Guidelines: Presenters and Room Hosts
PRESENTER GUIDELINES FOR MnWE
Thank you for presenting at MnWE 2023! Please help us make our second hybrid conference (simultaneously online and in person at most events) feel like one unified gathering, not parallel real and virtual world meetings, and share your time at the microphone so that everyone has an enjoyable experience.
Breakout Session Format
MnWE Breakouts are “roundtables.” Instead of long presentations followed by hurried questions and comments at the end of the 75-minute session, we want to bring more voices into the conversation sooner, including members of the audience. Each presenter speaks for 5-7 minutes (if there are only three presenters, each may speak for 10 minutes), and then at least the last half of the session will be Q&A between and among presenters and audience.
Room Host
A Room Host from the MnWE Committee will help start and end the session on time, facilitate smooth interaction between face-to-face and online ZOOM participants, and keep an eye on the clock, on the ZOOM chat, and on raised ZOOM hands. The Room Host will enable ZOOM’s auto-transcription (closed captioning) so everyone can follow the discussion better, but please speak up so your voice reaches all participants and alert the Room Host if you are having trouble hearing either F2F or online contributors to the conversation. Large monitors will display the ZOOM session in the Minnesota Humanities Center breakout rooms, so F2F attendees do not need to log in to ZOOM. Note: If you DO log in to ZOOM from the session room at SCSU, you must (1) MUTE your microphone and (2) turn OFF your computer’s volume.
Security
You will be emailed a registrants-only version of the program with links to ZOOM sessions and also receive a password so you can access that program through our website, www.MnWE.org. Please do not share that program or that password with anyone, especially by social media or on a website, and we will avoid security issues such as ZOOM raiding/bombing. Only registered attendees may access the links. Please register early.
Information for Online Presenters
Before the Conference
Update your Zoom Profile with a current picture of you. If you wish, you can update your screen name and add your school or other affiliation. Please make your natural or virtual ZOOM background less interesting than your words and ideas!
Find and test your breakout session link in the online program to make sure you have access (you must register for the conference to get those ZOOM links).
On the Day of the Conference
Minimize potential interruptions (yes, even your adorable pets) and silence your desk notifications.
Use headphones with a built-in mic if possible.
Show up a few minutes early at the designated Zoom link for your breakout session and introduce yourself as a presenter to the Room Host, who will be your Zoom Host as well.
Hold your portion of the presentation to 5-7 minutes.
In the Q&A part of the session, be prepared to respond to participants’ and other presenters’ questions and have your own questions ready to ask. If your audience has no more questions, ask your other participants questions.
Avoid talking over the other presenters. Mute your mic when it is not your turn to speak.
Have fun exchanging views on this topic you all care about!
Thank you for presenting at MnWE 2023! Please help us make our second hybrid conference (simultaneously online and in person at most events) feel like one unified gathering, not parallel real and virtual world meetings, and share your time at the microphone so that everyone has an enjoyable experience.
Breakout Session Format
MnWE Breakouts are “roundtables.” Instead of long presentations followed by hurried questions and comments at the end of the 75-minute session, we want to bring more voices into the conversation sooner, including members of the audience. Each presenter speaks for 5-7 minutes (if there are only three presenters, each may speak for 10 minutes), and then at least the last half of the session will be Q&A between and among presenters and audience.
Room Host
A Room Host from the MnWE Committee will help start and end the session on time, facilitate smooth interaction between face-to-face and online ZOOM participants, and keep an eye on the clock, on the ZOOM chat, and on raised ZOOM hands. The Room Host will enable ZOOM’s auto-transcription (closed captioning) so everyone can follow the discussion better, but please speak up so your voice reaches all participants and alert the Room Host if you are having trouble hearing either F2F or online contributors to the conversation. Large monitors will display the ZOOM session in the Minnesota Humanities Center breakout rooms, so F2F attendees do not need to log in to ZOOM. Note: If you DO log in to ZOOM from the session room at SCSU, you must (1) MUTE your microphone and (2) turn OFF your computer’s volume.
