Speaker Resources: Workshop

Thank you for agreeing to speak at IDEA2023. 

You are scheduled to be a presenter during the Decarbonizing with District Energy workshop as part of the IDEA2023 Conference. This means you will be speaking on Monday, June 5. Please consult the Workshop Program for the exact time you are scheduled to speak.

This Speaker Resource Page is designed to give you a “one-stop shopping” guide for everything you need to know or consider before you step on to the podium in at the Hilton Chicago. 

Please bookmark this webpage as any pertinent updates will be made here. IDEA staff member Emily Riskalla  will also send you a short email alerting you of any major updates to this page. We’re hoping that having this webpage as a reference will cut down on the length and number of emails we send to you from now until the conference.

If, at any point, you have any edits to the session title or the presenter(s) associated with your session, please contact Jason Beal or Emily Riskalla at speakers.idea@districtenergy.org as soon as possible.

PowerPoint & PDF Presentation Submission Deadline - Wednesday, April 26, 2023
Video Presentation Submission Deadline - Wednesday, May 10, 2023

Once completed, your PPT and PDF files need to be sent to the Speaker Resources Center.

When submitting your files (PPT and PDF), please use the following naming convention when sending your files.

You can find your assigned session number on the workshop program. Simply view the workshop program to find your Session. 

• Once completed, the PowerPoint Presentation (.pptx) AND a PDF version should be uploaded to the Speaker Resources Center by Wednesday, April 26, 2023.
  
  
• To upload to the Speaker Resources Center, click the “log in” button on the top right-hand corner of the Speaker Resources Center page. Enter your first name, last name and email address you registered with. Once there, you will see a tab for “My Tasks”. Select the task “Upload Presentation Materials” to upload directly to our website.
  
  
• If there are multiple presenters for your presentation, please submit your PDF on only ONE of the speaker's accounts.
  
  Please do not have an assistant upload for you as all records are tied only to a presenters email address and contact information.
  
  
• If your presentation is greater than 250 MB, please upload to IDEA’s WeTransfer site: https://internationaldistrictenergyassociation.wetransfer.com/
  
  
• All speakers must submit PowerPoint Presentations in accordance with the presentation guidelines and by the submission deadlines. Failure to submit presentations by the submission deadline could result in removal from technical program.
  
  
• The conference Technical Committee may make suggestions to improve presentations as needed. The deadline for any necessary changes will be communicated directly to you. NO ONSITE CHANGES WILL BE ACCEPTED.
  
  
• Please note: You are only allowed to submit your presentation once (unless we request changes). This eliminates multiple versions being sent for us to sift through. Please contact Emily Riskalla or Jason Beal at speakers.idea@districtenergy.org if you are having issues.

Please submit your presentation files  (a PPT file and a PDF copy of them) by Wednesday, April 26, 2023. Once received, IDEA will review and will contact you with final approval of your content or a request for changes. Please do not record your prerecorded video until you have received final approval from IDEA.

As you put your presentation together, please consider the following:

1. Show, Don't Tell - Attendees at IDEA conferences are looking for invaluable content. Don't TELL them what you do, SHOW them what you're doing (or what you did) in regards to a specific project or series of projects. For example, don't include an 'About Us' slide or any slides that are more marketing material than they are content. The content you offer in the presentation will reflect better on your organization than any slide highlighting what you do.
2. Presentation Time Slot  - Workshops Presentations (taking place on Monday, June 5) are allotted for 20 minutes for presentation. There will be an extended Q&A/Discussion segment following the last presentation in your session. The workshop is intended to enable more dialogue between the audience and the speaking experts. 
3. Moderator - each session will have a moderator in the room who will introduce you and keep the conversation going. You do not need to bring someone from your company to introduce you.
4. This is a Podium Presentation - please note, that Workshop Presentations are considered podium presentations, not panel discussions. IDEA cannot accommodate any requests for a panel discussion.
5. Replacement/Additional Speakers - if you need to replace or add a speaker, please contact Emily Riskalla immediately. While we can accommodate changes, replacement/new speakers will need to provide us with signed contract, bio, headshot (and register) to get them in the program.
6. Virtual Presenters Are Not Allowed - all presenters must be in person, in Chicago, to be included as presenters.

