European Seismological Commission
Guidelines for Chairing a Session at the 35th General Assembly of the European Seismological Commission
General Remarks
The following guidelines for chairing sessions at 35th GA of the ESC are provided to ensure a smoothly running conference. They are the result of years of experience in listening to the common complaints from attendees. An attentive, well-prepared Session Chair can help ensure that the speakers give high quality, trouble-free talks and that the audience appreciates the entire session.
When a speaker drops out after the schedule is published, and attendees have made plans as to which talks to attend, a disruption caused by a change in the programme or an empty slot can snowball across different tracks and disappoint people who really wanted to see a specific speaker. Although it is certain that some speakers will not deliver their presentations, no interruptions should occur whenever a “no show” takes place. Just the session pace can slow down.
SO, REARRANGING THE ORDER OF PRESENTERS SHOULD NEVER OCCUR, IN CONSIDERATION FOR THE EFFECT ON ATTENDEES.
Recognize that you are the leader of the session. The Chair person, together with the Co-Chair, is the one everyone will turn to if there are problems among your speakers or within your audience.
Thank you for agreeing to assume high responsibility. Much of the success of the conference will rest on the efficient and consistent execution of our oral sessions.
As important as running the session well is the critical ear. If you pick up on something that causes a stir or is particularly controversial, jot it down and make a point of informing the Conference Manager, or the Chair of the Scientific Committee as appropriate. Talk with the Room Support Assistant present in the room. Feedback is an essential aspect of this program.
Prior to Your Session
Meet with your Co-Chair and all your speakers before the start of your session.
They should have previously handed their presentations at the Speaker’s Support Room.
If there is no appointed Co-Chair in your session, or she/he has not shown up, you may invite one of the speakers to help you in your duties.
You will have access to the list of presentations that are ready to be presented.
The use of laptops is not possible and speakers should be aware of it.
At that time, make needed introductions and help them feel comfortable with the room arrangements and fellow participants. Discuss their positions at the podium and remind them of their time limitations.
Describe to your speakers the method you will use to notify them when they are nearing their presentation time limit (2 minutes before the scheduled time) and how you will interrupt them if they have reached the end of their allotted time.
Try to leave time (3 minutes) for a pertinent question and answer. If however, all time has expired for that speaker, it is acceptable to ask the audience to discuss issues with that speaker after the end of the session. It is up to you as the Session Chair to ensure that ALL speakers receive their allotted time and that someone in the audience has opportunity for a question or comment.
Inform your speakers of the exact time that each of their talks is to begin, and remind them that attendees are free to get up and move to another session after each talk. Further explain that because of this expected movement, it is particularly important for each talk to finish on time and for the next speaker to begin at the appropriate time (even if the previous speaker ends early). You can help facilitate a smooth change between speakers by asking the next speaker to begin moving toward the front while the question and answer unfolds.
When Your Session Begins
Concern yourself with the environment - check sound and lights. If there are problems, the Room Support Assistant can assist or you can send someone to the Office for assistance. Directly ask members of the audience if they can see you and hear you clearly. Your audience will appreciate that you are in charge and concerned about them and the quality of the session.
Using the microphone, formally announce the beginning of the session. If needed, politely encourage the audience to settle into their seats and conclude their conversations.
Introduce yourself as Session Chair and give your affiliation.
Outside of the room there is a monitor displaying the list of presentations and speakers, outlining the one being delivered.
During Each Presentation
For each talk, introduce the speaker and give the title of her/his talk.
It is up to you as the Session Chair to assist your speakers if there are problems. If the speaker's voice is fading, provide water. If the speaker's presentation is not displaying well, help adjust the equipment. If lights need to be dimmed, ask someone to do it. If the speaker cannot be heard or cannot be seen, you should politely try to correct the situation.
You must keep track of elapsed time during a presentation.
A TYPICAL ONE HOUR SESSION HAS FOUR SPEAKERS; I.E., 12 MINUTES TO MAKE THE PRESENTATION, WITH 3 ADDITIONAL MINUTES ALLOWED FOR QUESTIONS.
If the number of speakers that have shown at the beginning of the session is lower than four you should allow few more minutes for presentations and questions, accordingly.
Being fair with all the speakers means that you should be strict with time control.
Never allow a change in the order of the speakers. People that may want to attend one of the presentations will be disappointed and it may happen that some speakers have another presentation in a different room in the same time period.
At 10 minutes, give a ‘signal’ to the speaker (could be card raised, or low voice).
At 12 minutes, interrupt the speaker (this could done by standing up, or actually stating "It is time to conclude").
As the allotted time for the speaker's talk ends, initiate applause for the speaker.
At the End of the Session
When the last speaker's presentation and questions/answers have concluded, THANK the audience for attending and state that your session is now completed.
Poster Session
Take care of participating to the Poster sessions.
Prepare questions for the authors and in particular stimulate the discussion with students.
Vote the best student poster in the session.
Final remarks
Please take note of the Oral and Poster presentation that have not been delivered and pass this information to the LOC.
Thus ended your duties as Session Chair!
THE GA IS VITAL ONLY THROUGH YOUR VOLUNTEERISM AND PARTICIPATION. THANK YOU AGAIN FOR YOUR HELP