PAA first had flash sessions during the 2018 meeting in Denver, CO. They were so popular they have become a regular part of our meeting! Flash sessions mix short, 5-minute oral presentations with posters (which will obviously be posted online in 2021). Below are tips for flash sessions at PAA 2021.
Pre-Conference Tips
Prior to the conference, we suggest the following:
Please note the amount of time allocated to your presentation. Flash sessions include five-minute, five-slide oral presentations (specifics may vary a bit according to the instructions of your Chair, who should contact you a few weeks prior to the conference). Your brief presentation and set of five slides should communicate:
- The title of your presentation and your name, affiliation, and email address.
- Your research question(s).
- The significance/rationale for your work.
- A brief overview of data/methods.
- Key findings.
There's no need for details because they will be available in your full “poster.”
Flash presentations also include a full “poster." We are asking presenters in flash sessions to upload their “posters” to Open Water no later than Monday, May 3nd, by noon. There will be one static poster gallery for Flash Session posters. We will send you an email when this gallery is available for upload. Given that PAA 2021 is a virtual conference, “posters” will typically consist of either PowerPoint slides or a slide deck in PDF format. Please limit your number of slides; a set of 12-15 slides is a good guideline for a “poster.” The content should include:
- A title slide listing the title of your presentation and your name, affiliation, and email address.
- Slides that communicate the research question(s) you are asking, the significance/rationale for your work, a conceptual framework and/or hypotheses for your study, your data/methods, the key study results, and some discussion/concluding points.
Plan for your presentation. A good five-minute flash presentation provides a clear and succinct overview of your research.
- Prepare visual aids. The vast majority of flash presenters use 5 slides, either in PowerPoint or PDF, as visual aids for their presentation.
- Type: Please use at least 20-point type so that audience members can easily read the print on your slides.
- Please do not include large tables in your slides: Summarize your key results rather than presenting large, dense tables.
- Bullets: Limit yourself to 3-4 bullets per slide and 10 or fewer words per bullet.
- Try to avoid the use of acronyms, jargon, and abbreviations: Past conference evaluations have clearly indicated that one frustration, in particular for new and international attendees, is the use of ‘insider’ language, acronyms, and abbreviations that make it difficult to comprehend a presentation.
- Consider livening up your slides with graphics and pictures: Graphics can be very effective in capturing the audience’s attention and focusing them on the point you want to make.
- Contact information slide: Prepare include a slide that you put up at the beginning with your presentation title, name, affiliation, and contact information.
- Please proof read and spell check: Thank you!
Practice: Practice your presentation to ensure that it highlights key points, your delivery is clear, and you finish within the time allocated.
Email your slides: Please email your slides to the session chair in advance of the session in case there are any difficulties with screen sharing.
Presentation Checklist
At the session, please:
- Arrive early. Please arrive at the session 10 minutes early and connect with the other presenters and session chair so that the session may start on time.
- Give your presentation. You are ready!
- End on time. You will be warned by the chair as your time draws to a close (typically 2 minutes and stop). It is essential that you end on time to ensure that all participants have the opportunity to present their work.
- Chat with attendees. Flash session chairs will create a break-out room for each presenter. After the final flash presentation, attendees can visit various break-out rooms to view your poster and chat about your research.