Session Chair On-site Guide
Thank you for organizing and convening a session at the ASLO-SIL 2026 Joint Meeting to be held 12-16 May 2026 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Below is important information that should help as you make final plans for your session.
Overview
As a session chair, your job at the meeting will be to introduce your session and your presenters and to keep your session on time. All presenters will be sent instructions to upload their presentation before the meeting and each oral session block will be ninety minutes in length with six 12-minute talks. All talks must begin and end in their allotted time. It is also your job to lead the discussion and handle any questions.
Technicians will float between rooms for audio-visual and technical support. Each room will have a student volunteer to help with any questions or challenges you might face.
Review your current program schedule.
Should there be any cancellations, an addendum will be posted during the meeting and will show the most recent cancellations, changes in presenting authors, or scientific program revisions. Presenters have been instructed to also notify their session chairs when canceling.
Registration
As a session organizer, you must be registered for the meeting if you are going to attend. If you have not already done so, you may register online any time between now and the meeting at: https://www.aslo.org/aslo-sil-2026/registration-information/.
Invited and Tutorial Speakers
If you have any invited or tutorial speakers you wish to designate and have not done so, please email the title of those presentations to [email protected]. Include your session number and whether the presentation is invited, a tutorial, or both.
Session Chair Duties
Below is a recap of the session chairs’ responsibilities:
Pre-Conference:
15 Minutes Before the Start of Your Session:
- Ensure that all your presenters are present.
Start of the Session:
- Introduce yourself and give a brief introduction to your session.
During the Session:
- Be aware of the time for each presentation and move your session along.
- If there is time, facilitate discussion and manage the questions and answers.
- There will be a student volunteer in your room to help you.
- Ask for technical assistance for anything you have questions about.
- Conclude your session and remind the audience to leave the session room.
- If you have gaps in your session due to withdrawals, use that time for discussion or Q&A.
Poster Sessions
There will be two poster sessions from 11:00 to 13:00 on Thursday, 14 May and Friday, 15 May located in Room 517A. Even numbered sessions will have their poster session on Thursday and odd numbered sessions on Friday. Posters will be grouped by session and are numbered consecutively. To create more space for discussions, posters in even numbered sessions will have even numbers, likewise, odd numbered session posters will have odd numbers.
If your session has a poster section, please attend the poster session, standing in your poster group to help facilitate discussion.
Code of Conduct
The ASLO-SIL 2026 Meeting is committed to providing a safe experience for attendees. Conference and security staff will be available for assistance to manage any attendees causing disturbances during sessions or events. If you require assistance during your session, please have your room’s student volunteer contact conference staff or locate the security officer stationed in the meeting space hallway.
Additionally, we will be strictly enforcing our meeting photography and social media guidelines (https://www.aslo.org/aslo-sil-2026/social-media-and-photo-guidelines/), which prohibit any photo or video recordings from being taken during sessions (oral or poster). We thank you in advance for your assistance with enforcing the guidelines in your session.
Just In Case
If your plans or personal obligations have changed and you will not be able to attend the meeting, please let the ASLO-SIL 2026 Meeting know. You need to make sure that your session is covered during the meeting. If you do not have co-chairs who are attending the meeting, please plan for another participant or for a presenter in your session to act as chair.
Thank you for being such an important part of this exciting meeting!
Please share this information with your co-chairs.
Getting Help
If you have questions or issues, please contact [email protected].