Virtual Speaker Guide

Welcome!

We are excited to welcome you as a speaker for RISC-V Summit NA taking place in San Jose, CA  and virtually on December 13-14, 2022.

This is your official virtual event speaker guide. Please bookmark this page for easy reference and continue to check back as the event gets closer If you have any questions, please email speakers@riscv.org. 

Please click through the tabs on this page to access information.

Deadlines

• Speaker Registration Deadline: Tuesday, October 18
• Pre-Recording File Submission Due Date: Friday, November 18
• Slides Due: Friday, November 18
• Event Dates: Tuesday – Wednesday, December 13-14, 2022
• Timezone: Pacific Standard Time (PST), UTC-8

Registration

Your registration serves as confirmation that you will be speaking, and you will need to register as either an in-person OR virtual speaker by Tuesday, October 18. If you are not registered by October 18, there is a possibility that your speaking slot will be replaced by one on our waiting list, so please do so promptly.

VIRTUAL – use the code RISCVSUMM22SPK, and select “Virtual Speaker” from the drop down menu

Schedule + Uploading a Bio/Photo

The schedule will be announced Wednesday, October 5th, and will be posted on our website using sched.com. You will receive an email directly from sched.com asking you to create your account; please make sure to upload your bio and photo.

IMPORTANT: In order to maximize content on the agenda, your confirmed session time may have changed from what you submitted. Please check your session and timing on sched.com. 

Platform Details

We will be using the virtual platform Accelevents that will allow speakers to deliver content by pre-recorded talk. Accelevents is a virtual venue with multiple interactive areas that allow attendees to move in and out of rooms just like an in-person event, enjoy speaker content, and make personal connections.

Session Information

Pre-recording Information & Tools

Virtual speakers will pre-record their talk, which will be played through the event platform.

• Some suggested tools to use for recording are Quicktime, Google Hangouts, Zoom, a screen recorder, or something similar. The recording should show your slides/screen as well as you presenting using a picture-in-picture style format. 
• The platform accepts MP4 or MOV (under 5gb), dimensions: 1280 x 720 (720p), 1920 x 1080 (1080p).

If you need assistance with your pre-recorded talk, please contact us at speakers@riscv.org  for additional information.

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Presentation Template

We designed an optional RISC-V Summit PowerPoint Template for our speakers. Please note, use of the template is not required.

Slide best practice:

Color Blindness – Please do not highlight text in presentations with red as it appears as normal black text for attendees that are color blind . Similarly other colors are hard to distinguish from each other, see color blind friendly palettes.

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Uploading Instructions for Pre-recorded Sessions

We have multiple options for uploading your pre-recorded presentation:

• Add your recording directly into the Google folder (please email speakers@riscv.org to confirm we received your file)
• Share your file with speakers@riscv.org 
• Or let us know if you have an alternate method (DropBox, file sharing service, etc)

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Slide Upload

Upload slides to Sched.com by November 18.

We ask that all speakers upload their final presentation slides ahead of the event. In addition to providing a hard copy for accessibility purposes, we find that adding the presentations before the event helps to drive interest in attending the session.

Please note that your presentation slides should be uploaded in PDF-format to Sched.com and must be formatted in 16:9. 

To upload slides:

• Log into your RISC-V Summit speaker profile through Sched.com
• Navigate to RISC-V Summit Sched page
• On the middle of the page, click “Manage and Promote Your Session”
• Click “Add Presentation”
• Click in the “Select a File” box and add the PDF document (note: there is a 50MB size limit)
• Click “Upload” and your slides will automatically be saved

Tips & Tricks

Technical Tips for Virtual Presentations

• Audio – as counterintuitive as it may sound, the single most important factor in a good video, is the audio quality. 
• Eliminate ambient noise – close the doors and windows. You’d be surprised how much environmental noise gets picked up.
• Lighting – Do not put lights overhead and don’t put any lights or windows behind you as they will alter the light levels in your videos and create shadows.
• Background – don’t be afraid to show your natural environment – bookcases, plants, paintings – as long as they are not too distracting.
• Framing – place yourself slightly off-center to the left or right rather than directly in the middle of the frame.
• Camera Height – the lens should either be directly level or pointing ever so slightly downwards towards your face.
• Stand – we recommend you stand during your presentation to help project your voice and improve your posture. However, if you’re more comfortable sitting, then please do.
• Timer – Have a clock to keep track of the time you have remaining. 

