Preparing your Presentation

We will provide guidance here on how to prepare and pre-record your presentation for the online conference. We will also send emails with guidance material.

Option 1 Discussion Paper

Your discussion paper might be similar to a paper that you would present at a conventional face-to-face conference.  We are not expecting a final paper in publishable form, but something approaching a complete draft as a basis for discussion with colleagues during the live panel discussion. This should be provided as a PDF.

Option 2 Video Presentation

Your presentation recording should be about 15-20 minutes.

You are free to record your video with any software you feel comfortable with. If you have little experience recording videos, we recommend using either Microsoft PowerPoint or Zoom to complete your recording.

1) Microsoft PowerPoint

If you are already familiar with Microsoft PowerPoint, you can use it to record both audio narration and, optionally, a webcam recording of yourself superimposed on the slides. Additionally, if you add your script to the Notes field, the notes will appear at the top of your screen (normally right below where the camera is located) to help you hold your gaze towards the camera.

Please set the aspect ratio of your PowerPoint slides to 16:9.

The basic steps for recording are:

a) Go to the “Slide Show” tab.

b) Click on “Record Slide Show” button and select “Record from Beginning”.

c) Use the “Settings” button on the upper right corner allows you to select your microphone and camera.

d) If you do not wish to be visible in the recording, you can turn off webcam recording using the little camera icon below your slides on the lower right corner.

e) If you do use the camera to be visible in your recording (recommended), please ensure that you do not have text or images on your slides where your image will appear, as this information will be obscured.

f) Click “Record” on the upper left corner. PowerPoint will start a 3-second countdown and then start recording. The recording will automatically stop after your last slide.

g) Please note that there is sometimes a ‘lag’ with slide transition. Please wait 3-seconds before speaking as you transition to your next slide. Remember to speak as you would in ‘real life’.

h) Select “File” -> “Export” -> “Create a Video” to save your recording on your hard drive (We recommend a resolution of 1080p to make sure the quality is high enough. Please do not go lower than 720p).

There are a number of YouTube videos to assist you with making a video in PowerPoint – this link is one of many examples: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8JV3w4TOVw.

2) Zoom

If you have created a Zoom account (including the free version), you can simply start a Zoom meeting and record the meeting to your local hard drive.

The basic process is as follows:

a) Start a new Zoom meeting.

b) “Exit Full Screen” if the meeting window has covered your whole screen by default.

c) If you are using a slide deck, open it in a new window. In PowerPoint, you can set the slide show to begin in a window (instead of taking up the whole screen) by following these steps:
i. Go to the “Slide Show” tab

ii. Click the “Set up Slide Show” button

iii. Select “Browsed by an Individual Window”

iv. Click the “From Beginning” button to begin the slide show.

v. In the Zoom toolbar, click “Share Screen” and select the “PowerPoint window”.

vi. Click “Record” in Zoom (it may be under the “More” button). You can also start recording by using the Alt+R combination on your keyboard.

vii. The recording will begin immediately. Go through your presentation. When you are done, click the “Stop Recording” button, or the Alt+R key combination again.

viii. End your meeting.

ix. Wait for the recording to be processed. It will be saved on your computer, and Zoom will open the folder with the recording.

Option 3 Audio Presentation

Your presentation recording should be about 15-20 minutes.

To make a sound (audio) recording you need a device with a microphone and an audio recording program. Voice recorder programs are included with Microsoft and most other operating systems or you can purchase other programs and apps online. You could also follow the steps above for PowerPoint and Zoom recordings with the webcam off so you are only recording the narration.

When the recording is processed it can be saved to your device ready to upload.