Speaker Guidelines

Below are some guidelines for all presenters to keep in mind as you prepare for your presentation and participation in the event based on feedback from previous UC Short Courses.

If this is your first time presenting on a particular topic at a UC Walnut Short Course, work with your mentor(s). Make use of mentors who have graciously offered their time, expertise, and prior Short Course presentations to assist in your development.

The target audience is growers, PCAs & orchard managers, not students or academics.

• Data is often popular among our clientele, but these are NOT meant to be research reports.
• Make sure to clearly summarize the data you are presenting and label graphs.
• Provide concise “take-home messages” at the beginning AND end of your presentation to help ensure the salient points are clear in the midst of 22 hours of presentations.

Professional decorum: Be courteous and respectful of the audience and your colleagues. We have received negative feedback in the past for political remarks and inside jokes. 

Keep in mind the large venue size to ensure legibility of your presentation.

• Attendees will be provided your printed slides in binders, but these will be quite small (three slides per page with room for notes).
• Limit the amount of content on each slide.
• Use large, clear, standard font. How large? Consider that in the ARC Ballroom, it is 80 feet from the screen to the back row.
• Lights will be on during presentation. Choose colors that will be highly legible in the venue and when printed (e.g. black, dark blue font or dark background with light font colors). Do not forget about red-green color-blind individuals when creating charts, graphs, tables, etc.
• Use Widescreen PowerPoint format, if possible.

Adhere to your time allocation.

• The moderator will strictly adhere to the time and move along to the next speaker. Practice to be sure that your presentation is timed well.
• There will be separate time allotted at the end of your session for Q & A.
• Remember, you DO NOT want your time cut short before you are able to provide the audience with the complete message of your presentation.

If you have any questions on content of your presentation, please contact Katherine Jarvis-Shean or Janine Hasey. If you have any other logistical questions, please feel free to contact ANR Program Support, 530-750-1259.