Speaker Info

Thank you for participating as a Speaker at the upcoming TECHSPO At Sea 2017, April 16 – 23, 2017 onboard the Royal Caribbean ‘Oasis of the Seas’ Cruise Ship departing Orlando (Port Canaveral), Florida.

This page includes important information for all Speakers. Please bookmark, review and become familiar with this page.

Should you have any questions about the following speaker information please contact Aaron Polmeer at aaron[at]techspo.co.

Speaker Pass Registration

All Speakers must register for a complimentary TECHSPO At Sea 2017 Speaker Pass. A Speaker Pass has the same features as the All Access Pass (valued at $995), click here for details what’s included in an All Access Pass. Instructions how to Register for a Speaker Pass will be provided by the Event Organizer by email.

Speaker Cancellation

In the event a situation arises that would prevent you from honoring your commitment, we trust that speakers will alert us immediately. If possible, we ask that presenters use diligent efforts to help us to locate a qualified substitute thereby preventing the program from being compromised.

Speaker Guidelines

Speakers must abide by the following guidelines:

• To be available to speak during any timeframe of the event as such will not request a change to the session time or day assigned.
• To be on time for his or her allotted presentation.
• Dress appropriately in business or business casual attire for their presentation.
• Refrain from question time at the end of Speaker presentation due to time restraints.
• Fulfill their allotted presentation time slot and not go over-time.
• Presentation should be high quality, educational and informative in nature, which includes current, accurate and relevant information on the topic presented.
• Speech and conduct will be in a professional manner in every regard. This includes, avoiding jokes, references or innuendo of a sexual nature, references to individuals or groups by virtue of their membership in a particular religious, racial, or ethnic group that could be considered offensive, or use of profane language that could be considered offensive.
• Respect Event Organizer as the Sponsoring organization with either positive or neutral comments from the platform.
• Maintain an ‘informational’ opinion, objective and vendor-neutral, and not push a particular product or service before, during, or after presentation and further refrain from giving away or raffling any products or services during presentation.

Speaker Deadlines

Speakers are required to provide the following items prior to the deadlines indicated below.

Speaker Briefing

It is mandatory for all Speakers to attend the Speaker Briefing on the morning of the General Sessions Day at 8:00am Tuesday, April 18th, 2017 in the “Oasis of the Seas” Conference Center (Deck 3). Please be on time to prevent delays. The Speaker Briefing is conducted by the Event Organizer, Emcee and Audio Visual Technician who will go over Speaking Reminders and Procedures. Be sure to introduce yourself to the Emcee at the Speaker Briefing and ensure they know how to pronounce your name correctly.

Speaker Seating

Speakers will have a reserved seating section near the platform for convenient access. Plan to arrive at the session 5 minutes prior to the published start time to be familiar with the location of the Emcee, Time Keeper & Audio Visual Technician.

Speaker Time Keeping

Allow a couple of minutes in your assigned time slot for the Emcee to introduce you. In the first row from the platform will be a Time Keeper with a large tabletop countdown timer in front of them, who will be responsible for setting a count-down how much time is remaining of each speaker presentation. Be familiar with the location of the Time Keeper and regularly check for your time management to ensure you do not go overtime.

Presentation, Equipment, Instructions & Preparation

Knowing the audiovisual set-up will prevent difficulties with your presentation and contribute significantly to the success of the event. Speakers are expected to produce a PowerPoint presentation to accompany their presentations, as a visual reference for the audience. Following is the equipment that will be available, instructions to ensure the actual presentation goes smoothly, and some tips.

Equipment Available

The Auditorium is equipped with the following standard audio-visual equipment;

• Shared PC laptop with Microsoft PowerPoint (2010) Application
• Digital Computer Projector with Screen with cabling to shared PC laptop
• Podium
• Lavalier Microphone
• Wireless Remote Control to advance and reverse your PowerPoint slides
• Internet will not be available for speaker presentations. No exceptions.

Speakers cannot use their own laptop. PowerPoint presentations will be set-up in advance on the shared PC laptop to facilitate a smooth transition from one speaker to the next and avoid disruptions.

Color Shifts

Due to different resolutions of laptops and projectors, color shifting can and will occur. Please be aware when creating the presentation that the colors may change somewhat when projected. Also, please note that this event will be using the 2010 version of Microsoft PowerPoint. Please review the following information on how presentations saved in an earlier version of PowerPoint may be affected.

Features that are lost when you open a presentation created in an earlier version of PowerPoint in PowerPoint 2000 https://office.microsoft.com/en-us/help/features-are-lost-when-you-open-a-presentation-created-in-an-earlier-version-of-powerpoint-HA010338389.aspx?CTT=1

Tips for Developing Your PowerPoint Presentation

• To ensure your presentation is easily visible from any seat in the room, please use the following minimum font sizes:

  Title: Bold Typeface minimum 40 pt size
  Subtitles: Bold Typeface minimum 32 or 36 pt size
  Text and Figures: Bold Typeface minimum 24 or 28 pt size
  Note: San- Serif fonts e.g. Arial or Verdana are easier to read in a large room

• Consider a format that is a skeletal outline of the keynote presentation
• Include visual aids (graphs, tables, illustrations) in PowerPoint slides whenever possible that can be easily viewed in a large room
• Embed graphs or figures into the document as independent objects; do not dynamically link from other programs.
• Attempt to limit file size to 25 MB and less. Photos for slides can be compressed and saved in a lower resolution.
• Disable any automatic advance timer on your file.
• Keep the slides simple. Too much information on slides makes them hard for attendees to read/see
• The 6×6 readability rule: no more than six words per line and six lines per “page” (i.e., Arial font size 40).
• Use upper and lower case letters rather than block: ALL CAPS CAN BE DIFFICULT TO READ.
• Lines that are used for emphasis should be bolder than background lines or borders.
• Use contrasting text and background colors (white or yellow text on blue or black background).
• Avoid using the color red as it tends to bleed into the background and is generally difficult to read.
• Paragraphs should be clearly separated using a blank line. Lists should be organized using figures, dashes or bullet points. Please keep in mind that graphics and charts must be read from a considerable distance.
• To ensure a safety zone for over-projection, leave a ¼-inch border, with no text or graphics, around your slide. Otherwise, logos close to the border of your slide may be cut off.
• For a quick readability check: Stand back ten feet from your 14” monitor. If you cannot read the text clearly, your point size is too small for projection.