An essential role at any conference are the panel chairs – someone to introduce the speakers, engage with the theme, and steer the flow of the questions and answers to ensure both speakers and audience get the most from the discussion. Chairs have been sourced from conference attendees, and are listed below as well as in the schedule.

Overview

At BSP2025UCD the role of the panel chairs will be to introduce the speakers, manage the Q&As, and have a question or two prepared during the talk if discussion lulls. There is no need to worry about keeping the speakers to time: this will be handled by members of the BSP conference team who will be room managers during the panels.

Panel Format

• Panels at BSP2022AC have either two or three speakers.

• Within the panels, each speaker gets 30 minutes. BSP2025UCD is not – generally – a conference where all the speakers in a panel present and then there are collective questions at the end. Rather, each speaker will be introduced, have 20 or so minutes to deliver their paper, and the remaining time of their 30 minute slot will be for discussion. The schedule has been timetabled this way, and this format communicated to all attendees from the call for papers onwards.

• However, an exception to this may be the three pre-constituted panels (The Crisis of Creativity from Phenomenological & Post-Phenomenological Standpoints; Front-loaded Phenomenology in Clinical Research; and Public Health in Crisis: Covid-19 and the Forced Renegotiation of the Lifeworld).

Panel Chair Role – a step by step guide!

• Before the event, check out the speakers in your panel using the schedule and the speakers page of this website. You may want to make some notes (or you could just read from the website using a mobile device).

• Please go to the room where you are chairing the panel at least ten minutes before the panel is due to start and make yourself known to the room manager. After that, if you quickly need to grab some refreshments that is fine. If you don’t come to the room early, the room manager may assume you are not able to make it for some reason, and will need to source an emergency panel chair!

• Before the session – quickly introduce yourself to the speakers.

• If you are chairing a pre-constituted panel check-in with the speakers to see if they want to either present their papers and have individual Q&As, or if they want to all present their papers first and then have a collective Q&A after everyone has spoken.

• At the beginning of the session introduce the panel and then the first speaker. Please keep the speaker introduction short, you can name them, their institution, some key details from their bio, and the title of their paper. Remember, your introduction is cutting into the speaker’s time!

• Timings: room managers will indicate the 15 minute mark to the speakers, and 20 minute mark if necessary. They will do this with cards in the room. If the speaker continues to 30 minutes, the room manager will intervene and bring the session to an end without any Q&As. Remember, it is not rude to bring a speaker to conclusion if they are about to effect the allotted time for another speaker. The chair need not worry about the timings of the sessions.

• When it comes to questions, chairs can take a question from the room by choosing someone holding up their hand.

• Sometimes it can take a few moments for the audience to gather their thoughts to ask a question, or there can be a lull in questions, or the questions can come to an end early. A key role for the chair is to have prepared some questions during the talk to keep the discussion flowing. Remember, the event is scheduled in half hour paper sessions, and people may drop in for a specific paper, so ending the session early and bringing on the next speaker should be avoided if possible.

• Another key role is to ensure people asking questions are to the point and brief, you may need to ask them to hurry up so the speaker can answer. Sometimes you may even need to hurry up the speaker! Of course, all hurrying-up should be handled with sensitivity and a light touch, if possible. Long form discussions can be continued in the breaks, lunches, and evening activities!

• The room manager will indicate to you when the 30 minute slot is up. You should round things off, and thank the speaker…

• … then repeat with the second and – if there is one – third speaker!

• If a speaker does not turn up, you will need to think about and agree with the speakers and room manager how you will use the extra time in the session. You could stick to 30 minutes each and end the session early, although it is fine to allow discussions to continue a bit longer if participants are willing to do so.

• If at any point you are unsure what to do, ask the room manager!

Room managers

Danielle Petherbridge, David Deamer, Beatrice Pagliarone, Roxane Pre-Théodore.

Chairs and Panels