Timekeeping:
Your talk should be aimed at 20-22 minutes (This allows a reasonable short question period; be advised that if you over-run, your question time will be cut accordingly, and that after 25 minutes the chair will have to stop you and open the floor to discussion). Make sure that you deliver your main points within the allocated time slot.
PLEASE STAY WITHIN YOUR ALLOTTED TIME, as a matter of courtesy to other speakers and the audience, and to help us to synchronise timings across sessions for people who need to move between different sessions.
The session chair will let you know the signals they will use if necessary to ask you to bring your presentation to a close. Each room will be provided with coloured cards which the chair will hold up to signal that you have 5 minutes, and then 1 minute, remaining. A final (red) card, labelled STOP, means that you have reached the end of your allotted time, and you must stop speaking at this point to avoid taking time from other presenters.
Please keep your answers to questions brief and to the point, to allow as much time as possible for discussion during your session.
The arrangement for most sessions will be to take questions immediately after each paper. Alternatively, by agreement with the speakers and symposium organiser, you may prefer to keep substantive general discussion to the end of the session. In that case, please be particularly careful to keep an eye on the time, as discussion can over-run if not carefully managed.
Absent speakers:
If a speaker has unexpectedly cancelled or does not show up, please try to follow the timeslot sequence listed in the programme, using the vacant spot for discussion (not possible if the first speaker has cancelled). This will allow audience members moving between sessions to hear papers of interest to them. Do not change the order of speakers.
Technicalities:
All session rooms are equipped with a Windows PC running PowerPoint and Acrobat Reader, LCD data projector (beamer), wired internet connection, audio speakers and a whiteboard. Please make sure to prepare your presentation compatible to this equipment. We can guarantee the use of any additional equipment. Please do not use your personal computer, unless all presenters at your session agree on using one machine. In that case you should ensure bring the appropriate adapter cable for output to a VGA connection. Do not change from one computer to another during to session, as it often consumes much time.
Presenters should prepare their presentations on a USB stick in advance, and if possible load it to the PC before the first session in the morning on the day of the session. If this is not possible, they should arrive 30 minutes in advance of the stated session start time to load the file and familiarise themselves with the room. Please check that your presentation functions properly before the beginning of the talk.
If you intend to read parts of your talk please make sure that you produce it in a readable way (i.e. do not read from your phone). We can print one copy of your text on paper provided it is given to us up to 18 hours before the talk on a USB stick or by email to histhitech@tau.ac.il (no larger than 1MB) in pdf, rtf, odt, doc, or docx format. Make sure you indicate clearly your name and the name of the file. The printout will wait for you oא the registration desk.
Introductions:
As chairs you should begin your session at the appointed time
Please begin by welcoming your audience, and in your opening remarks please mention the title of the session (for those who may have come to the wrong room). Please then ask everyone to set to truly silent mode any mobile phones, watch alarms, pagers, Blackberries, and other potentially disruptive items.
Further information
If you are new to the art of paper-giving, some useful suggestions may be found in Linda Kerber’s 2008 Chronicle of Higher Education three-part article, ‘Conference Rules,’ Part Two of which offers advice for presenters:
http://chronicle.com/article/Conference-Rules-Part-2/45734/
Even experienced hands may also find Paul Edwards’ well-known guide on ‘How to Give an Academic Talk’ useful:
http://pne.people.si.umich.edu/PDF/howtotalk.pdf
* This text is adapted from the information provided by the local organising committee of the 24th International Congress of History of Science, Technology and Medicine, Manchester 2013.