Presenter's Guide

Sci/TECH CLUB presenter's GUIDE

Publicity

Sci/Tech club host(s) try to publish information about upcoming talks whenever possible in both the HOA's weekly update and monthly newsletter.  The deadlines for these are well in advance of your talk, so please plan on receiving a request for and providing more information about your talk.  A couple of sentences is usually sufficient.

An email announcement for each talk is also sent directly to club members 3-6 days before the meeting, and a reminder is sent 8-48 hours before.  This announcement usually provides even more detail about your talk AND also includes a speaker bio.

The speaker bio is not intended to be a professional resume... the target audience is not your colleagues, it is your friends and neighbors.  So in addition to brief professionally-relevant info, please include "getting to know you" information such as clubs, family, pets, how you got to Anthem, etc.  A few sentences is usually sufficient.

Presenter: Please ensure you read and understand the following presentation logistics notes at least several days BEFORE your presentation.  Your host (or "techie") is happy to answer any questions and set up a pre-meeting to test technology if necessary.

Hybrid meetings

All Sci/Tech club meetings are "hybrid," meaning there are two simultaneous audiences: one "in-room" in MP1 and one "remote" via Zoom.  There are often as many members in the remote audience as in the room.  Being human, it is easy for a presenter to focus on people physically in front of you and easy to forget about the remote audience. 

The technology and equipment setup is a bit more complicated to ensure that both audiences have an optimal experience.  For example, even if the in-room audience is small and every word can seemingly be heard by everyone in the room, a mic is always used... and any questions from the audience should be repeated.  And its not OK to use a laser pointer, the remote audience can't see what is being pointed to.

All Sci/Tech club meetings are also video-recorded "live" using Zoom.  Thus, whatever the remote audience sees and hears will be what is seen/heard on the recording.  Many residents are unable to attend "live" and watch the recording later.  This makes the "remote" audience even more important as what they see is what will be recorded.

Problems happen... if the remote experience is inferior (and thus likely the recording as well), the meeting can be shifted to "in-room only", but the presenter may be asked to separately re-present at a later time for the purposes of videorecording.

Your laptop or alternate?

In order to run a hybrid meeting optimally, there may be one or more laptops to display both your on-screen slides and a video of you speaking, and also audio devices to capture what the speaker is saying.  There may be one or more microphones for the presenter, the host, and the audience.  The audio must not only be clear, static-free, echo-free, and understandable at adequate volume to the remote audience but must also also amplified to ensure it can be heard within the room.  Ideally it is also broadcast to the in-floor "hearing loop."  The contents of any presented slides must be clearly seen at full resolution both on the MP1 screen and on Zoom devices used by remote participants... and on the videorecording!

Most presenters prepare their presentation on/for a personal laptop and expect to use that laptop while presenting.  This can be significantly complicated in hybrid meetings, as physical parts of your laptop that you may rarely (or never) use are called into action.  In addition to the screen and keyboard you use every day, most laptops have some or all of: a built-in "webcam", a built-in microphone, speakers, USB "ports", and an HDMI port.  Plus there are different "kinds" of laptop (Windows, Mac, ChromeOS), and different models of each may have different capabilities.  Thus it is important to test your laptop IN ADVANCE of the meeting, or at least ensure the type and model number are known to check that the required minimum components are available.  And if your laptop has never been used to participate in a Zoom meeting, some software may need to be installed.

If your presentation is "basic", e.g., is just a sequence of simple slides that can be provided to the host beforehand (in PDF format!), and you are OK with saying "next slide" (someone else advances to the next slide), the host may provide a laptop and run the presentation, in which case the laptop on the podium will be used only to capture video of you speaking and display the slide that is being seen by the audience.  (Either your laptop or one provided by the host can suffice for this.)

If your presentation is more complex (e.g. animations or videos containing audio) or you feel the need to have more control, it is important to prepare and/or test your laptop at least the day before the meeting so alternate plans can be made if your laptop is found to not work for any reason.  If you plan to user your laptop, please follow the instructions in the next section.

Preparing for Using Your Laptop

Please read/understand the following required preparatory steps:

• Provide type and model number and OS version to host

  • host will ensure there are enough ports or provide necessary adapters 

  • host will ensure understanding of key display and audio settings for your system

• Plan ahead to ensure your laptop is fully charged

• Please exit all running software except Zoom and whatever software you need for your presentation.

• Please ensure notifications or other software will not appear (e.g. turn on "do not disturb" or equivalent)

• Try running Zoom and ensure it is updated to the latest version; if possible, do a test Zoom to ensure all necessary components (e.g. webcam, microphone) are functional

Just prior to the meeting

Your host will need to plug in various cables, ensure you are connected to the lodge WiFi, start Zoom, and run various tests.  Especially if your laptop may time out "locking out" the host, please plan on being present and available.  Ideally, your presentation should be ready to go on your screen, and any complex parts should be tested while Zoom screen sharing is enabled.  (The host will either use another computer and headset to simulate a remote participant, or enlist the help of an actual remote participant.)

During the meeting

To ensure both a good experience for the remote audience and an optimal videorecording:

• Be aware of where you are standing so that your video is visible to the remote audience.  (This is technically not necessary during the presentation itself unless your expression or hand motion needs to be seen.)

• Ensure you are holding/using the microphone correctly.  Check with the "back row" and the Zoom audience to ensure you can be heard.  (The host can adjust the in-room volume.)

• Rather than point to something on the screen, describe it verbally (e.g. "in the upper right corner").

• Be aware of the existence of the remote audience, include them if/when possible

• Repeat (or summarize) any in-room audience questions.  If at all possible, discourage soliloquies by audience members or at least ask them to wait for a microphone.