asking attendees to give you a thumbs up or post in the chat.
  • Ensure that the camera frames your face as closely as possible, that you are well lit, and your face can be clearly seen. Keep your camera on throughout your presentation.
  • Virtual presenters who are using an external microphone should ensure this is set up correctly and positioned for optimum sound capture. If you are using the microphone built in to your device, ensure that it is clear of obstructions and is picking your voice up well.
  • Keep your background as simple as possible to avoid distractions.
  • As much as possible, try to reduce any background noise.

Session Room Support

Session Rooms will be supported by a team of Session Room Organisers (SROs), who will be available to assist speakers and moderators throughout the session. A dedicated team will also support speakers in wholly remote and hybrid sessions, while others will be available around campus to ensure that session rooms are set up correctly, to keep rooms tidy, ensure temperature and lighting are comfortable, to ensure water is available for speakers, and that the correct equipment is provided.

Please make sure you are familiar with the basic functions of the equipment you are using before your presentation. Both in-room and virtual SROs will be assigned to multiple rooms and so will not be able to help every speaker with their equipment.

Both in-room and remote teams will be able to assist with basic technical queries and support. As noted above, in-person rooms will be available to speakers and moderators for 30 minutes prior to the session beginning and virtual rooms will be available for speakers from 20 minutes prior to the session beginning.

SROs will try to resolve any issues, but they may need to request additional technical support either from the core IMC Team or our virtual platform helpdesk.

Please be patient while waiting for technical support, as our team may be helping another delegate. If an issue is taking substantial time to resolve, we encourage moderators to re-order papers in a session so that other speakers may go ahead of a speaker experiencing difficulties.

If presenting remotely, we recommend that you test your setup in advance of your session. We will be unable to assist or troubleshoot issues relating to your own internet connection, technical setup, or missing or incorrect versions of Zoom.