Oral presentations are short talks that may be given individually or as part of a panel or group discussion. Researchers often prefer oral presentations over poster sessions and other formats because many view them to the prestigious option. There are several types of oral presentations:
- Individual Presentations - These may be contributed or invited talks that are often 15-30 minutes in length and leave just a short time, if any, for questions from the audience. The presenter will prepare a conference paper that will be presented and is typically a more focused, narrower version of their overall project. Paper presentations are assigned to the appropriate session and the most common formats include:
- Themed Session - These sessions at conference primarily include completed research or scholarly work. The presentations will be grouped by topic or theme into sessions that include several related presentations. This facilitates audience attendance and organizes topics at the conference.
- Roundtable Session - Roundtable sessions allow the presenter the opportunity to interact and converse more with the audience. Presenters are assigned to a table in a conference room for the duration of the session and interested attendees may join them at their table. These sessions are typically best for position papers, policy analyses, and other types of topics that benefit from extended discussion time.
- Panel Discussions - In panel discussions, two or more speakers will present different aspects, perspectives or thoughts on a particular topic, research problem, or question. Each speaker will have an opportunity to present their information and when all the speakers are finished, there is typically time for discussion.
