Presenter Info

Accessibility

The HI-TEC Conference is committed to making the conference and our activities accessible to a wide and diverse audience. In an effort to provide attendees with the highly requested slide presentations in an accessible format, we ask that presenters consider accessibility when they create their slides and other materials. Below are related resources that may be helpful for presenters in ensuring that their presentations, slides, and handouts are usable for all attendees, including those with disabilities. It’s important to note that all videos embedded or used in presentations must be captioned.

W3c WAI has an information page, Making Events Accessible: Checklist, for meetings, conferences, training, and presentations that are remote/virtual, in-person, or hybrid that provides tips and instructions on making materials, slides and overall presentations accessible. This is a great resource to use, so be sure to check it out to make your session more accessible.

You may also find these resources helpful:

1. AccesATE.net: Creating Accessible Presentations: Before, During, and After
2. Microsoft: Make your PowerPoint presentations accessible to people with disabilities
3. Adobe: PDF Accessibility Overview
4. Apple: Create accessible documents, spreadsheets, or presentations with Pages, Numbers, or Keynote
5. Google: Make your documents or presentation more accessible
6. Prezi: Creating accessible content in Prezi Design

Equipment in Session Rooms

Session rooms are equipped with a projector, screen, cables and cart, microphone-if needed, sound for your laptop, and wireless Internet. Presenters must bring their own laptops. HI-TEC does not provide laptops. If you plan to bring another device, such as a tablet, iPad, or anything else, make sure you bring compatible cables, dongles, or other needed equipment.

Planning Your Presentation

Get organized

Before you begin, outline your thoughts and organize the natural flow, consider your audience, and research and collect supporting documents. Think about your goals and as you create your presentation, make sure you meet those objectives.

Know who your intended audience is and who else might be in your audience

As you design your presentation, be sure to communicate how the information can be relevant across a spectrum of attendees. Successful sessions transcend fields, industries, and professional roles. Remember to consider and integrate accessibility into your materials and presentations – there is more information on this topic at the top of this page.

Time yourself

Practice and fine-tune your presentation. Sessions are 45-minutes in length and the schedule cannot accommodate sessions extending beyond. If you want to have time for questions and answers, build that time into your presentation. Be aware that your home or office is a controlled environment and that real-time at the conference can move faster, so add in a few minutes as a buffer.

Think about the types of questions you may receive

Consider having someone else review your presentation and pose any questions they may have. Think through your responses and any additional resources, and either incorporate them into your presentation or have them handy to share.

Delivering Your Presentation

Arrive early to set up

Please be considerate of the presenters before you by entering the room once that session has concluded. There is a 15-minute break between sessions, and you should use this time to set up and be ready to start your session at your scheduled time.

Please be careful to leave all the cables provided by HI-TEC so that the next presenter will be able to set up quickly.

Tracking Your Time

If you have co-presenters, designate someone to keep track of time. If you are the sole presenter, determine a method to best receive reminders to check the time, such as cues in your slides or an alarm. Please be courteous to the presenters that follow you by ending on time and giving them time to set up their presentation.

Ensure you are presenting in a way that is accessible to your audience

When presenting, it’s important to consider how to best accommodate everyone in attendance. Be sure your videos are captioned and the audio is clear and describes what is happening. If you have photos or images, describe what is being displayed and explain their relevance. Say all the information that is covered on each slide and do not expect your audience to read it on their own. Be aware that there may be sign-language interpreters and attendees using assistive listening devices, so speak clearly, use the microphone (if there is one in the room), and pause between topics. Be sure your slides do not have too much information on them. Keep them as simple as possible.

Please note: For more helpful information related to accessibility see the section on creating accessible presentations at the top of this page.

Sharing information

Many attendees want to reach out to presenters after the session with questions or to simply connect. If you would like attendees to connect with you, be sure to share an email address or any other contact method during your session. Don’t forget to verbally share your contact.

Sharing your slides

Sharing slides with your audience is up to you. It is recommended that a service such as Apple iCloud, Box, Dropbox, Google Drive, or Microsoft OneDrive be used to host your presentation materials and create a shareable link. Providing a link to download them is an easy way to do this. A simple QR code can be created to provide easy access to the link with any smartphone.