PowerPoint Format:
All podium presenters must provide a PPT of their session content, following these guidelines.

• IDEA recommends using the IDEA2023 PowerPoint Template for your presentation. While you are not required to use it, please review as it does map out the flow of the presentation. 
• Whether you use the template or not, we ask that your presentation slides begin with the first slide in the template deck (the slide including the meeting image).
• PPT should be in 16:9 widescreen presentation ratio.
• Font size on slides should be no smaller than 25 pt.
• Slide content must be presented and written in English.
• A reminder that your presentation is slotted for a 20 minutes. There will be extended Q&A following the last presentation in the session. Your presentation should amount to 20-25 slides including:

• • The first slide in the template should be the first slide in all presentations.
  • The second slide should include your presentation title, company name(s) and logo(s), and name of the speaker(s)
  • One or more slides introducing the problem/project
  • Solution slides featuring a Case Study/Project
  • Lessons Learned
  • A “Q&A” Slide (see second-to-last slide in attached PPT file)
  • Thank You Slide with company logo, speaker name(s) and contact info

Content Requirements:

• Case studies and project data MUST BE INCLUDED. Please present technologies, equipment, tools, etc. within the context/application of a case study/project.
• COMMERCIAL CONTENT IS NOT ALLOWED (e.g. equipment/product cut sheets, product catalogs, company profiles, “About Us” slides, marketing slides)
• No speaker photos. Speaker photos and bios will be made available on the IDEA2023 website and event app.
• No comparisons to other vendors’ and/or competitors’ products - any slides will be stricken from the presentation and presentation may be subject to cancellation.

Deadline to Submit, Wednesday, May 10

As we have done at two previous two Annual Conferences (and 3 prior Campus conferences), IDEA requires all presenters to provide a video of their presentation (in mp4 format) as well. 

Why do I need to submit a video recording?

The recording is used as back up in the event you are unable to make it to the conference. 

Do not record your video until IDEA has approved your presentation materials. 

Once your presentation materials and/or slides are uploaded, they will be reviewed and (barring any issues with content) approved by IDEA ASAP. Once approved, you can begin recording.

How Do I Record A Video? 

Your video does not have to be a Spielberg production. We have found that scheduling a Zoom meeting between presenters (or recording a meeting with yourself if you are a single presenter), while sharing your slides is the easiest way to do this (Microsoft Teams can be used as well). Hundreds of speakers have successfully produced session recordings over the past two years, often finding it a helpful ‘dry run’ for their poster presentation.

IDEA has put together a helpful How to Record Your Presentation Using Zoom cheat sheet for your review. If you have questions about how to record your session, please contact Jason Beal at jason.idea@districtenergy.org.

 A few notes about the recording:

• If you are the only presenter in your session, you can schedule a Zoom call with an off-camera employee who can record it for you so that you can focus on your presentation. Just make sure that employee has camera off and that they have selected the 'hide non-video participants' option so they don't show up on camera.
  
  
• Once completed, the .mp4 version should be uploaded to the Speaker Resources Center by Wednesday, May 10, 2023.
  
  As you did with your PPT and PDF, please upload for .mp4 to the Speaker Resources Center. To do so, please click the “log in” button on the top right-hand corner of the Speaker Resources Center page. Once there, you will see a tab for “My Tasks”. Select the task “Upload Presentation Materials” to upload directly to our website. If your presentation is greater than 250 MB, please upload to IDEA’s WeTransfer site: https://internationaldistrictenergyassociation.wetransfer.com/
  
  

• As with your upload of PDF/PPT, make sure you name your mp4 using the naming convention

  
  Workshop/Session and Last Name(s) of presenter(s)

  Example: (Workshop Session 2_Riskalla)

• A confirmation email will be sent upon receiving your presentation; if you do not receive confirmation then the presentation was not received.

This prerecorded mp4 file must be delivered to us by Wednesday, May 10 to ensure we have enough time to upload into our online platform.