Instructions for Chairs

Establish contact with speakers and co-chair (if applicable) before the congress. Make sure to coordinate the session in advance with all the speakers, to ensure no overlaps in the content. The ESCMID scientific secretariat will assist you in establishing contact.

This does not apply to oral sessions.

Arrive to the session hall 15 minutes before the session begins and stand toward the front of the room to greet and welcome the speakers. In every room, there will be an AV technician and a conference hostess. Before the session starts, check if all the speakers are in the room and/or connected online. In case someone is missing, please alert the technician.

• At the start of the session, introduce yourself and the session title first. Then ask attendees to silence their mobile phones and let them know that taking pictures is prohibited. 
• As all the sessions will be live-streamed, please mention that speakers will be also available to take questions from the online audience through the chat function. 
• Be prepared to introduce each speaker with a sentence or two (name, affiliation, talk title and any additional information, if applicable). It is best to be prepared for each speaker even with two chairs in case the co-chair does not show or has technical problems joining.

Below are some best practices for online speakers to ensure a smooth presentation and connection. 

• Check your session time based on your time zone
• Try to sit still during the presentation, not moving too much to the sides or closer to the computer
• NEVER turn off your camera
• Mute yourself when not talking
• Turn off your computer notifications and close all programmes which are not being used for the session
• Put your phone on silent mode
• Do not connect to the congress platform at the same time with your device. It will disturb the sound and notifications. 

One week before your session, you will receive a ZOOM link by email to join the waiting room for your session. Speakers are kindly asked to connect to the zoom 45 minutes before the beginning of your session. This allocated time is to prepare the template with the camera and audio control and perform a last technical check.

• In case a presenter is missing during the session, begin the next scheduled presentation. 
• In case an online speaker experiences significant technical problems, please introduce the next presentation. 
• In both cases, please explain to the audience that the missing presenter will be rescheduled into the concluding presentation timeslot.

• It may be necessary to politely interrupt the speakers if their presentation exceeds the allocated time and insist on keeping the timeline to allow all speakers to present their data and to allow for questions and/or discussion. 
• You can mention that the author could be contacted with any Q&A that was not able to be addressed in the session. 
• Important: Talk and discussion duration differ according to the session type. Please carefully check the session details for the correct amount of time.

• Audience members will form a line onsite at a microphone to field questions. Additionally, you will be briefed before the session starts by the technician in the room on how to take questions from the online audience. Please make sure to take questions both from the onsite and online audience. 
• Chairs can see detailed instructions for managing virtual Q&A in the section below. 
• Questions should be clear and succinct. Do not hesitate to kindly interrupt a member of the audience if their question becomes a statement.

After the discussion, formally close the session by thanking the presenters and the audience for their attention.

• Keep in mind: the chairperson sets the tone for the session, so make eye contact with the audience and try to engage them with lively commentary. Keep questions and answers focused, but feel free to add in the conversation your own expertise on the subject. 
• Pay attention to presentations that include some potential bias. When possible, offer a different point of view to keep the presentation balanced. 
• To ensure a harmonious environment and avoid causing any unwanted inconvenience, be sensitive to the different cultural backgrounds of speakers and audience when moderating the session and the discussion. 
• In the rare case that an inappropriate statement is made by a presenter or audience member, please notify ESCMID staff or a member of the ESCMID Global Programme Committee.