Virtual Speaker Guide

Welcome

We are excited to welcome you as a presenter for the R/Medicine Virtual Conference 2023. As a reminder, the conference will take place virtually June 5-9, 2023, during Eastern Daylight Time.

Deadlines

Schedule Announcement: Friday, May 5
Speaker Registration Deadline: Monday, May 15
Pre-Recorded Video Submission Due Date: Wednesday, May 24
Upload Presentation Slides to Sched: Wednesday, May 24
Event Dates: Monday, June 5 – Friday, June 9
Timezone: Eastern Daylight Time

Registration

Your registration serves as confirmation that you will be speaking. Please register by Monday, May 15. Please see your notification email for the discount code. If you have any questions or need the discount code resent, please contact cfp@linuxfoundation.org.

Schedule and Timing

SCHEDULE

Please review the schedule and if you have a conflict with the timing of your talk, please contact cfp@linuxfoundation.org.

SESSION TYPES

JUNE 5-6

Workshop: Presented live – 3 hours of interactive learning with active coding.

JUNE 7

Demo Day: Presented live – 1 hour of interactive introduction to a package or a process.

Poster Session: Presented live – 1 hour of interactive discussion where speakers can present their poster or answer questions from attendees.

JUNE 8-9

Session Presentation: Presented live or pre-recorded – 20 minutes total including Q&A, as time permits.

Lightning Talk: Presented live or pre-recorded – 10 minutes; no Q&A.

PlatformS and Specifications

ZOOM

Zoom will be used for the following aspects of the conference:

Monday, June 5, and Tuesday, June 6: Workshops
Wednesday, June 7: Demos
Thursday, June 8, and Friday, June 9: Keynotes, Session presentations, and Lightning Talks

Presenters who choose to speak live will present their slides via screen share. All presentation slides should be formatted in 16:9.

SPATIAL CHAT & POSTER SESSION

Spatial Chat will be used only on Wednesday, June 7, for the Poster session (as well as the job fair).

WHAT IS SPATIAL CHAT?

SpatialChat is a web-based virtual platform that allows for live interactive discussions with the aim to recreate the experience of an in-person conference. Here are some resources in order to familiarize yourself with the platform:

TECHNICAL SUPPORT

If you have any questions or issues regarding the set up of your poster session, please contact Peter Higgins, phiggins@med.umich.edu.
SpatialChat Technical Support will be available beginning at 4:00 PM EDT on Wednesday, June 7. It is located in the Welcome Room in the lower left corner. Look for the green box labeled “Tech Support.”

Poster Specifications

Your poster will best be displayed using these specifications. Posters should be in landscape format and uploaded as a single PDF file. The recommended poster size is A0 (118 x 84 cm), with the title in size 100 font. An example can be found here.

Entering the Platform & Setting Up Your Poster

Click on the link for Spatial Chat in your calendar invite, also included HERE for easy reference.
You will be prompted to create a profile
Ensure your audio and camera settings are working correctly
You will enter the reception area where you will see detailed instructions on how to use the platform. Please take a few minutes to read through the information.
To the right of your screen, you will see two different poster session rooms – click on them to enter the spaces. Your designated room is listed in Sched.
When you enter the poster session room, you may need to zoom out to see the full room. There are 3 areas set-up for posters with the presentation title and presenter information. Please locate your poster session details – this will be where you present your poster.
In your designated area, upload your poster by clicking the plus button, located in the bottom navigation panel, which allows you to upload a file, add text/link, notes, etc.

Presenting Your Poster

Please be available to speak with attendees between 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM EDT.
When attendees approach, you will be able to hear each other speak, and you can present your poster to them or answer their questions.
You do not need to present your poster unless you have at least one attendee listening.
Given the interactive nature of the poster session, these discussions will not be recorded.

Slide Upload

All speakers are required to submit 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 upload your 16:9 formatted slides as a PDF to Sched.com by Wednesday, May 24 by following these instructions (guide with visual examples):

Log into your R/Medicine Virtual Conference 2023 speaker profile through Sched.com
Go to your session within Sched
Click on Session tools to the right of the session title
Underneath the session title, select Add Presentation
Upload your PDF document (note: there is a 50MB size limit)
The presentation will automatically save to your session
Or send them to Carolyn Ingalls at cingalls@linuxfoundation.org to have them uploaded on your behalf

Pre-Recording Information and Tools

Speakers can choose to pre-record their talk. The video file needs to be submitted no later than Wednesday, May 24, 2023. Pre-recorded videos are only allowed for session presentations and lightning talks.

Your recording should not exceed the length of your session. Session presentations should be 20 minutes or less, and Lightning talks should be 10 minutes or less.

TOOLS

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 and you presenting using a picture in picture style format. Please review the Virtual Best Practices on this page before recording. Feel free to reach out to cfp@linuxfoundation.org with any questions.

Q&A

Pre-recorded sessions and lightning talk speakers must be on the platform during their session to answer questions from attendees via the Zoom chat.

UPLOADING INSTRUCTIONS

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

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

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

VIRTUAL 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

Remember that 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.
Place the webcam at eye level. The lens should either be directly level or pointing slightly downwards toward the face. Center the face and shoulders in the frame.
Don’t be afraid to show your natural environment – bookcases, plants, paintings – as long as they are not too distracting. Avoid bright colors and anything that moves in your background.
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.
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.
Manage ambient noise by closing doors and windows as well as turning off fans, phones, or speakers.
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.

Additional Information

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.
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.
Use a Timer: Have a clock to keep track of the time you have remaining.
Ensure you have stable internet access: Hardwired connection is preferable. If a hardwired connection is not available, turn devices off that will affect your connectivity during your presentation, and make sure that anyone in the house is not on devices and/or consuming bandwidth.

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, which can be found here. We ask that speakers especially review this code of conduct and are 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 cfp@linuxfoundation.org.

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