Main Program Presentation Guidelines

Thank you for agreeing to present at IDEA2026, we’re excited to have you as part of the program!
 
You are scheduled to speak during the IDEA2026 Main Conference on either Wednesday, June 24 or Thursday, June 25. Please refer to the Preliminary Conference Program to confirm the exact timing of your session, or login to Conference Harvester for details.
 
This Speaker Resource Page is your one-stop guide for everything you’ll need to know or do before stepping onto the podium in Ottawa. We recommend bookmarking it, as updates will be posted here and shared with you via email as well.
 
Your presentation is scheduled for 25 minutes, 18-20 minutes for your presentation, followed by 5-7 minutes for Q&A. Your presentation is part of a session track of similar-themed presentations. There will be a moderator in the room with their main responsibility to introduce your presentation, facilitate audience Q&A, and keep the session on schedule.

Important Deadlines and Due Dates

Submit Signed Speaker Contract
Friday, April 10, 2026

Registration & Payment Deadline
Friday, April 17, 2026

PowerPoint Submission Deadline
Wednesday, May 20, 2026
(minor edits can be made to your presentation through Friday, June 5)

Prerecorded Video Submission Deadline
Friday, June 5, 2026

Download Conference Logo

Presentation Slide Template

Conference Program

Conference Harvester

While the Speaker Resource Page provides helpful hints and guidance on how to make your presentation a success, Conference Harvester is our online platform used to gather key session information, including the upload of your conference slides and session prerecord, along with editing your bio, abstract, and profile photo. The information you upload/edit into Conference Harvester will also be published in the conference app, website and onsite conference print program.
Login instructions for Conference Harvester were included in your acceptance email. If you’re having trouble accessing the system, please reach out to us at speakers.idea@districtenergy.org and we’ll be happy to help.
 
Session title and speaker changes in Harvester
If you need to make any changes to your session title or presenter information, please contact IDEA directly. While many fields in Conference Harvester are editable by presenters (bio, abstract, profile photo), session title and presenter updates need to be made by our team.
Also, if a member of your team will be assisting with the preparation or delivery of your presentation and need access to Conference Harvester, please contact us. We can add them as a 'helper' to your account, giving them permission to upload or edit materials on your behalf.

Onsite Logistics

Main Program Presentations will take place in one of five concurrent meeting rooms. Each session is part of a session track, which includes similarly themed sessions. The number of sessions in a track can range from 2 to 4. 

Your session is 25 minutes, which amounts to 18-20 minutes for your presentation, followed by 5-7 minutes for Q&A.

The room set for all main conference presentation rooms is the same in every room, including:

  • A mic’d podium for presenters, on a riser/stage positioned at the front-middle of the room. 
  • A 6' table on stage, next to the podium, to allow seating for sessions with multiple presenters.
  • An IDEA laptop on the podium, with presenter's PPT presentation preloaded. 
  • A large screen (where slides will be projected) set up in the corner of the room.
  • A microphone for audience questions, stationed in the middle of the room, 

Each session track has a moderator who will do a quick intro of the session and speakers. To save time, your full bio will not be read as people can read it in the app. The moderator will also field questions from the audience at the conclusion of your presentation, during the Q&A period.

An AV tech and an IDEA staff member will also be on hand to assist when needed.

IDEA asks that the speaker(s) for each presentation be present in the room at the beginning of their session track's time block, ready to go on stage when it is time for their presentation to begin.

Creating Your Presentation

As you begin to create your presentation, a few very important things to consider.

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.
  • NO COMMERCIAL CONTENT ALLOWED (e.g. equipment/product cut sheets, product catalogs, company profiles, “About Us/Why We're the Best” slides, marketing slides). Presentations submitted with blatant commercial content will be rejected. 
  • Bios/Photo. Speaker photos and bios will be made available on the IDEA2026 website and event app, but you can include a brief slide with name/photo/title.
  • No comparisons to other vendors’ and/or competitors’ products.

 PowerPoint Format Requirements:

  • IDEA recommends using the IDEA2026 PowerPoint Template for your presentation. While you are not required to use it, please follow the structure (problem, case studies, solutions conclusions) 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.
  • Your presentation is slotted for a total of 25 minutes. Please plan for 18-20 minutes of presentation and 5-7 minutes of Q&A with the audience. This typically works out to 20-25 slides in your deck, 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
    • 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

Uploading Your Presentation

Two key deliverables for your presentation are uploading your slides as a PowerPoint (PPT) and prerecorded video (.mp4) of your session (typically a recording of a Zoom or Teams call between presenters or the recording function in PPT).

As a main program presenter, you are required to submit your PPT slides for review by IDEA by Wednesday, May 23, 2026. The PPT you submit what IDEA will load onto the laptop in your presentation room. A  PDF of your slides will be automatically created upon upload of your PPT slides and will be included in the conference app for attendees to view and takes notes on. 

After submitting your slides, IDEA will review for content and get back to you ASAP with edits (if any). Once approved, you are free to create the prerecorded video of your presentation.

The prerecorded presentation is required, designed to increase your visibility with attendees. At any given time, up to 5 sessions can be taking place at once, meaning not everyone in attendance will have the opportunity to see your presentation. The prerecorded video is a way for attendees to see what they missed post-show.

The video is due on Friday, June 5, along with any final edits to your slides. 

Please do not send your presentation files  or videos to us directly - they must be submitted through Conference Harvester.

Prerecorded Video Basics 

The prerecorded video is made available to all registered attendees post-event in the IDEA Learning Center, giving attendees who missed your live presentation an opportunity to view it (there are 5 sessions running concurrently, they can't be in five places at once). This will greatly increase your visibility with attendees.

Due to the potential hazards associated with livestreaming and the significant costs to video tape live sessions, having presenters record a video prior to the conference, for viewing post-conference, is the most reliable and effective way to get your content to anyone who missed it. It's also an excellent opportunity to practice your session before you get in front of a live audience. 

Recording your video is not a Spielbergian production - simply record a Zoom or Teams call with screen share, video and audio and that will suffice. If you're presenting solo, Microsoft PPT has a record feature that can be used as well.

Over 1000 speakers have successfully produced session recordings over the past six years for IDEA conferences, often finding it a helpful ‘dry run’ for their presentation.

Deadline to Submit, Friday, June 5, 2026

Please note: Do not record your video until IDEA has approved your presentation slides. Once your presentation materials and/or slides are uploaded, they will be reviewed and (barring any issues with content) approved by IDEA ASAP.

Need help recording your video? Contact us at speakers.idea@districtenergy.org.