Speaker Instructions

Oral presentations are an integral part of the UF Water Institute Symposium educational program. Speakers are encouraged to produce a PowerPoint presentation to accompany their talk as a visual reference for the audience. Speakers are asked to prepare their presentation with the following information in mind.

Speaker Timing

Presenters giving talks in concurrent sessions each receive 15 minutes, which includes prepared comments (with or without PowerPoint slides). Time will also be allotted in the session for Q&A in addition to individual presentation time.

Speaker Registration

All presenters must register for the symposium and pay the applicable fee by December 9, 2019 in order to CONFIRM their participation as a presenter, secure a space in the program, and have their abstract published in the symposium online Book of Abstracts. If your talk will be given by a colleague, please inform Jessica Bailey immediately so that your presentation may be confirmed.

Speaker Cancellation

In the event a situation arises that would prevent you from honoring your commitment, we trust that speakers will alert us immediately. If possible, we ask that presenters use diligent efforts to help us locate a qualified substitute, thereby preventing the program from being compromised.

Speaker Presentation File Submissions

Due the Day Prior to Your Talk

Important: your PowerPoint presentation file at least one day prior to your talk in one of the following ways:

At the symposium Registration desk onsite –OR–
Via email to Marion Douglas at mariond@ufl.edu

Tuesday presenters may submit their presentation by email to mariond@ufl.edu or from 7am-8:30am Tuesday morning. Staff will ensure your presentation loads and projects correctly and familiarize you with the equipment.

The preferred format for PowerPoint files at the symposium is 16:9 (widescreen). However, 4:3 presentations can still be accommodated — they will be projected with a blank bar on the sides of the screen.

Audiovisual Equipment Available

Note: A volunteer will be assigned to each room to assist with equipment operation during the session.

Presentation PC laptop with Microsoft PowerPoint for Office 365 (2019)

We encourage you to use the presentation laptop offered by the symposium. Should you decide to use your own laptop, you will need to test your laptop prior to the start of that day’s symposium, and your laptop will need to be set in the meeting room prior to your session. Bring your power cord, computer cable and, if using a Mac, an adapter. Label your laptop and touch base with the moderator in your session room prior to your session.

One computer projector and screen
One podium and microphone (for large rooms only)
A wireless presentation remote control to advance and reverse slides

Tips for Developing Your PowerPoint Presentation

Create an initial slide that summarizes the content of your talk.
Items should be bulleted, not full sentences.
Do not put text on the bottom ¼.
Whenever possible, present data using bar charts or graphs instead of tables.
Embed graphs or figures into the document as independent objects; do not dynamically link from other programs.
Attempt to limit file size to 25 MB and less. Photos for slides can be compressed and saved in a lower resolution to reduce size.
Disable any automatic advance timer on your file.
Click here for more important tips!

Session Moderators

Each session will be facilitated by a moderator who is responsible for keeping speakers on time. Plan to arrive at the session five (5) minutes prior to the published start time and introduce yourself to the moderator. They will review the speaker timing method with you. Be sure they know how to pronounce your name for introduction. It is best to sit in the front row for convenient access to the stage/podium.

Should you have any questions about these instructions, please contact Jessica Bailey at j.bailey@ufl.edu or 352-294-3584.

February 25-26, 2020