Important Presenter Deadlines

Please complete the following steps by the deadlines indicated: 

1. Register for the conference by Oct. 20, 2022. All presenters, chairs, discussants, facilitators, presiders, and moderators must be registered for the conference. After you register, you will be sent a unique link to upload presentation materials. 

2. Send your biographical information to your session facilitator, moderator, presider or discussant or by Oct. 20.

3. Reserve any other necessary AV equipment through NCFR by Oct. 20, 2022. Contact Judy Schutz at [email protected] with any questions or needs.

4. Upload your final presentation files on the NCFR website by Nov. 8, 2022.

5. Upload optional handouts and materials to the Whova, the conference app, prior to the conference. Check back closer to the conference for details. 

You will not be able to use your own laptop for your presentation. A multimedia/LCD projector, microphone, and laptop patched to an amplification speaker is provided in all presentation rooms. Your presentation will be pre-loaded onto the laptop in your presentation room. Upload your presentation here. Note: NCFR’s laptops and projectors are set up and properly connected in advance to ensure that your presentation appears at maximum quality. Trying to connect different equipment can lead to problems with presentations. 

Do make sure to bring a backup copy of your presentation to the conference on a flash drive.

• Webcast: Understanding NCFR Conference Presentation Formats 

• How to Be an Effective Discussant or Facilitator at an NCFR Conference Session 

Preparing PowerPoints

• Remember that you — not PowerPoint — are the presenter. Use your slides to emphasize a point, keep yourself on track, and illustrate a point with a graphic or photo.
• Font sizes should be at least 24-point for the body, 28-point for headers, and 32-point for titles.
• Use upper- and lower-case type throughout. Avoid all upper-case type.
• Serif fonts (such as Times New Roman) are generally easier to read in the body of the text. Sans serif fonts (such as Arial or Calibri) are best used in titles, headings, and captions for emphasis.
• Use bold and bullets for emphasis.
• Use only two levels of bullet points.
• Keep it simple, clean, and concise. Use consistent wording. One topic per line works best, so use key words rather than complete sentences. A good rule to follow is: 5 lines per slide, 5 words per line, and no more than 5 text-heavy slides in a row. Emphasize key points.
• Double space between each line of text to allow for easier reading by all.
• Present numbers selectively. For processing ease and better recall of information, do not overload the slide with numerical information. A chart or graph showing differences between conditions, ages, etc. is easier for the audience to process than a table full of numbers indicating the same differences.
• Keep graphs simple. The most effective graphs are pie charts with 3 or 4 slices and column charts with 3 or 4 columns. Ensure your tables, graphs, etc. are large enough so that people can see them from the back of the room. Be sure to describe all tables, graphs, etc. so that the visuals are more easily understood by all.
• Keep the background simple. Colors should be sharp and in strong contrast without being unsettling. Limit the number of colors used on one slide. Do not only use color to distinguish information. Varying font size is helpful too.
• When advancing slides, pause a moment to let people read it before saying anything. Then read the text aloud ensure people who are unable to see the text know what is on the slide.
• If you use animations, set the speed of the animations to be slow so they can be described fully.
• Practice to your time limit. Sessions are on a tight schedule and there are others presenting in your session. You must adhere to the time limit.
• Practice your presentation in front of a small group of supportive colleagues to ensure an effective performance.

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Preparing for Presentations in Advance of the Conference

• Send your biographical information to your session discussant or facilitator by Oct. 20. A reminder notice will be sent to you in September that lists the email addresses of the people to whom you are to send this information.
  • You also must upload your presentation file/s to the NCFR website by Nov. 8.
• Get the beginning and end right. Critical to the success of your presentation are the first two and the final one-minutes. Start with an attention-getter (e.g., a story), and end with the one point you want your audience to remember about the talk.
• Structure your presentation thoughtfully. The structure of a paper presentation requires thoughtful planning. State your objectives and how you will meet them. In the first few minutes, place your topic into theoretical, historical, or developmental context. Summarize key points at the end of each segment of the presentation. Emphasize the direction your research has taken, and the results and interpretation rather than techniques. Present some practical applications and policy implications of your work. The audience prefers to hear about theory, practical applications, and policy implications during a session.
• Make necessary changes to your presentation based on reviewer feedback.
• Use Family Science discipline rather than the field of Family Science. See here for more information.

