Guidelines for Breakout Session Speakers

As a breakout session speaker, you might find the following helpful in organizing your thoughts as you begin planning your remarks. It is our expectation that each session will stimulate vigorous participant involvement while ensuring that everyone in attendance comes away with a clear sense of important lessons learned and with practical, useful tips they can use in their own Centers.

As in everything, good planning is the key to success. Before you begin preparing your remarks, be certain that you have a clear understanding from the session organizers or moderator about the following questions.

• What is/are the overall goal(s) or purpose(s) of the breakout or closed session?
• What are the session’s major agenda topics?
• How will your presentation be relevant to actual current needs of the participants?
• What can participants take away from the session that is practical and applicable to their work at their respective ERCs?
• How will each presentation and subsequent discussion further the overall goals/purposes of the session?

Many of these questions will be addressed in the advance materials you will receive from the session organizers and during the mandatory conference call with your fellow presenters/panelists.  The purpose of this call is primarily to communicate the overall purpose and objectives for the session and to discuss the session agenda and format in detail so that the presenters can collectively strive to meet the needs of the participants.  If you need additional clarification or information, please contact the session organizer or moderator.

As you begin to prepare your remarks, consider the following:

• If you focus on problems or challenges, try to provide the audience with suggested solutions, strategies, or critical issues that must be addressed to reach a solution.
• Try hard to adhere to your given time parameters.
• Participants consistently place high value on the active participation, critical thinking, and creative exchange of ideas that occurs in the breakout sessions.

Taking responsibility for the following will also help ensure a successful, high quality session and positive meeting experience for all.

• Please submit electronic copies of your presentation no later than December 30, 2011, to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and to your session moderator. We will post them on the meeting website (with your consent) and announce their availability to meeting attendees, so they may review the materials in advance and print out any hard copies they may want. In the interests of efficiency and resources, we will not distribute hard copies of presentations at meetings.
• Check in with your session moderator once you arrive at the meeting, so that we know you are there and can give you any last-minute updates or instructions.
• Be prepared to start and end your session on time.  Every session depends on every other session to keep the Annual Meeting agenda on time.
• Be prepared for the unexpected.  Bring your presentation on a memory stick with you to the meeting and your session.

Thank you for your assistance and participation. If you have any questions please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .