Requesting your slot
- Request a speaking slot by emailing the chairs. Reply to the call for topics (typically "IETF-xx agenda topics"), keeping both chairs in the to or cc, and keeping the subject. This makes it easier for us to find your request when assembling the final agenda.
- However, if you know you want to present and you haven't seen a call for topics yet, please feel free to contact the chairs. You don't have to wait for the call for topics message. Sooner is better! Consider following up to the call for topics with a reminder email to the chairs, though.
- Make sure you say who will be presenting.
- Make sure you give a time estimate, including time for questions and answers.
- If you do not have an Internet Draft, you are unlikely to be given a slot (even if there is time on the agenda).
- You should announce your Internet Draft on the mailing list so that WG members can review and discuss it before the meeting.
- If you plan to present your draft at another WG as well, let the chairs know in advance.
Things to think about
- Consider what you want to achieve with your speaking slot.
- The best talks are those that detail a problem the speaker is working to solve, that the WG cares about, that will benefit from interactive discussion.
- It's OK to present the outline of a draft to make the WG aware of it. However:
- Preference will be given to work the WG has expressed an interest in already (through WG adoption or discussion on the list).
- The talk should focus on the important, interesting elements of the draft. The goal is not to repeat the draft in slide format. The goal is to make people interested enough to go read the draft and contribute.
- Showing detailed header layouts is almost never worthwhile. People can read that in the draft.
- There are exceptions to every rule. If there's something really fascinating about the header, go for it.
- Keep the number of slides small.
- Keep the number of points on each slide small.
- Remember the goal is discussion. Leave enough time for questions and answers within your allotted speaking time.
- Readability is important!
- Some members of the audience will be sitting far away and might not have excellent vision.
- Some members of the audience are remote and are viewing your slides in a small meetecho window.
- Avoid using figures from the draft, they become illegible. Redraw them if you need figures.
- Use a large font.
- If you have to shrink your font to fit everything in, break your slide into several slides, or edit things out. The draft is for the details, the slides are for the high points.
Mechanics of preparing and submitting your slides
- You are not required to use slides, but almost everyone does. If you don't intend to use any slides, please tell the chairs.
- We generally will convert your slides to PDF and present from one of our laptops. Some implications of this:
- Consider converting the slides yourself and submitting as PDF so you have no surprises.
- Avoid using transitions or animations that don't render well as PDF.
- We understand that sometimes animations help a lot. If you really want to use them, arrange this with the chairs well in advance. But, be aware that your slides will be converted to PDF for the proceedings anyway (this is an IETF policy, not a WG policy).
- Please use page numbers on your slides, for the benefit of remote attendees and the minutes.
- Please get your slides to the chairs (note: both chairs) a minimum of 24 hours in advance. If your slides are not in, you may be removed from the agenda and your time given to someone else.
- You are not required to wait until the last minute. If your slides are late and it's not your fault (you had a mail server problem, the chairs had a mail server problem, your laptop broke, etc)... they are still late (see above).
The content of this page was last updated on 2016-07-18. It was migrated from the old Trac wiki on 2023-01-28.