Prepare a conference chair’s running script from the actual programme
Prepare conference-chair introductions, timing cues and transitions from the confirmed programme.
About 5 min read · Allow extra time for the practical checks
Turn the confirmed programme and chair instructions into short notes for opening the session, introducing each speaker, managing questions and closing on time. Keep spoken lines separate from timing cues and unresolved checks. A chair’s script should help the audience follow the session without adding claims about a speaker or a paper that the record does not support.
Use the current instructions for your event. This guide concerns preparing ordinary chair notes; it does not appoint a chair, change a conference programme or decide an event’s accessibility, conduct or recording arrangements.
Build the notes from confirmed information
Check the session title, room or online location, order, presenter names, presentation titles and timing arrangements. Distinguish the presenter from the complete author list. Obtain the information needed for an accurate introduction rather than assuming that the first listed author will speak.
The American Physical Society’s chair guidelines, checked on 2 November 2026, ask chairs to check the programme and changes, explain timing and keep to the published schedule. Their allocations and absent-speaker procedure concern APS meetings. They are not rules to copy into another conference’s script.
Keep a small preparation table with the information, its source and anything still unresolved. A name pronunciation, changed speaker or revised title is a check to complete, not an invitation to improvise a plausible answer. Recheck the programme near the session because your earlier notes may no longer describe the actual arrangement.
Work through an original fictional running sheet
The event, titles and schedule below are invented teaching material. They describe no real conference, accepted paper or confirmed speaker.
Imagine a fictional research-training session called Reading Local Records. Its exercise brief provides two presentation slots: 14:00–14:15 and 14:15–14:30. Each slot includes a short introduction, presentation and questions. The exercise gives no permission to extend the session. The presenter details remain unconfirmed.
| Running-sheet item | Proposed note for this fictional exercise | Check needed before a real session |
|---|---|---|
| Opening | Welcome the audience to Reading Local Records and explain how questions will be taken | Confirm session title and the organiser’s actual question format |
| First introduction | Insert confirmed presenter name and exact presentation title | Confirm who is speaking and how they wish to be introduced |
| First slot boundary | Next slot begins at 14:15 | Check whether introductions, questions and transitions are included |
| Transition | Thank the first presenter and introduce the next confirmed speaker | Do not carry an unfinished discussion into the next slot automatically |
| Closing | Thank both presenters and the audience; close by 14:30 | Verify any next-session announcement before making it |
A proposed opening could read:
Welcome to Reading Local Records. I will chair this session. We will take questions in the format confirmed by the organisers, and I will use the agreed time signals so that both presentations remain within their slots.
This is a provisional line, not a finished announcement. Replace the reference to an unspecified format with the actual arrangement before using it. The running sheet deliberately leaves names and titles blank rather than manufacturing a complete programme.
The fifteen-minute slot is not fifteen minutes of uninterrupted speech. In this fictional exercise it must also contain the introduction and questions. The precise division remains a task for the confirmed chair instructions; subtracting an invented question allowance would not establish the organiser’s plan.
Write introductions that identify rather than evaluate
Use the presenter’s confirmed name and the title of the work. Add a short relevant detail only if it is appropriate and checked. Avoid unsupported descriptions such as “the leading expert” or a claim that the paper proves a major conclusion. The introduction gives the audience a point of orientation; the presentation supplies its own evidence.
The ITiCSE 2025 chair guidance, checked on 2 November 2026, addresses confirmed pronunciation and pronouns, timing, advance reading and prepared backup questions. It gives audience questions priority over the chair’s own questions. Treat these as a concrete event example and follow the arrangements for the session you actually chair.
Separate what you intend to say from what you need to remember. A brief spoken introduction can sit beside a private cue to check the next speaker’s readiness. Do not read an unresolved preparation note aloud as though it were a confirmed fact.
Prepare transitions and questions without scripting a result
Read the relevant material and prepare a question that refers to something the speaker can recognise. Keep the question distinct from a mini-lecture about your own work. Do not invent a predicted answer or tell the audience that the talk has resolved an issue before hearing it.
Prepare a courteous line for ending question time, such as thanking the speaker and directing attention to the next scheduled presentation. Use only arrangements the organisers actually permit when suggesting that a discussion continue elsewhere. If a speaker is absent or the equipment fails, consult the event’s procedure rather than assuming you can reorder the programme.
The short-biography guide helps assess relevant introductory details. The presentation-question guide addresses the different role of a speaker answering questions. Before the session, compare your running script with the current programme one final time: names, titles, timing cues and announcements should all match the event you are about to chair.
