To participate in your session, you must register for the ASHG 2020 Virtual Meeting. Please register here. You will not only have access to your session, but also all of the other scientific content at this years’ meeting.

Intrado is the ASHG 2020 virtual platform. Review and test system requirements here. Speakers will need the following equipment and system requirements:

• Microphone to record audio; see Speaker Toolkit for specifics.
• Camera to record video; see Speaker Toolkit for specifics.
• 2.3 Ghz, dual core
• 4GB RAM
• 1600×900 screen resolution
• Windows 7 or higher
• Apple Mac OS X 10.11 or higher

Additional resources:

• Speaker/Moderator Training Best Practices
  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCMNQ5XT624&feature=youtu.be

• Webcam Best practices
  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WRVhV8XFVU&feature=youtu.be

• Studio Speaker Tech Requirements
  • https://presentations.akamaized.net/ProductResources/Production/HTML/ComputerTips/ComputerTipsStudio.html

• Speaker Slide Requirements
  • https://presentations.akamaized.net/ProductResources/Production/HTML/StudioSpeakerHelpGuide/StudioSlideRequirements.html

• Speaker Troubleshooting
  • https://presentations.akamaized.net/ProductResources/Production/HTML/StudioSpeakerHelpGuide/StudioSpeakerTroubleshooting.html

Please view and download the Speaker Toolkit here. This document provides all information necessary to submit your presentation and prepare for your session. Policies, best practices and ASHG guidelines are all included.

Below is a description of each slide provided in your Toolkit:

• Setting Yourself up for Success (p. 2): This page describes location, positioning yourself, desk/camera angle, and background/lighting for your recording.
• Let’s Get Technical (p. 3): This page talks about ensuring your equipment is ready for your presentation, including your laptop, connectivity, microphone and camera.
• Preparing Your content (p. 4): This section outlines audience engagement, best practices, resources and deadlines/policies.
• Preparing your slides (p. 5): This page provides overview on presentation lengths, slide preparation, and the logo policy.
• Rehearse, Rehearse, Rehearse (p. 6): The section lists best practices for preparing for your presentation.
• Ready, Set, Let’s Go! (p. 7): This section covers day of presentation, tips on removing distractions, maintaining a strong voice, and attire.

The ASHG 2020 Virtual Meeting has been planned and implemented in accordance with the Essential Areas and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education through the joint providership of the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) and ASHG. All educational programming is developed and must be presented in compliance with all ACCME requirements. Authors must adhere to these guidelines. Failure to do so may result in your presentation being excluded from the meeting.

Background Policy: Backgrounds that include objects or pictures with political statements, obscene, discriminatory or offensive language should be removed.

Please view and download the moderator guidelines here.

• How to use the Q&A Panel: https://inxpo.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360007124791-How-to-use-the-Q-A-Simple-1-Pane-Panel
• How to organize questions for the Q&A:
  • Organize questions by prioritization and folder system; with this enhanced feature, moderators and speakers will have the ability to set a priority (High, Medium, Low, Ignore) for each question providing the speaker an easy way to view the most important questions. Additionally, the folder system is available for moderators and speakers to organize questions by categories.

• Ask speakers of your session to share their slides with you ahead of time, if possible.
• Q&A box – viewable only to the speakers and moderators of each session.

Tip 1:  Come prepared with questions for each speaker to kick off the Q&A portion.

Tip 2: Check how the speaker would like to be introduced. What would the speaker like you to say about them?

Tip 3: At exactly what point during the session will you be speaking? What is your role? Let the attendees know at the beginning of the session how it is going to be structured, and what you are there for.

Tip 4: How will you run the Q&A session? During the session, we recommend you monitor the chat and Q&A boxes for questions. During the session itself, you should keep a close eye on the chat window, and note topics or issues which participants bring up while the speaker is talking.

Tip 5: How are you going to summarize or round up the session? Check with your speaker to see what they have in mind. Remember to tell participants where they can access the handouts and the session recording after the event.