From: https://www.greatspeech.co/video-presentations/

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Lighting, Webcam and Microphone Best Practices

Best Practices for Lighting

• For best results, use natural light and supplement with additional light as needed.
• Keep natural light in front of you to avoid shadows. A bright window behind you can make you appear as a dark silhouette. 
• Interior rooms with no natural light source may require additional targeted lighting, such as a ring light, to brighten the speaker’s face.

Best Practices for Webcams

• To ensure the speaker is looking directly at the audience, place the webcam at eye level.
• Avoid distracting backgrounds by checking the surroundings behind you to make sure there are no distracting colors or movement.
• Presenters should use chairs that are adjustable for height but do not swivel. Swiveling on camera creates a poor attendee experience and can be distracting.

Best Practices for Microphones

• Use external microphones whenever available, as microphones built into computers and cameras often have lower quality. 
• An external microphone allows the speaker to place it in the optimal location for sound.
• Place the microphone close to the speaker’s mouth, but not in the camera view.
• Test audio levels in advance.
• Manage noise by turning off fans, phones, or speakers and keep ambient noise to a minimum. 
• Do not touch the microphone while unmuted.

Dress Code

There is no dress code for presentations, and we encourage you to be comfortable. That said, you must be aware that the Code of Conduct applies to this space, both in terms of what you show on camera and what you say. We ask that you be tasteful and considerate in choosing your clothing and surroundings. Keep in mind that we are a global community. Please refrain from wearing shirts with global brand logos that are not your own. Solid colors (not white) also work best instead of prints. 

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Tips to Keep your Virtual Audience Engaged

• Learn the Content: Familiarity with the content allows a speaker to focus on presenting, rather than trying to remember the points to make. To minimize worry about forgetting elements of the presentation, include notes in your presentation file and have a printout of your script or talking points.
• Practice Makes Perfect: Speakers should practice their content delivery in the environment in which they will deliver it, such as in front of a computer. Presenting alone to a computer can be awkward at first. To make speakers more comfortable, ask colleagues, roommates, or family to sit in front so they can present to familiar faces.
• Understand the Tools: Speakers should understand and utilize the content options available to them, to maximize the effectiveness of the presentation technology. It’s important to know the basic functions of the software, e.g. how to advance slides, manage Q&A or chats, before the presentation. 
• Speak Up: Check audio levels before presenting, but also make sure to breathe at regular intervals to speak audibly and clearly. Maintaining a clear, even tone throughout the presentation will allow the audience to hear it without adjusting their volume settings.
• Look at Your Camera: If presenting via video, remember, the webcam is your link to your audience. Make eye contact with the camera so it appears to the audience that you are speaking directly to them.
• Don’t Fear Mistakes: Humans make mistakes, even during presentations. Realize that flubs happen and they won’t derail your presentation – unless you let them. Just keep going in your planned presentation and remember, the audience is forgiving.
• Be Prepared: During the presentation, have a glass of water nearby to sip as needed. Also, keep handy a printout of your slides or notes in case you need to refer to them.

From: https://www.inxpo.com/assets/pdfs/litepapers/How-To-Be-An-Engaging-Speaker.pdf

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Additional Resources

Promote Your Talk

Once the schedule is announced on October 5, we appreciate you spreading the word about #RISCVSummit and your session – please find some sample tweets below to share on your social channels! Note: The short link to your session can be found on your session’s sched.com page, just below the title, to the left of the “Tweet” and “Share” buttons.

• Going to #RISCVSummit  in December? Come check out my session [SESSION NAME] on [DATE]. Hope to see you there! [SESSION LINK]
• My first talk on [TOPIC] was just accepted at #RISCVSummit  –  visit [SESSION LINK] to add my talk to your RISC-V Summit schedule⚡️!
• Can’t wait for #RISCVSummit ! 👍 I will be speaking on [DATE] in San Jose – Come see my talk [TITLE] – Hope to see you there! [LINK TO SESSION] 

Inclusive Speaker Orientation Online Course

The Linux Foundation, in collaboration with the National Center for Women in Technology (NCWIT), has created an online course designed to teach the viewer about inclusion, diversity, and unconscious bias. We highly recommend all of our speakers watch the course to learn tips/tools to use when speaking to encourage inclusivity in presentations and messaging.

Code of Conduct

Please read, and abide by our code of conduct for RISC-V Summit. Our code of conduct is strictly enforced. We ask that speakers especially review this code of conduct and are careful to be inclusive in the words and images used during their presentation.

Contact Us

If you have any other platform, speaker, or schedule-related questions, please contact us at speakers@riscv.org.