The information on this page will help you to prepare for your role as chair at the World Congress
Congress preparation checklist
Confirm the dates and timings of your session: Save the date and time of the session in your calendar. Review the session running order and the names of the speakers and presentations. You can find the detailed program on the ISUOG website.
If you would like to be connected with the faculty in your session please feel free to contact us at [email protected] and we will have this arranged for you.
Your role as Chair:
- Open the session, welcome the audience and introduce the faculty. As a guide you should mention the following:
- Welcome the audience to the session
- Request that all phones are set to silent to avoid interrupting the session and presentations
- Tell delegates that they should not record lectures on their own personal devices
- Give very brief introduction to the topic and introduce the speakers
- Where relevant thank sponsors for their support of the ultrasound demonstration
- Encourage delegates to submit their questions through the Congress app and use the microphones in the room
- Invite the first speaker to the stage.
- Throughout the session:
- It is vital that sessions run to time and all sessions finish on time. Any talks that overrun will reduce the time for speakers later in the program and discussion which we know is critical for our audience, both in person and online. Please remind speakers to be respectful of other faculty and to keep to time. If necessary, you should intervene to remind them of the time and ask them to close their talk
- Lead the discussion and Q&A segments
- Engage the audience and review audience questions and include these in the discussion
- Set a friendly and open tone for the session – encourage debate and carefully manage overly personal, inappropriate or offensive comments to minimise complaints - remember the session is being recorded
- Close the session by thanking faculty, sponsors (where relevant) and delegates for their attendance and participation
Practicalities on the day:
- Where do I go if I have questions about my session?
If you have any questions about the session or your role as chair then please visit the speaker preparation room G1 where a member of our team will be able to support you before the session. The room will be open on 14 - 18 September.
- What time do I need to go to the session hall?
You must arrive at your session hall at least 30 minutes ahead of the session and check-in with the ISUOG session hall manager (wearing the ISUOG t-shirt) in your session hall.
On arrival please speak to the ISUOG session hall manager at the AV desk in the session Hall.
ISUOG staff will manage every session hall. On arrival they will fit your headset microphone and brief you on the upcoming session.
It is important that you arrive on time. If you are running late or unable to attend for any reason, please contact Emma Bye ([email protected]) as soon as possible.
- What do I do if there are any technical issues during the session?
All technical issues will be dealt with in the session hall by our AV team. Two ISUOG staff will also be on hand to deal with any issues within the room. If you have any concerns during the session please direct these to the session hall managers.
The session chair will manage any delays to the session and communicate these with the audience.
- How will the audience ask questions and participate in polls?
They will be able to submit questions through the Congress app (see details below) and the standing microphone on the session hall floor.
Stage setup:
Following the success of the 2023 Congress, we will again be using a TED Talk style staging for the 2024 World Congress. This means you will have more freedom as a speaker to move around the stage and engage with the audience without being tied to a lectern or standing microphone. The stage setup is listed below, please let us know if you have any concerns or questions.
- All faculty (including chairs) will be seated on the stage.
- There will be no lecterns on the stage.
- All faculty will wear a headset microphone. This will be fitted by a technician before the start of the session so please arrive early.
- You will have a handheld slide advancer to move through your presentation
- Session halls - you’ll have a laser pointer to highlight areas of your presentation
- In the halls there will be a plinth and mouse that you can use to highlight your slides if needed. A monitor will positioned in front of the plinth to allow you to track the mouse position
- Comfort monitors will be available at strategic points around the stage for speakers and Chairs to refer to, to ensure speakers and Chairs are looking forward to the audience.
- There will be a countdown clock on stage displaying the time left for each presentation. Please adhere to the time shown.
- Once you have finished your presentation you can return to your seat for the Q&A.
- During the introductions, discussion/Q&A and closing summary you can speak directly to the audience with your headset microphone. Please note that this microphone will be switched on throughout the session and will be made live when you are speaking to the audience.
- When you introduce a speaker they should leave their seat and head to the main part of the stage. Their slides will be loaded in advance by our team and they can move through them using the remote clicker provided.
- Please clearly announce the presenters name as a cue to the technical team to bring the presentation up on screen. This will also act as a cue for the presenter to stand up, walk to the centre of stage and start. The clock will then start counting down from this point based on the time allocated to their presentation in the agenda.
Questions from the audience:
- All delegates can submit questions through the Congress app. You’ll be provided with an iPad that lists all of the questions received.
- You can take questions directly from the audience as well. There will be mics in the session hall for this purpose.
Ultrasound demonstrations:
- Some sessions will include ultrasound demonstrations. If this applies to a session your are chairing then please read the notes below:
- On 15 - 18 September scan demonstrations will be taking place Hall P1-2 in a private area adjacent to the stage. Faculty will begin the session in the scan room, you may not have chance to meet them in advance of the session. When introducing the scan please acknowledge the manufacturer who supported the scan (the session hall manager will remind you who this is). You must also include the following statement in the scan introduction: “ISUOG would like to thank [COMPANY NAME] for their support and for providing the machine used for this live scan demonstration. Commercial names of medical devices may appear in this presentation because they are linked to specific medical procedures, which are the focus of this scan. Other products in the market can be used to perform the aforementioned medical procedures and ISUOG does not endorse any particular product”
- During the scan a live audio and video feed will be played in the session hall, narrated by the scanner.
- After the scan the faculty will join you on stage to participate in the rest of the session.
Missing faculty
If any faculty are missing from the session then the chair should use the time for extra discussion with the other faculty. The session hall manager will let you know if any faculty are expected to miss the session.