Oral Presentation Guidelines

IMPORTANT

The Presenter Acceptance Policy reflects the expectations of all presenters for this event.

At the conference

Pick up your registration materials. This serves as your presenter check-in; no additional presenter registration is required on-site.
Test your presentation in the Presenter Ready Room prior to your session.
Arrive at the session room approximately 15 minutes before the session begins to meet the moderator and familiarize yourself with the set up.
Staff will be available in the Presenter Ready Room to explain how to use the equipment and to answer any additional questions.

Presenter Ready Room

The Presenter Ready Room is located in Meeting Room 16 of the Westin (formerly the Renaissance). Please check the map of the venue and signs on-site for the exact location.
Oral presenters may view their already loaded presentations on the computers. Changes to the presentations must be made at least one hour prior to the presentation and approved by the Nurse Planner on-site. Presentations can be made from handouts, which will be the responsibility of the presenting author. If a presentation is missing, please immediately notify staff.
The Presenter Ready Room is available for use during the following times:
- Friday, 8 March 2024: Noon-12:45 p.m. (1200-1245)
  2:15-4:00 p.m. (1415-1600)
- Saturday, 9 March 2024: 9:45 a.m.-1:30 p.m. (0945-1330)
- Sunday, 10 March 2024: 8:30-10:00 a.m. (0830-1000)

Presentation Information

Oral Presentations

Please refer to your presenter letter for the date and time of your presentation. Presenter letters with scheduled presentations will be sent to all accepted presenting authors by the end of October 2023.

Working With Your Moderator

To learn how to successfully work with your moderator and avoid conflicts of interest, please download the ANCC Compliance and Working With Your Session Moderator document using the button below.

Download it now

Audio/Visual Equipment Guidelines and Requirements

All session rooms are equipped with:
- LCD projector
- Lectern microphone
- Computer
- Projection screen
All presentations must be given on the provided computer and projector. Presenters CANNOT use personal equipment or attach personal equipment to the equipment provided by the audio/visual vendor.
Only provided equipment and software are available for use during presentation. Specialized software (Flash, QuickTime, etc.) will not be supported on-site.
We cannot guarantee that there will be a podium in the room for presenting.

Presentation Guidelines and Requirements

All presentations will be pre-loaded and linked by Sigma to reduce downtime due to technical problems and ease the transition between presenters.
Presentations must be uploaded via the Speaker’s Corner site no later than 11:59 p.m. (2359) Eastern Time on Thursday, 11 January 2024. Presenters not meeting this deadline will need to present their presentation by handout or be prepared not to use the provided equipment to present.
If unable to upload the presentation, contact abstracts@sigmanursing.org to make arrangements.
Changes to the presentation must be made at least one hour prior to the presentation and approved by the Nurse Planner on-site. Changes on-site are not ideal and should be avoided.
Embedded audio and video files are not permitted and will not be supported on-site. Presenters are not allowed to add hyperlinks to their presentations to show video or audio files.
Presenters are not required to use electronic means to present their work; however, no other equipment will be made available for presentations except for what has been stated above.
If presenters do not plan to use electronic means to present, and specifically PowerPoint software, please email abstracts@sigmanursing.org no later than 11:59 p.m. (2359) Eastern Time on Thursday, 11 January 2024. Presenters not meeting this deadline will need to present their presentation by handout or be prepared not to use the provided equipment to present.

Handouts

Content will be available on the Sigma Repository approximately 30 days after the event.
The hotel has a business center where handouts can be made on-site for a fee. If presenters are wanting to provide handouts, Sigma recommends approximately 20 copies.
Sigma will not provide handouts for the concurrent sessions.

Speaker Guidelines for Addressing International Audiences

Adapted from a compilation by the ASAE International Section Listserv, May 2008

If the audience does not have English as their first language, speak slower than usual, and use simpler/smaller words, and simpler/shorter sentences.
Avoid ‘nation-centric’ expressions, idioms, or slang.
Limit the use of acronyms or internal lingo and jargon unless previously described/explained.
Make every attempt to learn more about your audience, their culture, and their preferred learning style. This will help you interpret their verbal feedback during a question and answer session or non-verbal response to your presentation.

Presentation Recommendations

General Information

Your audience will be multinational. Be sure to explain/define any slang terms, acronyms, etc.
Slides should not have more than five lines of information.
Be aware of time limitations.
Information should be spaced evenly on the page.
Speech is not written, but highlighted, on the page.

Color/Font

Use the option for ‘Font TrueType’.
Maintain consistent fonts throughout, using no more than two fonts on one slide.
Use traditional bullets (i.e., circles or squares), instead of ‘fun’ bullets. Depending on the version of PowerPoint used, some bullets may not transfer.
Background and font color are easy to read at a distance.
Font should be easy to read (no smaller than 24-point).
Headers are in the same font and font size throughout the presentation.
The body of the slides should be in the same font and font size throughout the presentation.

Animation

Limit animations.
If using animation, be sure that animation is timed, and transitions do not occur on the click.