Session Chair Guidelines

Session Chair Selection/Application

• If you are interested in being the session chair, kindly send us your CV for further confirmation and validation. Confirmation results would be notified after the detailed program is confirmed about one month prior to the conference.
• List of speakers, profiles, speech titles, time schedule and other necessary materials would be provided to you in advance.
• One best oral presentation will be selected from each session by the session chair. Please be noted that as a chair of the session, you will not be considered as Best Oral candidate.
• If any problems arise that you are unable to handle while continuing to chair the session, alert the conference committee secretariat of the problem.
• To acknowledge your kindly support, session chair certificate would be issued and the conference registration fee for next year will be waived.

Duties for the Session Chair

Before the Session

1. Check the Program
-Prior to session starts, check the number and order of the oral speeches to be presented, the time allocated, and if there are any supplementary oral speeches assigned to the session you are chairing.
-You are advised to prepare a related topic for discussion in case of vacant time for the absent presenters;

2. Arrive Early
If possible, arrive at the meeting room about 15 minutes prior to the start of the session:
-Familiarize yourself with the controls for microphone etc. If any problems, immediately alert the conference committee secretariat;
-Speakers are also asked to be in the session room 15 mins in advance so that the pre-session meeting between chairs and speakers could be held in case of need;

3. Signing Certificates
Please send us your electronic signature for certificate signature.

During the Session

1. Introduction
At the start of the session, briefly introduce yourself and explain related rules like time control, best oral election etc to the audience. Please introduce presenters by name and title of presentation at the start of each presentation.

2. Stick to the Schedule
Please adhere to the schedule listed in the conference program so that simultaneous sessions are as closely synchronized as possible.

3. Timing Speakers
Speakers should be asked to stop when their allotted time is up (longest 20 minutes) in a courteous but firm manner.

4. Absent Speakers
Should a speaker fail to appear, you can initiate a discussion on the previous presentations at the time slot. Or you can allow the next presentation to continue if the speaker and audience agree.

5. Comments for each presentation
Please encourage discussions after the presentation. Try to give chair’s comments at the end of each presentation.

6. Session Problems
Session room staffs will be assigned in every session room to support Session Chairs. Please request them for cooperation if you have any problems.

We sincerely appreciate your assistance with ensuring that your session runs well. If you have any questions or comments, please don’t hesitate to contact us in advance (abs@absconf.org), or to check with conference committee secretariat during the conference itself.