• Complete the speaker system test
• Remove distractions
• Mute anything that may buzz or beep, turn off your email pop-ups, etc.
• Plug in laptop power source to avoid a dead battery
• Wear solid colors or jewel tones. Navy looks better than gray or black. Avoid stripes, small patterns or wild patterns.
• Speak straight into your camera. Your webcam should be at eye level.
• Wear a headset for the best audio and change your computer’s audio settings to be input and output through the headset and its mic
• If sharing internet with others, ask them to minimize their internet use during your presentation. Try to turn off any devices you do not need turned on during the live event to avoid low internet connectivity.
• Keep the speaker/moderator tutorial noted above handy.
• Using your unique link, login 60 minutes prior to the start of your session start time. This will ensure your connectivity is working and that you are able to familiarize yourself with the platform again. You will receive guidance from the virtual web producer assigned to your session. Remove all distractions from your background.
• ASHG will pre-load all presentation slides prior to the day of the event.
  • Use the Previous and Next buttons to the right to advance your slides.
  • These buttons work for all speakers and moderators in the backend of the platform. Do not touch these buttons unless you are presenting!
• You can view the audience chat (circular blue button) to answer questions or interact with viewers. The chat only visible to your fellow speakers and event staff is on the righthand side of the screen.
• Use Google Chrome (preferred) or Firefox as your browser on a laptop or desktop. A mobile device or tablet cannot be used to access the session as a speaker or moderator.
• The webcast producers will not be able to upload new or edited slides prior to or on event day.

Start networking before the meeting begins! Let your colleagues and friends know you’re presenting at ASHG 2020 by posting these badges to your social media.

Posting about the meeting on Twitter or Instagram? Don’t forget to use the hashtag #ASHG20!

Please review ASHG’s Abstract Licensing Agreement/Copyright Policy here.

Abstracts selected for presentation will be available on September 8, 2020. The meeting website will include a searchable program and an individualized meeting itinerary planner after the abstracts have been posted online. All content being presented at the ASHG 2020 Virtual Meeting will be embargoed until the date and start time of the presentation. Please see the suggested style for citing ASHG Meeting abstracts here.

While ASHG’s photography policy remains in effect, with a virtual format you should assume attendees have the ability to take photographs, screen shots, audio recordings, or video recordings.

When will I receive my live day email invitation with the speaker links?

You should have received an email with your specific link to your session.  If you have not received the email check your spam folder or contact meetings@ashg.org.

How do I engage the audience in a virtual environment?

• Encourage attendees to share what they’re learning on social media.
• Keep content accessible.
• Leave time for Q&A.
• Provide your contact information for attendees to contact you.
• Rely less on text-heavy slides and use more images.

Is polling available?

Only for Invited Sessions.

For Invited Session speakers and moderators only, who wish to conduct polling, please provide any polling questions along with the PowerPoint information either within the slide deck or in addition to it with instructions as to where the questions will be placed. Also indicate whether or not the results will be displayed.

The speakers will have the ability to initiate the poll as well as advance to the results. This will be covered during the connectivity testing.

Will attendees have the ability to talk via microphone during a session?

No. Attendees will only be able to view the session, participate in the chat, answer polls and ask questions through the Q&A tab. The moderators of your session will monitor the Q&A and pull questions for the live Q&A portion of your session.

Will audience members be able to see who else is attending a session?

No. Audience members will only be able to see who else is attending a session as attendee’s participate in the chat.

Will I be able to see who is attending the session?

Yes. The speaker may view the attendee list once the session has started.

Will I be able to chat with my speakers during the session privately?

Yes. There will be an internal chat between the moderators, speakers, virtual technician and ASHG staff during your session.

I’m on a panel or have multiple presenters, will everyone be displayed on the screen?

Yes. During the live Q&A, all moderators and speakers in a session will appear on screen in the video panel.

Do I have to be on camera?

Although it is not required, we highly recommend being on camera. It helps with engagement, as the audience is better able to connect with you.

How do I share handouts/materials with the audience members?

Each session has a handouts section that attendees can access and download any materials provided by the speaker(s).  Speakers were provided the option to uploaded, up to three (3) handouts per speaker. Handouts that were provided in a PDF format were uploaded. These files will be available to attendees to download individually, not in bulk.

Will there be any technical help during the live portion of my session?

Yes, a virtual technician from Intrado will be on each session to provide technical support. The virtual technician will be sure to run a quick check on everyone’s camera and microphone prior to the start of the meeting. Please reference best practices for your session here.

How early do I need to log into my session?

We recommend that you log into your session at least one (1) hour prior to your session (not the start of your talk) to do a final check of your technology with the virtual technician, to check-in with your moderators, and ask any questions you may have. If you need additional assistance, or want to review your slides prior to the start of your session, you may log into your session up to two (2) hours early.

Is there a timer for my presentation?

The virtual platform has a timer in the right-hand corner of the screen, but the timer does not stop for each presentation. Please be sure you look at the timer and prepare to stop after your indicated presentation time. Moderators have also been instructed to stop speakers at the end of their presentation time.

Can attendees ask speakers questions outside of session Q&A?

Attendees may reach out to speakers through the virtual meeting platform’s contacts feature.