Oral Presentation Guide

Please read ASLO’s guide on preparing a successful presentation.

Oral Presentations

Talks will be scheduled in 15-minute time slots. We strongly encourage a presentation of no more than 12 minutes to allow three minutes for discussion and to entertain questions from those in the audience. In special cases, and at the discretion of the session organizers, invited presenters may be given two consecutive slots to provide a tutorial/overview talk at the beginning of the session. The time limit will be strictly enforced to facilitate movement between sessions.

Audio-Visual Equipment at the Meeting

Each session room will have a screen, projector, computer, sound system, timer, and laser pointer. All presentations will be preloaded into the computer by the audio-visual staff for the session room. Oral presenters will be provided with instructions on using the presentation system.

Uploading Your Presentation

Pre-meeting presentation upload is highly preferred. instructions will follow.

Presentations may be loaded on-site no less than 24 hours before your presentation time in the presentation room, Hall of Fame Room, located on Level 2 – Mezzanine during the following hours.

• Sunday 1300 – 2000
• Monday 0800-1900
• Tuesday 0800-1900
• Wednesday 0800-1700
• Thursday 0800-1700
• Friday 0800-1500

At the Meeting

Once you arrive at the meeting, all presenters are required to check in (no less than 24 hours before their presentation time) at the Presentation Room (Hall of Fame) to make sure that all fonts, images, and animations appear as expected and that all audio or video clips are working properly. This is the single most important action you will take to ensure your presentation is a success. 

Presentation Preparation

Windows is the only operating system available for the presentations. If your presentation data is linked to other files, those linked files also should be saved in the same folder and checked with the audio-visual technicians for operability beforehand. Likewise, if parts of your presentation are not in PowerPoint format, you will need to check with the audio-visual technicians before the meeting to make sure it is compatible with the computers that will be used during the sessions.

• IF THE PRESENTATION DOES NOT PLAY PROPERLY IN THE PRESENTATION ROOM, IT WILL NOT PLAY PROPERLY IN THE MEETING ROOM.
• PERSONAL LAPTOPS CANNOT BE USED IN THE SESSION ROOMS.
• DEDICATED INTERNET ACCESS WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE IN THE SESSION ROOMS.

Format for Presentations

• PowerPoint (.ppt) or (.pptx) is the only valid format for oral presentations.
• Microsoft PowerPoint Tips: Your content will be displayed on a 16x9 aspect ratio screen. Choose the correct format by going to the “Design” tab. Select “Slide Size” and then select "Widescreen (16x9)."
• All images and videos must be embedded in your presentation. You may not embed media directly from the web. Instead, download a local copy and embed it in your presentation.
• Use short video segments when needed. Try to keep the file to less than 20 MB. Large files will load and play slower during your presentation.

Apple Macintosh Users

Please make sure that all inserted pictures are either JPEG or PNG file types. Individuals using Apple Keynote should bring their files directly to the Speaker/Presentation Room to have them correctly transferred.

List of Preferred Media

• Video Formats: The recommended video format for Windows-based presentations is MPEG 4 (.mp4).
• Audio Formats: MPEG3 (.mp3), Windows Audio File (.wav), Windows Media Audio (.wma). iTunes-based files will not work.
• Fonts: Choose a font available in Windows 10/PowerPoint 2021. Custom fonts will not display correctly.
• Images: Large image files will make the resulting PowerPoint file very large as well. This may cause the presentation to load slowly. This can be avoided by inserting images with the following properties:
  • For on-screen presentations, JPEG-type images work well.
  • Resize the image to 1920x1080 as a default.
  • Compress all files.
  • Insert all images directly into PowerPoint (Insert / Picture / from File).
• Animations: Keep animations to a minimum. When using a bulleted list of points, it may be useful to have the points appear.

Other Resources:

Tips and cautions for presenting at virtual conferences and meetings

9 Important Virtual Presentation Tips For You