Presenters
You are allocated a maximum of 20 minutes to present your paper. Please think of how to communicate the key elements of your paper within this time. Consider that you are not able to read out your complete paper, and it is thus necessary to adjust your presentation accordingly.
Although the conference papers are available online for several weeks prior to the conference, you should not assume that everyone attending your presentation will have read your paper.
Each conference room will be equipped with a projector and a laptop. If you plan to use PowerPoint, preload your presentation on a memory stick and bring it with you to your session. Please ensure that your presentation is loaded onto the computer in the assigned room before the beginning of the session.
Discussants
Each presentation has an assigned discussant. The discussant comments on the paper (based on its full text) and opens up areas for discussion. The discussant has a maximum of 5 minutes for initial comments. Full papers will be made available to registered participants three to four weeks prior to the conference.
Chairs
The presentation of papers is organized into a number of 90-minute sessions. In each session, three papers are presented. The timetable for each presentation is as follows:
Presentation of paper: 20 minutes
Discussant’s commentary: 5 minutes
General discussion: 5 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes
Chairs are expected to arrive at the session room 10 minutes prior to the beginning of the sessions. The role of the chair is to keep the schedule on track and to chair the discussion. Chairs may of course take part in the discussions themselves, but it is not their role to make lengthy introductory presentations of their own. The chair’s most important task is to ensure that each element of the session (i.e. presentation, discussant’s commentary, general discussion) begins and ends on time.
Chairs will have cards to hold up 5 minutes and 2 minutes before the end of each presentation. If either the presenter or the discussant continues beyond his or her allotted time, the chair must act firmly to bring the speaker’s contribution to a close.
During the discussion, it is recommended that the chair allows several contributions from the audience before inviting the presenter to respond. In this way, an exclusive dialogue between the presenter and one member of the audience is avoided. The discussant should be encouraged to take a further part in the discussion if he or she so wishes.