• All presenters are required to register as scientific attendees. Presenters are not eligible to register as one-day attendees, a guest, or with an exhibitor staff registration.
• Featured Plenary Abstract presentations are 20 minutes in length: 15-minute presentation, 5-minute questions and answers.
• Platform Abstract presentations are 15 minutes in length: 10-minute presentation, 5-minute questions and answers.
• Featured Symposium presentations range in time. Please discuss your allotted time with the moderator(s) before preparing your presentation, or verify your presentation time in our Online Planner.
• Rehearse your presentation beforehand. Session moderators will hold you to your allotted time.
• Dress Code: Attire is business casual.
• Arrive 15 minutes before the start of the session (not the start of your talk). For plenary speakers, you will receive instructions with exactly when to arrive to your session room.
• If you are unable to present at your assigned date and time and need to send an alternate to present on your behalf, please inform the ASHG Programs Office at meetings@ashg.org immediately. The replacement author must be approved by the Program Committee Chair and is required to complete a financial disclosure form.

• A 16:9 widescreen format will be used for projection of slides. Instructions for making your presentation compatible are below, see “Multimedia Considerations.”
• The presentation format is optimized for PowerPoint, whether created on a PC or Mac. We recommend all PPT files be converted to the PPTX format.
  • Keynote, PDF, and Prezi files are not supported.
• You can use ASHG’s provided PowerPoint template (this is optional). There is no required template for presenter slides.
• At the start of your presentation, show a disclosure slide and verbally disclose whether you have any financial support or conflicts of interest to report. This is required for CE purposes.
  • If you will be discussing any unlabeled or investigational uses of pharmaceuticals or medical devices, please include that information on the second disclosure slide.
  • If you have a new employment or ownership relationship that has not been disclosed, please notify ASHG of the change as soon as possible.
• When presenting patient data and health information (including photos), all presenters must be compliant with informed consent regarding human subjects and all applicable HIPAA regulations.
• You must secure any third-party permissions necessary for content that is not your own, original work.
• Disclosure of gene names and sharing of research data is required so that findings can be replicated and other investigators with similar data can test your findings against their own. The moderators and a member of the Program Committee will be in the audience to monitor compliance.
• If the abstract has been previously published, authors must indicate the date and publication on at least one slide.
• Be sure to adhere to the Logo Policy for Speakers’ Slides. It is the policy of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) that logos of ACCME defined ineligible companies are not permitted in accredited CME activities.
• The last slide in your presentation may include acknowledgments. Authors should not use presentation time to acknowledge co-authors and collaborators.
• ASHG’s Social Media Guidelines: Remember that talks are shareable by default. Speakers can ask that specific details not be shared and can opt out by informing the audience of their preference.
• For guidance on preparing effective PowerPoint slides, see our Tips for Effective PowerPoint Presentations as well as our Guidelines for Accessibility in Presentations.
• Note: Slides will automatically be formatted on site to allow the display of open captions below the presentation.

• It is recommended that you upload your presentation before traveling to the meeting. Please upload your presentation on the ASHG Presentation Upload Site (available in mid-September). For questions, email orchestrate@freemanco.com.
• If you need to make changes to a presentation that you already submitted, you will need to delete the earlier submission and resubmit the file using a new file name. It is strongly suggested that you review your presentation at least three hours prior to your session by visiting the Speaker Presentation Upload Room (Room 203) on site.

