Guidelines for presenters

Session types and timings

The conference will include plenary sessions at certain times (where all delegates are in one session together) and sessions running in parallel the rest of the time. All parallel sessions will run for 90 minutes, and there will be eight or nine sessions running in parallel throughout the conference (outside of the plenary sessions). There are three different types of parallel sessions at LEPH: Major sessions; Marketplace of Ideas sessions; and Proffered paper sessions.

Major sessions

(session codes including ‘M’ e.g. Sun-M-1)

These are convened sessions with a number of speakers (usually 3 to 4) giving presentations around a central theme. Sessions will be chaired by the convenor or someone nominated by them, and should allow for at least 15 minutes’ Q&A/discussion time with conference delegates.

Marketplace of Ideas sessions

(session codes including ‘I’ e.g. Mon-I-2)

These are intended to be more interactive sessions and will usually consist of either two 45-minute or three 30-minute workshop style contributions. Each contribution may have multiple speakers, and their own convenor/facilitator. In addition, each 90-minute session will have an overall session chair who will oversee the session as a whole. MoI session chairs will be allocated by the conference organisers.

Session chairs will be instructed to ensure presenters for each contribution stick to their overall time limit. Given these are intended to be interactive sessions, time for audience discussion should be built into the 30- or 45-minute time allocation for each contribution.

Proffered Paper sessions

(session codes including ‘P’ e.g. Tues-P-5)

These sessions are compiled by the conference organisers, scheduling individual abstract submissions alongside each other. Best efforts are made to group presentations around common themes. There should be no more than four individual talks in a session, with each speaker having up to 20 mins to present, and allowing 10 minutes for questions and discussion with conference delegates at the end of the session. Chairs will be allocated to these sessions by the conference organisers.

If there are three talks in a Proffered session, each contributor will have up to 25 minutes for their talk, allowing for 15 minutes question/discussion time at the end.

Chairs will be instructed to ensure presenters stick to time, and that time is thereby protected for questions and discussion relating to any of the presentations at the end of the session.

We ask that presenters ensure they talk for no more than the allotted time – and would appreciate efforts to bring talks in a couple of minutes under the time limit, to maximise time for audience interaction in each session. While clearly difficult to time exactly, we would therefore like presenters to complete their talks a couple of minutes before the end of their allocated time slot. For example, presenters should aim for approximately 18 minutes where there are four individual talks in a session, and 23 minutes where there are three individual talks in a session.

To find out how many talks are in your session please refer to the online conference programme and search for your name.

Plenary sessions

These will take place each day of the conference, with invited plenary speakers delivering keynote talks. These sessions provide an opportunity to bring all conference delegates together. Questions may be submitted ‘live’ during the sessions, online, with selected questions being put to speakers by the Chair at the end of each session, time permitting.

Presentation preparation

Please follow these technical specifications to ensure your slides are compatible with the venue’s audiovisual systems.

File Format & Technical Setup

File type: Microsoft PowerPoint (.pptx) or Adobe PDF (.pdf). If you use Google Slides you will need to save as MS PowerPoint or Adobe PDF and check the presentation before the conference to ensure fonts, layouts and formatting have been preserved correctly.

Aspect ratio: 16:9 widescreen format*

Video: Embed MP4 videos directly into your PowerPoint slides

Audio: Ensure all media files have audio tracks unmuted and embedded

Presentation Delivery: Bring your final presentation on a USB flash drive and/or on your own laptop to connect to our AV system

*Setting the 16:9 Aspect Ratio

Microsoft PowerPoint (Windows & Mac)

Open your presentation in PowerPoint.
Click on the Design tab in the top menu bar.
Look towards the right-hand side and click Slide Size.
Select Widescreen (16:9) from the drop-down menu.
If switching from 4:3 format: Choose Ensure Fit when prompted to scale your existing content automatically.

For best practice guidance on preparing clear and accessible slides, please refer to the separate guidance below.

At the conference / on the day

All PCs will be logged on in each session room at the beginning of each day. A username and password will be displayed next to each PC so that you can log in again, in case the PC goes to sleep or the screen locks.

How to present from the Lectern PC

Select PC on the Control Panel
All talks/presentations must be stored on a USB Stick
USB sticks can be plugged into the PC in the front of the lectern, or the USB ports next to the Control Panel
In large lecture theatres with multiple screens, choose the screen you want to display on first then follow step 3

How to present from a Laptop

Connect the HDMI 1 cable to your laptop, it’s a lead coming from the lectern near the monitor – if your device hasn’t got an HDMI output (e.g. MacBook or iPad) we request you bring your own adaptor as these devices are not supported by the University of Leeds.
Select BYOD (Bring your Own Device) on the Control Panel
Select HDMI 1

Uploading and checking of presentations

On the desktop of each PC there will be folders for each day with sub-folders for am and pm sessions, all presentations can be stored in these folders

All presentations must be uploaded before the start of each session during the morning and afternoon breaks or at lunch.

If you are presenting from your own laptop, we request that you check the setup is working during a break or lunch in the presentation room, prior to your session start time.

Photography

We will be taking photos and videos during the conference. If you would rather not be photographed/videoed, then please let us know by emailing LEPH2026@leeds.ac.uk or by speaking to a member of the conference team on the day, so that we can put arrangements in place.

Top tips for producing accessible and clear presentation slides

Font size & styles

Font Choice: Use standard, cross-platform sans-serif fonts like Arial, Calibri, or Helvetica.

Title Size: Minimum 36pt to 40pt for main slide titles.

Body Size: Minimum 24pt for bullet points and explanatory text.

Caption Size: 18-20pt for footnotes, source citations, and image captions, where possible.

Hierarchy: Use bold text sparingly to emphasize key terms, not entire sentences.

Case: Avoid using ALL CAPS, which reduces readability for international audiences.

Font size & styles

Avoid Red & Green: Do not use red and green together, as this makes text unreadable for colour-blind attendees.

Avoid Low Contrast: Never place yellow or light blue text on a white background.

Avoid Neon: Eliminate neon or overly vibrant colours that cause eye strain under projection lights.

Content & layout best practice

Keep text concise: Avoid overcrowding slides with text. Use bullet points sparingly and focus on key messages rather than complete paragraphs.

Visuals first: Use high-quality diagrams, charts, and images instead of large blocks of text.

Margins: Keep all critical content at least 10% away from the slide edges to avoid cropping.

Transitions: Use simple “Fade” or “Appear” transitions; avoid distracting animations.

Remember that slides support your talk: The audience should be listening to you, not reading lots of text from the screen.

Further guidance is available in Microsoft’s guide to creating accessible PowerPoint presentations.