Web Seminar Basics

9/25/23 AILA Doc. No. 15122902.
  1. The seminar is 90 minutes in length: a 60-minute presentation segment, and a 30-minute question and answer segment. In addition, speakers are asked to log in 30 minutes prior to the start time for a technical check.
  2. Participants' lines will be muted for the duration of your presentation. Participants will only be able to communicate via the Q&A box. Panelists will be able to communicate with the audience via the chat box, as well as the Q&A box. Individual lines may be opened for questions (if appropriate).
  3. Please cover all published bullet points, but feel free to expand or add as relevant.
  4. We require the speakers to develop a PowerPoint on the seminar topic. The discussion leader is responsible for emailing AILA the finalized PowerPoint presentation by the designated deadline.
  5. General guidelines for your PowerPoint presentation are:
    1. Limit the number of bullet points to three or four bullets (we receive many complaints when too much text is printed on one slide and attendees are not able to read along with their downloaded copies);
    2. Each slide should contain succinct bullet points about what will be discussed, list general concepts, or include details of those concepts; and
    3. Please don't just read from the slides.
  6. It is best if the PowerPoint slides are not too text-heavy and if you use a basic font, such as Times New Roman or Arial. Feel free to be creative and use relevant pictures or graphs that add to the presentation! You could also include a photo of yourself; however, we follow the ”all or none“ policy for including photos of panelists.
  7. Additional resource materials: any additional resource materials (articles, websites, forms, a list of citations) can be included in the seminar resources. All materials must be copyrighted. If it's an AILA-published document, we can handle that in-house. If it's not an AILA-published document (and not publicly available) you need to secure permission and copyright information before we can distribute it to participants. The discussion leader is responsible for gathering, organizing, and emailing additional resources to Tom Thornton at AILA by the designated deadline. Please review the Resource Page Guide for instructions and formatting for materials that can be linked.
  8. All panels are required to produce a two- to three-page practice advisory addressing the panel topic and geared toward providing readers with practice-oriented advice. These advisories need to original work by at least one of the panelists and will be edited and distributed to participants in advance of the seminar. Please visit the AILA Audio/Web Seminar Speaker Information for detailed writing guidelines, style guides, and sample advisories.
    1. Sample Advisory 1
    2. Sample Advisory 2
  9. The discussion leader is responsible for making sure the preparations are moving along and for emailing Tom the practice advisory, PowerPoint presentation, and additional resource materials by the designated deadlines. During the presentation, the discussion leader will introduce the topic and act as a timekeeper to ensure that all points are covered.
  10. Speakers will receive the Zoom Link for the web seminar the day before via calendar invite.
  11. Be creative!