LA Conference Moderators:
Please check out message below and attachment.
Nancy Norris
LA Conference Program Co-Chair
[log in to unmask]
********
MEMO TO: All Coordinators, Moderators, and Facilitators of 2001
ARLIS/NA Conference Sessions, Business and Committee Meetings,
and Workshops
FROM: Nancy Norris, Amy Ciccone Conference Co-Chairs
RE: Protocol, Procedures, Last-Minute Cautions and Suggestions…
We feel we have gotten to know many of you via email
and telephone. It will be nice to meet you in person! One of
the sadder realities of Conference Chairs is that they are
unlikely to be able to attend a lot of the Conference sessions,
but we are going to do the best we can so you may see us
sneaking quietly in and out the back. We hope that when you
have a chance, you will introduce yourselves and your speakers
to us.
Most of you are moderating your own session. If someone
else is serving this function for you, please pass the
following to him or her. These tips are culled from previous
conference chairs' suggestions, professional publications on
organizing meetings, and personal experience. Please share
whatever is applicable with the speakers in your sessions.
You have been given an allotted time to begin and to
end. Both of these times are to be taken seriously - for the
benefit of your audience, the speakers on your panel, and for
the sake of the rest of the conference schedule - particularly
the session that may be following in the same meeting room as
yours! Knowing how much your total allotment is, you should
have already divided up this time by the number of speakers you
have scheduled, included time for yourself to introduce each
speaker and, perhaps, make some general remarks, and finally,
to allow time for discussion among panelists, and/or questions
from the audience. You may find yourself surprised at how
little time there really is for each individual speaker! It is
extremely important to let your panelists know (preferably
before they've completed work on their presentation) how long
you expect each of them to speak and to let them know you won't
let them run over their allotted time. Tell them they will
receive a warning signal of some kind (make sure they know what
the signal will be) and then (after 3-5 minutes) will be
expected to give way to the next speaker. You only have to have
had the experience once of being the last scheduled speaker
when time has run out to know how very important this principle
is. If you announce this procedure in front of the audience at
the beginning of the session, it will be understood by everyone
and there should be no hard feelings. This is probably your
most important job as moderator!
Very important: if your Sessions or Workshops are being
sponsored, please remember to name and thank those sponsors in
your opening remarks. The fundraisers made this commitment to
the donors and sponsors and we are grateful for their efforts.
We are using the services of an AV company that has worked with
the Wilshire Grand for many years. We have already forwarded to
them your request for any AV equipment - if you sent it. If you
didn't or you have since discovered another piece of equipment
that you must have, you'd better let Amy know immediately, as
it will probably be impossible to obtain it at the last minute
during the Conference. Please remember that ARLIS is paying
quite a lot for the equipment, so if it's not essential, please
don't ask.
Some speakers are using slides. Be sure they come to
the session with their slides already placed in their own
carousel tray. You should make sure your speakers understand
that you expect them to advance their own slides using the
remote(s) provided at the speaker's podium. If, for some
reason, it is not possible for the speaker to do this, it is up
to you to get someone else to perform this task. (It's probably
not a good idea to use your Session Recorder for this function;
he or she is supposed to be recording. More about that later.
Another essential tip is to have visuals that are large enough
to read from the back of the room.
If you have not had the opportunity to actually meet
your speakers, consider arranging a time before the start of
your session, over a drink or a meal (or just in someone's
hotel room) to gather your group together, introduce them to
each other and let them chat informally. Be sure they know the
order of presentation and the general procedure and that they
are being timed!
Give some extra thought to preparing your non-ARLIS
speakers and making them feel welcome. (You might buy them a
drink, for example, if your personal budget allows.) They will
have received a preliminary program packet from ARLIS
Headquarters, with complimentary registration for regular
sessions on the day they are speaking. You should remind each
of your speakers that when they arrive at the Wilshire Grand,
they should stop by the Registration/Information Desk to pick
up their conference materials, which will include their badge
and conference program, OR, please pick these things up for
them. They will not be able to attend the pre-registered events
unless they have, in fact, pre-registered. And they must pay
for any pre-registered events that require fees. If they have
pre-registered for any of these special events, they will find
their tickets to these events in their registration packet.
