Responsibilities for Chairs and Speakers

• Session Chair Responsibilities
• Speaker Responsibilities

Session Chair Responsibilities*

The following are general guidelines for your role as a Session Chair in a program offering (session, forum, workshop, and other program offerings).

1. Maintain communication with Session Guides (members of the Annual Meeting Program Committee/AMPC) and DIA regarding the development of your session, workshop, forum, program offering, etc.
2. Review the Program Requirements including the Program Participant Recruitment section as you begin the development of the program offering and the recruitment of speakers.
3. Adhere to DIA Annual Meeting deadlines and assist DIA in ensuring that all speakers meet their deadlines.
• All confirmed speakers and participants of the Global Annual Meeting program must complete Speaker Disclosure and Authorization for Use of Presentation Materials via the website. Refer to Program Requirements for more information.
• All presentations must be submitted by the established designated deadline to DIA’s presentation management system.
4. Maintain close working relationship with speakers as they develop their presentation.
• Ensure that the content being developed matches your vision for the program offering.
• Meet with speakers well before the program offering via teleconference and/or email to ensure a cohesive session by reviewing the goals and objectives for the session, the length of time per presentation (if applicable), and how Q&A with the audience will work.
• Provide speakers with learning objectives and difficulty level.
• Request and review speaker’s draft outline of presentation.
• Ensure there is no overlap of content between speakers.
• Encourage speakers to attend one (1) speaker webinar; schedule to be announced.
• Advise speakers that their presentation must not be commercial or promotional, and speaker clothing may not carry logos or other company-specific emblems.
5. Review and approve speaker presentations after they have been submitted to DIA’s presentation management system to confirm that each presentation:
• Does not include the presenter’s company logo anywhere in the presentation if the speaker represents a commercial entity.
• Meets the content level criteria designated for the offering.
• Fits within the written offering overview.
• Helps meet the learning objectives outlined for the offering.
• Is non-commercial, objective, fairly balanced, and otherwise adheres to the DIA Policy Concerning Promotion of Products and Services from the Podium.
• Does not overlap with others, and, if it does, consider modifying the overlapping presentations to avoid redundancy.
6. Plan for Q&A success. Review our guide with quick tips and tricks that will make a big difference in your session’s Q&A.
7. During the program offering:
• Start on time and finish on time.
• Maintain timing of each presenter and allow ample time for questions and answers from the audience.
• Ensure all presenters properly use the podium microphone and laptop provided.
• Have your starter questions prepared for opening the Q&A portion of your session. This will allow you to engage audience participation while waiting for questions to come in from the audience.
• Project your voice and speak clearly. The microphone should be placed hands width away and just below your mouth. Face your audience and avoid turning your head away from the microphone.
• Repeat questions that were asked without the use of a microphone.
• Turn off mobile devices.

*Inclusive of Session, Forum, and Workshop

Note: there will be limited internet connectivity available in the room. If you require internet in your program offering, please let us know and we will approve it on a case-by-case basis.

Speaker Responsibilities

The following are general guidelines for your role as a Speaker within the Global Annual Meeting program agenda (session, forum, workshop, and other program offerings).

1. Adhere to the DIA Volunteer Code of Conduct
2. Confirm your participation and review details for your presentation
3. Adhere to program deadlines
4. Complete the Speaker Disclosure and Authorization for Use of Presentation Materials via the website, as this is a requirement for participation; instructions are provided to participants.
5. Review presentation to ensure that:
• The prepared presentation is not commercial or promotional, is objective, fair balanced and adheres to the DIA Policy Concerning Promotion of Products and Services from the Podium at DIA-Sponsored Programs
• It does not contain logo or other company-specific emblem.
• It meets the content level criteria designated for the offering (i.e., beginner, intermediate, or advanced).
• It helps meet the learning objectives for the program offering.
• It does not overlap with the other presentation(s) within the program offering.

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