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Presenting at the NCFR Conference

• Arrive at your assigned room 10 minutes early. This will allow you to check in with the chair, facilitator, or presider and coordinate last-minute details. Familiarize yourself with the audio-visual equipment. If there is a problem with the AV equipment, contact NCFR staff.
• Do not change room set-ups or move to a different room even if you feel it is not satisfactory. If there is a problem, contact Judy Schutz on the NCFR staff. There will be written instructions on the podium that list Judy's cell phone number.
• Be ready to speak before the session begins.
• Be sure to speak directly into the microphone at all times. 
• Introduce yourself at the beginning of your presentation if you have not been previously introduced.
• Be flexible. When presenting assume that whatever challenges can happen will happen, so be flexible in preparing your presentation. If challenges do happen (e.g., mic feedback), use a little humor.
• Be engaging and enthusiastic. If you are not passionate about your work, don't expect the audience to be. Tell stories to illustrate your points.
• Avoid reading your notes or PowerPoint verbatim. Simply refer to them, and rather engage participants in developing the outcomes. Prepare an outline from which you present your presentation. Relax and enjoy yourself as you present your paper, and your audience will respond accordingly.
• Establish eye contact with the audience; vary your presentation styles.
• Avoid statements like, “as you can see….” or “do you hear what I’m saying” to ensure inclusivity.
• Be aware of problematic idioms or expressions with racist, sexist, or otherwise offensive origins (such as grandfathered, “man up,” or peanut gallery), and phrases that use cultural appropriation (such as guru, ninja, or spirit animal).
• Stay within your allotted time. Stop your presentation on time to be considerate of the other presenters’ times. Seven minutes is about the limit of audience absorption of a topic.
• Practice, Practice, Practice before you present live. Speak clearly and at a natural pace. We encourage you to have a “dress rehearsal” with the other presenters of your session.

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Lightning Paper

Discussants and facilitators: See instructions for the discussant and facilitator roles.

A lightning paper session (previously interactive paper session)— 4-5 papers centered on a common theme. Papers should focus primarily on key findings/observations, contributions, and methodological rigor. Each presenter has 8 minutes to present. A maximum of 8 slides are to be prepared in advance. The first slide will be the title slide, and the last slide will list two questions for discussion at the end of the session. After the presentations, sessions will include facilitated group dialogue and interaction.

Interactive paper sessions will have a facilitator and a presider. In some cases, the facilitator and presider may be the same person. See Facilitator and Presider Instructions for facilitator and presider expectations

Technical Preparations for Presenters

• Crucial for this format: Your slides must be set to advance automatically so that your presentation ends in 8 minutes (see instructions below). Your oral remarks must coincide with your visual presentation.
• Send a copy of your presentation and your biographical information to your session facilitator by Oct. 20. A reminder notice will be sent to you in September that lists the email addresses of the people to whom you are to send this information.
• You also must upload your presentation file/s to the NCFR website by Nov. 8.

Instructions for setting PowerPoint slides to advance automatically:

1. First, set up your desired slide transition effects for your presentation. See this Microsoft support webpage for assistance with transitions in your version of PowerPoint.
2. Then, in the Transitions tab, find the Timing group of commands (to the right near the top) 
3. Under Advance Slide, select the check box "After" (rather than "On Mouse Click"), and enter 60 seconds in the timing box.
4. Click Apply to All.

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Paper Presentation

Discussants and facilitators: See instructions for the discussant and facilitator roles.