Security
You will be emailed a registrants-only version of the program with links to ZOOM sessions and also receive a password so you can access that program through our website, www.MnWE.org. Please do not share that program or that password with anyone, especially by social media or on a website, and we will avoid security issues such as ZOOM raiding/bombing. Only registered attendees may access the links. Please register early.
Information for Online Presenters
Before the Conference
Update your Zoom Profile with a current picture of you. If you wish, you can update your screen name and add your school or other affiliation. Please make your natural or virtual ZOOM background less interesting than your words and ideas!
Find and test your breakout session link in the online program to make sure you have access (you must register for the conference to get those ZOOM links).
On the Day of the Conference
Minimize potential interruptions (yes, even your adorable pets) and silence your desk notifications.
Use headphones with a built-in mic if possible.
Show up a few minutes early at the designated Zoom link for your breakout session and introduce yourself as a presenter to the Room Host, who will be your Zoom Host as well.
Hold your portion of the presentation to 5-7 minutes.
In the Q&A part of the session, be prepared to respond to participants’ and other presenters’ questions and have your own questions ready to ask. If your audience has no more questions, ask your other participants questions.
Avoid talking over the other presenters. Mute your mic when it is not your turn to speak.
Have fun exchanging views on this topic you all care about!
Tech Host Guidelines for Zoom Events 2023
Before the Conference:
Familiarize yourself with the basic functions of Zoom, including how to admit participants from the waiting room, send party crashers out of the meeting and block them from returning in the unlikely event you get Zoom bombed, mute/unmute participants, screen share (remember to check the boxes if the screen share is a video with sound), and create Zoom breakout rooms in case your presenters want to divide their attendees into small groups for part of their session.
Update your Zoom “Profile” with a current picture of you and update your screen name by adding “MnWE Host” and, if you would like, preferred pronouns in the “Display” box of your Profile.
Test your virtual background. A MnWE background is available, or you can use a virtual background from Zoom (availability varies by type of computer used). At the very least, aim for a clutter-free, professional background to eliminate distractions.
Designate an “Alternative Host” as an emergency backup in case you are not able to start a Zoom meeting (and have that person’s email and cell phone number handy).
During the Breakout:
As a Tech Host, you will help keep track of chat messages, raised hands, mics, and time.
Thanks for volunteering, and have fun managing your virtual MnWE world!
Before the Conference:
Familiarize yourself with the basic functions of Zoom, including how to admit participants from the waiting room, send party crashers out of the meeting and block them from returning in the unlikely event you get Zoom bombed, mute/unmute participants, screen share (remember to check the boxes if the screen share is a video with sound), and create Zoom breakout rooms in case your presenters want to divide their attendees into small groups for part of their session.
Update your Zoom “Profile” with a current picture of you and update your screen name by adding “MnWE Host” and, if you would like, preferred pronouns in the “Display” box of your Profile.
Test your virtual background. A MnWE background is available, or you can use a virtual background from Zoom (availability varies by type of computer used). At the very least, aim for a clutter-free, professional background to eliminate distractions.
Designate an “Alternative Host” as an emergency backup in case you are not able to start a Zoom meeting (and have that person’s email and cell phone number handy).
During the Breakout:
As a Tech Host, you will help keep track of chat messages, raised hands, mics, and time.
- Open your session a few minutes early.
- Test your speaker and microphone.
- Turn on Live Transcription (closed captioning) in Zoom.
- Especially if you have not designated an Alternative Host, make one or more of the presenters a Co-Host so that the meeting can continue if you lose your internet connect, your Zoom freezes, etc.
- Important: Remind everyone with their own laptop that if they are going to turn on Zoom, they must both (1) mute their Zoom and (2) turn off their laptop’s volume, all the way down, to avoid sonic feedback.
- “Pin” the speaker and the room host screens (this is very important so the presenter and host are always visible, regardless of how the participants have logged in). Learn how to Pin a speaker.
- Watch for “Raised Hand” and manage mics throughout the presentation. Unmute mics when it is a participant’s turn to speak and then mute again when finished.
- When it is time for the Q&A, “Unpin” the speakers so the audience can see who is speaking.
- Place a “Coming up next” with the link in the Chat for participants.
Thanks for volunteering, and have fun managing your virtual MnWE world!
Updated November 1, 2022