2023 OAH Virtual Conference Series Speaker Information

Below you will find pertinent information to assist you in preparing and presenting at the 2023 OAH Virtual Conference Series on American History . Please read through all sections carefully and make particular note of the deadlines provided. Any questions are welcome at meetings@oah.org.

TECHNOLOGY

The 2023 OAH Virtual Conference Series on American History will take place over the Zoom platform. Session recordings will be available on the OAH User Portal to registered attendees only. Please make sure that you have the latests version of Zoom before your scheduled talk.

Please check your camera, microphone, and background prior to your session.

1. Camera: Please avoid any back-lights as it will create a silhouette effect. We suggest lighting aimed toward your face from behind your camera.
2. Please align your camera at eye-level to ensure you are centered on the screen. If the camera is aligned too high or too low it can focus the audience on the background, foreheads, or noses.
3. If available we recommend using a plug-in microphone (headsets with microphones often work well). Please test your microphone to ensure compatibility with your computer and clarity. If you are not speaking please mute your microphone to reduce background noise.
4. Please try to avoid movement or distracting backgrounds.

Below are some video links with tips on enhancing your online presence. 

• Tips for Delivering Presentations Virtually
• Seven Speaking Tips That Improve Your Virtual Presentations
• Three Powerpoint Hacks for Instant Improvement
• How to Edit Zoom Video
• How to Look Better on Zoom

Special note for pre-circulated presentation types:  Session recordings are due no later than March 18, 2023. Recordings may be submitted as an MP4 or audio-only MP3 file. recordings may be done by the OAH as requested by the session chair/submitter in the Speaker Agreement. Recordings should be shared with meetings@oah.org.

SCHEDULING

Your session will be scheduled upon the submission of your Speaker Agreement. If you have not completed your speaker agreement, please do so as soon as possible, and no later than July 1. If you are unable to access your speaker agreement, please contact meetings@oah.org. Once you have completed your agreement and after all sessions have been scheduled your schedule will appear on your Speaker Center page. Unique zoom invites will be sent to all presenters at least 2 weeks before the scheduled session.

Media may be present during your session.

SESSION CONFLICTS

Please note that live sessions take place every Thursday between April 13 and May 4, 2023. Please make sure you are available during these days. 
Please note that due to the number of requests, we are no longer able to accommodate personal conflicts such as work schedules.

CHANGES TO SESSION INFORMATION

Changes to session information may be made after the submission of the speaker agreement. If you need to make changes to your submission please email meetings@oah.org by August 1. Changes after this date will not be accepted.  Cancellations, additions, or changes to speakers must be emailed to meetings@oah.org immediately, and no later than January 13, 2023.

Please note: Any speaker cancellations that occur must be communicated with the OAH at meetings@oah.org, no later than January 13, 2023

PARTICIPATION PREREQUISITES

All participants must be registered and be a member of the OAH by January 13, 2023 to participate in the conference. 

Please be aware that OAH policy requires all participants whose career is in the field of U.S. history (either as a professor/instructor, graduate student, K-12 teacher, or public or independent historian) to be members of the OAH. If you have any questions about whether the membership requirement applies in your situation, please contact us at membership@oah.org.

All participants are also required to register for the meeting. We will be providing a special presenter registration rate until January 13, 2023. We require that you be registered and be a member of the OAH by this date in order to be included in the program. Once registration becomes available later this year, we will contact you with the details.

ACCESSIBILITY

The OAH asks that all presenters take part in providing accessible space for the community. We ask presenters to do this by:

• Please speak clearly and try to avoid covering your mouth (unless there are mask mandates or you prefer wearing a mask). All sessions will include ASR captioning and clear speech increases accuracy.
• If you are presenting anything in non-English, please provide translation and transliteration.
• Please consider preparing large-print copies of your talk to make available to those attendees who prefer to read along with you. Access copies do not have to be word for word scripts but may include an outline, keywords, or Alt-Text for slide descriptions.
• Please keep power point slides simple with high contrast colors, sans-serif fonts and a minimum 36-point font.
• Include transcriptions for any audio or visual files you are presenting and describe any pertinent visuals.
• During the presentation, please avoid unneccessary movement such as moving the computer while the video is on.  Please turn off the camera if you need to move your camera or computer.
  
  For more ways to make your session more accessible please see this article in MLA Profession.

TIMING

Please note, all sessions except pre-circulated paper presentation types are allotted 60 minutes. Pre-circulated sessions may have 60 minutes for their recording and an adiditonal 60 minutes for live comments and live discussion. 

You should be in contact with your fellow participants ahead of time to reach an agreement about respective time allocations. The OAH requires that twenty five minutes be reserved for audience participation. Please keep that in mind when allocating time for presentations, comments, and introductions. We strongly encourage presenters to deliver ideas and arguments without reading from papers and not to exceed stated time limits. While all of us are tempted to exceed the time allowed, overlong presentations or comments eliminate the opportunity for the kind of meaningful discussion that makes OAH meetings vital.

SESSION ROLE INSTRUCTIONS

Chairs
If you are serving as a chair at the meeting, your most important responsibility as chair is to keep the session moving smoothly and on time. Introduce each of the participants briefly and, if you wish, make some prefatory remarks about the theme of the session and the participants.

Please be firm in enforcing time constraints (no more than 60 minutes), even if that means interrupting a speaker, so that all participants will have their full share of time and the audience will have the opportunity to respond. It is often helpful to alert a speaker when her or his time is about to expire by handing him or her a note indicating how many minutes remain. Audience responses must also be monitored by the chair. Please ask each speaker to identify herself or himself, and you should interrupt a member of the audience who speaks too long or otherwise inappropriately. You might also consider soliciting questions for a session participant who is being ignored or perhaps pose such a question yourself.

Paper Presenters
Paper presenters must send copies of their papers to the session chair and commentator(s) no later than February 15, 2023 and record their presentations by March 18,2023. To facilitate introductory remarks, please send a brief c.v. or biographical statement to the session chair.

Other Session Types
Workshops, roundtables, and other less traditional sessions are also allotted 60 minutes. Panelists on these sessions should reach agreement prior to the meeting on time allocations. Although these sessions are more flexible, it is important that the ninety-minute limit be observed and that at least 30 minutes be reserved for audience response.