Paper sessions have 3-4 papers centered around a common theme. Each presenter has 12 minutes to present. Sessions will begin with introductions by the facilitator and include facilitated Q&A and group dialogue and interaction after all presentations are complete

Paper sessions will have a facilitator and/or a presider. In some cases, the facilitator and presider may be the same person. See Facilitator and Presider Instructions for facilitator and presider expectations

How to Prepare in Advance

• Send a copy of your presentation and biographical information to your session facilitator by Oct. 20. A reminder notice will be sent to you in September that lists the email addresses of the people to whom you are to send this information.
• You also must upload your presentation file/s to the NCFR website by Nov. 8.

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Poster

A poster is a graphic, instructional display containing a short abstract, headlines, charts, graphs, pie charts, and other illustrative information. It provides an opportunity for in-depth discussion between presenters and attendees.

Poster sessions are 75 minutes in length. No audio-visual equipment can be used in poster sessions. Posters are scheduled with similar topics across sections.

A standout poster is readable, eye-catching, attractive, and it communicates information effectively and economically. Here are some suggestions for preparing your poster attractively, but less expensively.

Size

• The poster should be created in landscape orientation.
• Posters are 48 x 60 inches (smaller posters are 36 x 48 inches).
• Dimensions, in PowerPoint, can be set under Design and Slide Size. Click on Custom Design Size to change your dimensions.

Content

• Post a brief abstract (50 words) in the upper left-hand corner.
• Select only the most pertinent data to report on the poster.
• A traditional poster includes title, authors, author affiliations, email, an abstract, methods, results, conclusions, and implications. References and acknowledgements may also be included if there is space.
• Presenters may choose a new poster format which changes the arrangement of the poster contents (see youtube.com/watch?v=1RwJbhkCA58&t=2s).

Text

• Keep the title as short as possible so others can read it quickly.
• Use upper- and lower-case type throughout the poster. Avoid all upper-case type.
• Serif fonts (such as Times New Roman) are generally easier to read in the body of the text. Sans serif fonts (such as Arial or Calibri) are best used in titles, headings, and captions for emphasis.
• Use bold and bullets for emphasis.

• Font size: ≥ 24-point font. For example, 24-point for the body, 36-point for sub-headers, 48-point for headers, and 85-point for main titles.

Tables and Charts

• The poster is a visual format. Use graphic elements often.
• Keep graphics as simple as possible. More complex data can be presented in a handout.
• Photographs should be used sparingly and should be cited.
• Do not use hand drawings.
• All images should be high-quality and look good on screen or printed.

Layout

• Heading should contain a title, author(s), and author affiliations.
• Keep at least a 1-inch margin on all sides.
• Paragraphs should be no longer than 10-20 lines. Break up longer sections of text with graphics or bulleted lists.
• Use blank spaces to avoid a cluttered look, and to separate the elements of your poster.

Color

• Text should be printed on a contrasting background (dark text on a light background, or light text on a dark background).    
• Avoid harsh colors, such as neon, and text/background color combinations that are hard to read (e.g., red and yellow, red and green, red and black, purple and green, yellow and green, or blue and red).
• Choose no more than two colors (in addition to either white or black) for the graphic elements of your poster (such as borders or horizontal rules) to emphasize elements and draw attention to your poster.

Printing

• Presenters may choose to print on traditional poster paper or choose to print a fabric poster: https://www.kmhatcher.com/blog/fabric-poster.

Presentation

• Poster boards are fabric, 4’ high by 8’ wide, and freestanding. The poster material can be mounted with pushpins, staples, or Velcro (presenters must bring their own materials to mount the poster).
• All materials displayed should be self-explanatory, eye catching, and quickly communicate your message to the audience.
• Arrive 20-30 minutes before the session is scheduled to give you enough time to set up the poster.
• Set up your poster on the board with the number in the conference program that corresponds to the number of your presentation.
• Stay at your poster the entire time of the session to give attendees a chance to talk with you about your work. Provide a sign-up sheet if you are willing to send people the full paper.

