3-Days Before Conference l 15 Minutes Before Session l Starting the Session l Instructional Video
All presiders are expected to be at the conference in person. We ask all presiders to check-in at least 15 minutes before your session begins to ensure each session has a designated presider, and confer with the speakers and room monitor to understand how each presentation will be delivered.
At Least 3 Days Before the Conference
Perform these steps to ensure you are prepared for your session responsibilities.
- Confirm your acceptance of the assignment via the link in the email you received from CLEO Management staff (cstech@optica.org).
- Read the entirety of these instructions to familiarize yourself with the Session Presider instructions.
- Review your session before the meeting via the Session Host tool in ScholarOne.
- In the upper right-hand corner, click on Messages (New).
- Click on Invitations (New).
- Under ACTION on the left, click on Select and select View & Respond,
- Click the + next to Session Information,
- The session details will display the final order of presentation and total amount of time allotted for each presentation. You can also use the Online Schedule or the conference app for general session information. However, the email addresses for the speakers in your session are only available through the session host tool.
- Contacting presenters in advance is encouraged so that you can obtain seed questions from them and encourage live participation. Follow step #3 above to obtain the presenter emails, or contact CLEO Management staff if needed.
At Least 15 Minutes Before the Session Begins
Presiders will be focused on conducting the session, introducing the speakers and moderating Q&A.
- Arrive in your session room at least 15 minutes before the start of your session.
- Have the speaker order and time readily available, as it will assist you in running an effective session. You can access it through the Online Schedule or the conference app.
- Check in with the CLEO Management Room Monitor and speakers to ensure that you understand how the presentations will be delivered and/or whether there will be a live Q&A segment.
- If you have a question about pronouncing the names of any of the live presenters, the title of the talk or the name of their institutional affiliation, ask prior to the start of the session. It can be quite embarrassing for both you and the speaker if you pronounce something wrong.
- Alert the on-site speakers that questions will be asked by the audience in the room.
- Alert the speakers that you would like them to remain for the entire session as you may go back to them, if time allows between talks, to ask questions that may not have been addressed earlier due to lack of time.
Starting the Session and Introducing Speakers
- Start the session with a few remarks. Introduce yourself and provide your affiliation. Mention the session theme.
- Introduce the first speaker and provide basic information about their talk. The presenter will come to the podium to present.
- Manage the Q&A segment from your designated table outfitted with a computer and microphone. On-site attendees should make their way to the aisle microphone in order for the full question to be heard by all participants.
- For each presentation, announce the speaker's name, affiliation and their talk title.
- If a speaker does not show up for the session, either allow a continuation of the discussion of any of the previous presentations or announce an intermission until the next scheduled presentation. Please do not start presentations earlier than scheduled. Attendees may be moving between sessions and planning on attending a particular talk scheduled for a specific time.
Please note that a CLEO Management Room Monitor is assigned to each room. The room monitor functions include:
- Test sharing functionality and audio-visual quality.
- Offer assistance to you and all speakers and answer any questions.
- Track session attendance.
Instructional Video
Please view a brief instructional video on how to preside over a session, presented by Ben Eggleton, University of Sydney, Australia. This video provides a basic overview of presider best practices.