Presenter Guidelines

A Message from the Conference Director

Congratulations, and thank you for presenting at The Assembly.

We are appreciative of you sharing your professional knowledge to the AACRAO community. Please note the following tips, reminders, and resources as you prepare for The Assembly:

• Register for the Conference
  • Use our sample justification letter tailored for presenters
• Arrange travel and hotel accommodations
• Submit presentation and video files (submission deadline is July 6, 2026- please upload your materials ASAP). AACRAO will provide networked presentation computers in all meeting rooms. You may not use your own laptop. Please email meetings@aacrao.org with any questions.
• Hard-line internet will not be available in the session rooms. WiFi will be available, but video cannot be streamed. If you plan to utilize WiFi for polling or interactive components of your session, we recommend a planned backup activity in case the WiFi fails.
• Use the provided Social Media Toolkit  to share your session details with your networks.
• Check your presenter profile and session details in the Whova App.  Explore speaker resources such as communities, polls, and Q&A for your session. The app is expected to go live on July 7.
• Plan to check in at the Speaker Ready Kiosk at least four hours before the start of your session.

Uploading Presenter Materials

Presenters must use the laptop provided by the on-site AV company for their presentation.  Personal laptops cannot be connected to the projection or audio equipment, and onsite technicians cannot provide support for equipment not provided by the onsite AV company.

Presenters must upload their presentation materials to the Presenter Portal before July 6, 2026. The AV company and AACRAO staff require adequate time to review materials and prepare the on-site platform so presenters can access their session materials onsite. Presenters who do not upload materials by the deadline cannot be guaranteed projection of their presentation slides in their session room. Presenters should bring a thumb drive of their presentation to the Speaker Ready Kiosk a minimum of four hours in advance of their session start time.

Upload Requirements:

• The name of the uploaded file must include the full presentation title.  Files uploaded without the presentation title in the name of the file will be deleted and will not be available to presenters onsite.
  Example Acceptable File Name: “Accessing Student Data Records in Brazil “
  Example Unacceptable File Name: “The Assembly Slides”
• Slide decks must be submitted only as PowerPoint files; no Word documents, PDFs, or JPEGs will be accepted.

Submitting Videos:

• Video files must be uploaded as separate files (not embedded into presentations)
• Videos are to be provided in MP4 format
• The name of the uploaded video must include the full presentation title. Video files uploaded without the presentation title in the name of the file will be deleted and will not be available to presenters onsite.
  Example Acceptable Video File Name: “Accessing Student Data Records in Brazil Video1”
  Example Unacceptable File Name:  “AACRAO Video”
• Recommended max video file size: 4GB total

Powerpoint Presentation Template

Download the AACRAO branded PowerPoint template for your session presentation.  The template is provided as a resource for presenters; it is not required for use.

Fonts: Avoid using custom or licensed fonts (aka fonts that have been downloaded from the internet.) Custom fonts used in PPT decks (those not included in Microsoft Office 2016), must be provided three business days in advance of the due date for testing.

Google Slides Template

Access the AACRAO-branded Google Slides template you may edit for your session handouts here. Once you follow the link, click “Make a copy” to edit your presentation.

PREZI & Apple Product Users

We recommend creating all decks in PowerPoint. If slide decks were created on an Apple computer or in Prezi and then exported to PowerPoint, please check to make sure all formatting was exported correctly before submitting.

Speaker Ready Kiosk

All presenters must check in at the Speaker Ready Kiosk (located near Registration) at least four hours before presenting.  AACRAO will provide networked presentation computers in all meeting rooms. You may not use your own laptop for your presentation. When checking in with the Speaker Ready Kiosk, bring your presentation file(s) on a thumb drive.

The purpose of the check-in with the AV team is to verify your presentation is formatting properly.  When you are in the Speaker Ready Kiosk, open your presentation on a provided laptop.  Click through each slide to be sure they are what you expect while delivering your presentation.

Speaker Ready Kiosk Hours:

• Tuesday: 8:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
• Saturday: 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
• Sunday: 7:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
• Monday: 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.