Money matters:
If any of your speakers are to receive honoraria, you will need
to pick up the appropriate check(s) just prior to your session
at the Registration Desk from ARLIS/NA Headquarters staff. It
is important for you to give these out (discreetly as not all
non-ARLIS speakers are getting honoraria) at the end of your
session. Reminder: Expenses are not reimbursable unless
previously approved. If an item is in the budget, receipts and
expense reports should first go to Lorraine Perrotta for
verification and then to ARLIS/NA HQ for payment.
Preferably, moderators should bring with them all the copies of
the handouts that they will need for their session, or have
prior approval by Amy, Nancy, or Lorraine, or be prepared to
pay for them out of their personal budget. No one will be
reimbursed by ARLIS for this kind of last minute copying. Note:
Unless you or your speaker(s) are covering these expenses
yourselves, use of the Wilshire Grand Hotel business center by
moderators or speakers requires prior approval by Elizabeth
Clarke, ARLIS/NA Executive Director. Business center staff will
not charge costs to ARLIS/NA without this authorization. Note:
Reasonably priced copying facilities are available outside the
hotel (e.g. there is a Kinko's across from the Wilshire Grand
at 835 Wilshire Blvd.)
Please take a few minutes before the workshop begins to
determine that only those who have registered and paid actually
attend the workshop. Every paid registrant will receive a
ticket to attend their workshop when they check in at the
Registration/Information Desk. You must collect a ticket from
each registrant. You will also have access at the
Registration/Information Desk to a printout of registered
attendees.
You need to appoint a Session Recorder if you haven't
already done so. It is their job to record the proceedings of
your program and to send these proceedings to the conference
proceedings editor, Ann Lally. The conference proceedings will
be mounted on the ARLIS/NA web site after the conference. This
is important as not every member can attend every conference
and, in fact, usually only about one-third of the membership
attends. If you value the work you put into organizing your
meeting, you will want it commemorated.
Finally, please find time right after the conference to write
thank-you notes to all of your speakers. This is a simple
gesture but it will mean a lot to the recipient.
Media tips:
All sessions will have a speakers' podium and two mikes-one for
the podium and one for the speakers' table for discussion at
the end. (Some workshops will also have microphones and/or a
podium). Skillful use of the microphone can make the difference
between effectiveness and pointlessness. But it does not take a
course in public speaking to learn this skill. Just remember
that it is almost impossible to get too close to the head of
the microphone. With many microphone systems, you have to
almost "eat it," indelicate as this may sound. It is truly
amazing, though, the difference this makes in the power of your
presentation. If you can't be heard, all your preparation will
have been for nothing. If you move away from the mike to point
to something on a projection screen or easel, be sure to
compensate by raising your voice or take the mike with you, or
your specific point will be completely lost to your audience.
Business and committee meeting moderators should allow, if
there is time, each person in attendance to introduce
themselves and say where they are from. Many meeting leaders
have taken to posting agendas on ARLIS-L; you should also have
copies of the agenda to distribute at the beginning of the
meeting. With an eye to the clock, make sure that anyone who
wants to contribute to the discussion has a chance to do so,
and try to prevent one person (including yourself!) from
dominating the session.
Other professional speakers recommend:
There is no substitute for preparation
Personalize your message
Talk-don't "speak"
Don't use jargon
Use statistics sparingly
Say it and say it again
Practice your remarks
Tell jokes sparingly
Vary the pitch and speed of your voice
Speak clearly and don't rush
Gauge your audience response
Limit your remarks to 15-20 minutes
Enjoy yourself
Good luck with your Session and please know that the
Conference Co-Chairs value your contribution to the success of
the 2001 ARLIS/NA Conference in Los Angeles.
Sincerely,
Nancy Norris
[log in to unmask]
Amy Ciccone
[log in to unmask]
__________________________________________________________________
Mail submissions to [log in to unmask]
Administrative matters (file requests, subscription requests, etc)
to [log in to unmask]
ARLIS-L Archives and subscription maintenance:
http://lsv.uky.edu/archives/arlis-l.html
Questions may be addressed to list owner (Kerri Scannell) at: [log in to unmask]
|