American Association of Geographers - Tips for Session Organizers and Presenters

When designating a moderator, a best practice is to also designate a different individual to monitor the ZOOM chat during the session.
Establish how/when questions will be addressed with the audience. Encourage questions to be submitted through ZOOM chat.
We recommend putting the following in the zoom chat at the start of your session: "AAG is committed to an environment free from harassment. All participants are expected to follow our event code of conduct. If you have experienced harassment, or would like to discuss any related concerns, please contact the Confidential Conference Advocate. Natalie Dolci, LICSW, Advocate@aag.org 425-780-5301 "

Check with your presenters to ask about any needs they may have in order to present most comfortably, including needs based on disability. Accommodation requests can be made during the registration process or by emailing accessibility@aag.org. Getting these requests as early as possible (one month advance is ideal) gives AAG and its vendors lead time for ensuring optimal access and convenience for all presenters.
Encourage participants to mute themselves when not speaking to reduce background noise.
Consider disabling video for attendees who are not formal presenters in the session.
Begin your session by introducing yourself using your pronouns, and encourage your participants to do the same when they speak.
AAG is implementing land acknowledgment practices for its meetings. If you would like to do this in a virtual session, you can customize it to your own location using Native Land as a guide.

Recommended Virtual Poster Session Format

Virtual Poster sessions will use breakout rooms within the ZOOM meeting:

A breakout room will be created for each poster presenter. Breakout rooms are not recorded.

Dependent on the size of the session, a session organizer may choose to have a brief introduction period prior to opening the breakout rooms.
Audience members will navigate between breakout rooms to interact with the poster presenters.
Each presenter will be able to share their screen, and thus their poster, in their breakout room, as well as direct audience members to any uploaded presentation content attached to the poster submission in the abstract gallery.

Consult your session organizer for how the session will be run.
Meet your co-presenters. Introduce yourself ahead of the meeting and just before the presentation: it’s a good way to network and make connections.
Prepare virtual handouts, digital copies of your paper or presentation, or other follow-up items for participants who want to know more. Some presenters also make their slide decks available.
Anticipate the needs of attendees with disabilities. Create a file that you can share with descriptions of your slides and visuals for visually impaired attendees. Follow these tips from Washington College for designing graphics to suit neurodiversity. Make a transcript of your talk available for attendees. Be mindful of special effects and films that might strobe or distract too much with high-stimulus elements. Give content advisories before presenting subject matter containing violence; graphic imagery, including racist imagery; discussion of suicide or substance abuse.

Be respectful of time limits and come well-prepared, having thoroughly rehearsed your presentation. You never know who might be in the audience, so be sure to put your best foot forward!