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Symposium

Instructions for discussants are below. Facilitators: See instructions for the facilitator roles.

A symposium is a panel of experts presenting on a similar topic. The chair leads the discussion and introduces the panelists. In a symposium with four papers, each presenter has 12 minutes to present. A discussant summarizes and integrates the papers as they relate to each other and the topic. Discussants also develop implications for policy and practice from the research.

How to Prepare in Advance

• Send a copy of your presentation and biographical information to your session discussant by Oct. 20. All presenters must do this! A reminder notice will be sent to you in September that lists the email addresses of the people to whom you are to send this information.
• You also must upload your presentation file/s to the NCFR website by Nov. 8.

 

Instructions for Discussants

The discussant gives a 5-minute "take-home" message after the presentations integrating information presented and pushing the message forward. Do not use this time to present your own ideas or research. Instead, discuss how the papers are connected, issues for elaboration and discussion, implications of the research, etc.

Before the conference:

• Read the material obtained from each paper presenter before the conference. If you have not received the material from the presenter by Oct. 20, contact Cindy Winter ([email protected]) to obtain this information.
• Prepare an outline ahead of time about each presentation.

• Prepare one to three implications for how attendees can use the research presented. 
• If there is not a separate facilitator or chair at your session, prepare a 1-minute introduction of all the presenters. Be concise. You may be asked to facilitate questions and discussion too.

Watch How to Become an Effective Discussant at www.ncfr.org/events/understanding-ncfr-conference-session-formats#discussant

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Workshops

Workshops are 75 minutes.

Collaborative Workshops (previously interactive workshop) focus on the co-creation of new knowledge and skills in real time. The focus of these workshops can be quite broad. What is important is to focus on a collaborative effort to brainstorm or otherwise address a need that moves our work forward. Discussion is possible through the entire collaborative workshop.

A training workshop is a training session in which the presenter leads participants through exercises or skills development with at least 15 minutes at the end for discussion.

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Resource Exchange Roundtable

Organized by the Advancing Family Science and Education and Enrichment sections, the resource exchange roundtables are an interactive opportunity to demonstrate an educational, administrative, enrichment, or pedagogical (e.g., specific curricula or teaching technique) resource that has been particularly useful when working with students, families, professionals, or other populations.

All resource exchange presenters have been scheduled to present their resource on Fri., Nov. 18 at 8:30 to 9:45 a.m. All presenters will have a table in which they can present their resource. The session will have three 20-minute presentation times during the 75-minute session. Each resource will be presented twice at the presenter’s  assigned table. Attendees can attend a total of three roundtables. Presenters will be able to attend one presentation when they are not actively presenting.

At the beginning of each presentation time, an overview is given by the leader who then facilitates a discussion about the resource. It is expected that presenters provide a tangible resource to participants. Evidence of effectiveness, such as evaluation data, should be provided in the presentation.

No audio-visual equipment will be provided by NCFR to be used during the presentations.

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A Note About Providing Handouts at Your Session

Handouts are recommended, but not required. You can upload your presentation slides, poster, or handouts in Whova alongside the information about your session.

Handouts should take the form of an executive summary of your main points. Be sure to include implications or practical ideas for one or two areas of policy, practice, or education. You may also wish to bring a sign-up sheet for names and email addresses of those who want further information. If you run out of handouts, send copies to those who request them.

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A Note About Permissions

Do not include copyrighted music, audio, or other materials in your presentation, unless permission has been obtained. Proper citations must be provided when referencing others’ work.

NCFR will record plenaries and some special and invited sessions, including PowerPoints, handouts, and any other materials. NCFR shall be the sole owner of all rights, title, interest, and copyright in and to any audio/visual (A/V) recordings of the presentation. Full credit is provided to the presenters.

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A Note About Accessible Presentations

Design your presentations with accessibility in mind.

