Session Chair Information

Before the Conference

• To find or confirm your session time, use the Search the Program box in the Technical Sessions program. You can search by your name.
• Familiarize yourself with the Speaker Information
• Contact the speakers in your session before the conference to introduce yourself and to be available for any questions from the speakers. For paper sessions, you can access speakers’ email addresses via the meeting platform. Your administrative rights in the meeting platform will be activated upon your registration for the conference. Under your name in the left-hand navigation bar of the meeting platform, click the Manage Your Sessions link. On the session page, scroll to the bottom of the page. Under Reports is a Presenting Author link. Note that the Presenting Author report is a download and does not open automatically in a new window.
• Emphasize to presenters that they need to bring their slides on a USB drive and should set up back-ups, as described in the Speaker Information.
• If a speaker tells you before the conference they cannot use USB drives, make alternate arrangements. This could include transferring the slides to you via Manage Your Papers (for the presenter) and Manage Your Sessions (for the session chair) on the meeting platform. Both you and the speaker need to be registered for the conference to make a transfer using the meeting platform. If you are bringing speakers’ slides to the conference, you will need to put them on a USB drive. If you are not able to use a USB drive, ask the speaker to upload their slides to the meeting platform and then contact epsr@ans.org for additional guidance.
• Panel Session Chairs: Please 1) remind the panelists in your session that they need to be registered for the conference to participate as a panelist and 2) communicate all panel details/plans to the panelists. If needed, you can find the email addresses of panelists by using Manage Your Sessions and clicking on a panelist’s name.
• With your session-chair administrative rights in the meeting platform, you can add or modify a session description, add or modify session officials, and add attachments.
• Before the meeting, please familiarize yourself with ANS’s Session Chair Guidelines: Paper Sessions and Panel Sessions .

At the Conference

• Speakers will show slides by using USB drives with the conference-provided laptop. Session chairs and speakers cannot use their own laptops; the conference-provided laptop must be used. Suggest to presenters that they email the slides to themselves and upload them to the meeting platform as back-ups.

• Speakers know to check in with you in your session room at least 15 minutes before the start of your session. They may present you with brief biographical information to aid in your introductions. Or, before the conference, you can ask speakers to provide you with brief bios for introductions.

• Assist presenters in keeping track of their time so that presentations do not run over. Please do not rearrange the order of the presentations in your session.

• If your session is in the first morning timeslot, a session sign will be placed by the room approximately 20 minutes before the session begins. For all other timeslots, the session sign will be in place.

• Start your session with a quick introduction.

• If you have a no-show, hold that time slot, and do not move ahead. Consider prompting discussion about the session’s topic to fill the time and to encourage attendees to remain in the room.

• Inform ANS Registration/Help Desk of any no-shows in your session or you can email epsr@ans.org to report no-shows.

• Remind attendees who request Professional Development Hours (PDHs) that they must complete the in-app session survey.