• If not done in advance, upload your slides in the Speaker Presentation Upload Room (Room 203) at least three hours before your session. If your travel plans allow, we recommend that you upload your slides the day before your talk.
• You can (and are urged to) review your presentation prior to the start of your session. Visit the Speaker Presentation Upload Room (Room 203) during the following hours:
  • Tuesday: 11:00 am – 5:30 pm
  • Wednesday: 7:00 am – 5:30 pm
  • Thursday: 7:00 am – 5:30 pm
  • Friday: 7:00 am – 5:30 pm
  • Saturday: 7:00 am – 11:30 am
• All presentations will be downloaded to your session room one hour before the scheduled start of the session. The system in the Speaker Presentation Upload Room will be locked at that time and you will be unable to access your presentation thereafter. Please plan accordingly and upload your presentation early.
• Speakers may not take laptops or thumb drives to the podium for use with their presentation. Speakers who arrive at the session room with their presentation on their laptop or a thumb drive will be asked to go to the Speaker Presentation Upload Room (Room 203) to upload their presentation, which may delay the start of the session.
• We run presenter mode in the meeting rooms. This allows attendees to see your slides on the monitor, but only you can view the associated notes at the lectern. Presenter mode will also be available for testing in the Speaker Presentation Upload Room (Room 203).

• Arrive at the meeting room at least 15 minutes before the start of your session (not your talk) and introduce yourself as a speaker to the audiovisual technician and moderator(s). Please sit near the stage to ease the transition between talks.
• Ask the AV technician to go over the setup and to provide instructions on the use of the speaker timer. The timers have green, yellow, and red lights and are pre-set according to the time allotted for your session. The green light appears during your talk, the yellow light indicates you should be concluding your presentation, and the red light indicates that you should stop talking to allow for questions.
• It is important that all speakers stay on time. Moderators have been instructed to stop you from speaking if you go over the allotted time.
• At the lectern, there will be a monitor where you can follow your presentation. Simply click your session time, then click your name on the display, and your PowerPoint will launch automatically.
• Speak directly into the microphone, and do not handle the microphone while speaking.
• If you have any difficulties or need any assistance, click the ASSISTANCE NEEDED button on the computer.
• At the end of your presentation, the display will return to the list of presenters in that session.
• Remember that the ASHG Photo Policy prohibits attendees from taking photos, videos, or audio recordings of speakers presenting their slides in all meeting session rooms.

All scientific session rooms are set up with a stage with steps on either side, a podium, and a head table with chairs for moderators. If you require a ramp for the stage or have other accessibility needs to present, please contact meetings@ashg.org.

A projector, computer, and microphones are included in each scientific session room. There will not be internet available in the session rooms.

Computers will be PCs; therefore, Mac users should review the sections below regarding supported formats and files.

Backup: Please bring a backup copy of your presentation with you. You should copy your PowerPoint and any videos to a folder on a USB thumb drive. PowerPoint does NOT embed videos. They must be placed in the same folder as your PowerPoint. Note: there will be no sound for PowerPoint presentations/videos. It is good practice to keep a second copy in your luggage.

Presenters: Make your presentations compatible with on-site audio/visual specifications.

All screens will be 16:9 widescreen format, not 4:3. Computers and projectors will be configured for 1280 x 720 resolution.

Be sure to format your slide template before preparing your presentation. If you convert an existing presentation to the 16:9 format, your text, videos, and photos may appear stretched and will need to be resized or re-entered.

Convert Your Slides

For PowerPoint 2013 and newer:

1. On the “Design” tab, select “Slide Size”
2. In the drop-down box, select “Widescreen (16:9)”

For PowerPoint 2007 and 2010:

1. On the “Design” tab, select “Page Setup”
2. In the drop-down box, select “On-Screen Show (16:9)” and click “OK”

For the Newest Apple Keynote:

1. From the Keynote Window, select “Document” on the top right-hand corner
2. Under “Slide Size”, select “1280 x 720”

For the Older Apple Keynote:

1. From the Menu Bar, select “Show Inspector”
2. On the Inspector, select “Document Inspector” located in the top left-hand corner
3. Under “Slide Size”, select “1280 x 720”

Videos and photos may need to be resized so they do not appear stretched. Animations should be checked to ensure the elements line up correctly. Start early to leave time to resize slide content.

Note: there will be no sound for PowerPoint presentations in the scientific session rooms.