• Color and Contrast. Colors should be sharp and in strong contrast without being unsettling. Limit the number of colors used on one slide. Do not only use color to distinguish information.
• Text over images can be difficult to read.

Check Accessibility. If you are using Microsoft PowerPoint, you can assess whether presentation is accessible by clicking on Review and Check Accessibility (in PowerPoint). For instructions see https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/improve-accessibility-with-the-accessibility-checker-a16f6de0-2f39-4a2b-8bd8-5ad801426c7f

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Instructions for Facilitators, Moderators, and Chairs

Chairs

In some sessions, session chairs will be responsible for running the session and facilitating the discussion, particularly with symposia. Chairs will act as the facilitator or moderator if there isn’t a separate person filling these roles. If a facilitator is scheduled for the session, the chair will introduce the session and presenters.

Moderators

Moderators are often used during panel presentations and are responsible for asking panelists pre-established questions. Facilitators are not included in sessions with moderators, and thus follow the same instructions as facilitators.

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Facilitator and Presider Instructions

Facilitators

Facilitators are responsible for introducing the presenters and facilitating the discussion. Facilitators should prepare in advance 1 to 2 questions that can initiate a discussion among the presenters and the audience. Facilitators should receive all papers in advance to prep for the session. Watch General Tips For Facilitators for general instructions at www.ncfr.org/events/understanding-ncfr-conference-session-formats#discussant

Presiders

Presiders have two responsibilities: they are time keepers and work with facilitators during the discussion. As a time keeper, presiders ensure the session moves in a timely manner and that all presenters get an equal time to present. Presiders should work with the facilitator to run the session.

Facilitators and Presiders — Before the Conference

• Read presenter biographical material obtained from each presenter before your session. If you have not received the material from the presenters by Oct. 20, contact your section chair or Cindy Winter   ([email protected]) to obtain this information.
• Plan ahead. Prepare your introductions, expectations for the session, discussion questions, and materials you may need prior to the session so that all is ready when the session starts.
• Connect with the presenters in the session before the conference. We encourage you to discuss expectations for the session.
• Know where to find support if any issues emerge during live sessions. Contact Judy Schutz. There will be written instructions on the podium that list Judy's cell phone number.

Facilitators — During the Conference

• Arrive 10 minutes early to your session to check in with the presenters. This will help you work through any technical difficulties before the session begins, coordinate last-minute details, and build rapport with each of the presenters to create a comfortable environment.
• Welcome everyone to the session at the beginning of the session with the session title, date, and session number.
• Introduce yourself and your role.
• Provide the ground rules of the session:
  • o Share how questions should be asked after the presentations
  • o Notify the participants that session handouts may be located on the session page in Whova, the conference platform. Not all presenters may have uploaded handouts.

• Introduce the presenters. Introductions should be no more than three minutes total.
• Be an active listener. This will help you facilitate the questions.
• Write down additional questions during the presentations to use during the discussion time, if necessary.
• Facilitate questions.
• Invite all attendees to participate. If a discussion does not begin, ask one of your preplanned questions.
• Give everyone time who wishes to talk or ask questions. Each question or comment should be around one minute each. Tactfully intervene if a person takes too much time.
• Keep the discussion on topic and progressing.
• Maintain professionalism and objectivity.
• Repeat the question so that everyone in the audience can hear the question. Allow a bit of silence after a question so people can think and respond. Remember that sometimes people need a moment to collect their thoughts. Silence may be okay.
• Help clarify questions as needed.
• Be flexible and enthusiastic.
• Thank everyone for attending at the end of the session.

Presiders — During the Conference:

• Arrive 10 minutes early to your session to check in with the presenters.
• Presiders will monitor time and provide presenters with time limits. You can notify presenters privately when they have 5 minutes and 1 minute left of their presentation. If the presentations are too long, you may have to interrupt the presenter. Time limits are noted under each session instructions.
• All panelists/presenters must be given an opportunity to present before the discussion.
• Presiders should work with the facilitator to run the session.