Guidelines for Speakers

Guidelines for Discussion and Debates

General

Thank you for contributing to the PCST 2025 Conference.  A draft PCST programme will be available on the conference website from the 17 of March.

Presenting Guidelines

• All rooms will have a laptop, screen and projector and there are technical staff and members of the local organising committee on hand to help with any technical issues.
• Your session will be 75 minutes in length. You should have designated a Chair within your submitted abstract. This person will be invited to a pre-conference session by PCST where inclusive chairing practices and other practicalities will be discussed.
• Discussions should be presented in English.
• Please remember that you will be speaking to an audience that may not have English as a first language, and you should pace yourself accordingly.
• Discussion and debate sessions should allow for the audience to give input so please structure your sessions accordingly. Please let your panel know what they should do and how long they should speak for.
• Please share with them the guidance for PowerPoint. Use of a PowerPoint presentation isn’t essential but please adhere to the guidance below if you do wish to use one.
  
  • If you are using a presentation please provide it by 5pm on 19 May 2025 to cpdservices@abdn.ac.uk with the subject header: PCST Conference Individual Talk:
  • Please attached or include a link to your presentation entitled ABSTRACT NUMBER YOUR FULL NAME
  • This will allow us to pre-load presentations onto the laptops being used at the conference.
  • PLEASE NOTE: presentations sent after this time will not be pre-uploaded.
  • You should also bring a copy of your presentation on USB, just to be on the safe side.
  • If you don’t provide your presentation before the deadline please make sure you upload it to the appropriate folder, on the appropriate laptop, in the appropriate room, at the latest at the break prior to your session. This is your own responsibility.
  • Please arrive in good time for your session to meet the chair and other speakers in your session.

Please consider the following accessibility guidelines:

• It is recommended that in PowerPoint you use the widescreen (16:9) slide size.
• The amount of text per slide should be limited to allow for increased font size and to allow time for all delegates to read content. Be aware that neurodiverse delegates may need longer to read content.
• All conference rooms will have access to a laptop or PC which can accommodate most formats of PowerPoint.
• Technicians will be on hand to help you upload your presentation if required.
• If you are using alternative presentation software let us know and we can test it will work in advance.

For any other information on the conference please consult the conference website or email cpdservices@abdn.ac.uk 

Guidelines for Linked Papers

General

Thank you for contributing to the PCST 2025 Conference.  A draft PCST programme will be available on the conference website from the 17 of March.

Presenting Guidelines

• All rooms will have a laptop, screen and projector and there are technical staff and members of the local organising committee on hand to help with any technical issues.
• Each session will be 75 minutes in length. You should have designated a Chair when you submitted the abstract summary for a Linked Paper session. This person will be invited to a pre-conference session by PCST where inclusive Chairing practices and other practicalities will be discussed.
• The Chair for this session should let the speakers know how long you wish for them to present. Please leave at least 10 minutes within the session for questions.

Please also share the information below about uploading any PowerPoint slides.

• Talks should be presented in English. Please remember that you will be speaking to an audience that may not have English as a first language, and you should pace yourself accordingly.
• We have a very busy programme and we will help you to keep on time as over-running impacts on other presenters and the programme overall.

Your Presentation

• If you are using a presentation please provide it by 5pm on 19 May 2025 to cpdservices@abdn.ac.uk  with the subject header: PCST Conference Individual Talk:
• Please include your presentation or a link to it entitled ABSTRACT NUMBER YOUR FULL NAME
• This will allow us to pre-load presentations onto the laptops being used at the conference.
• PLEASE NOTE: presentations sent after this time will not be pre-uploaded.
• You should also bring a copy of your presentation on USB, just to be on the safe side.
• If you don’t provide your presentation before the deadline please make sure you upload it to the appropriate folder, on the appropriate laptop, in the appropriate room, at the latest at the break prior to your session. This is your own responsibility.

Please consider the following accessibility guidelines:

• It is recommended that in PowerPoint you use the widescreen (16:9) slide size.
• The amount of text per slide should be limited to allow for increased font size and to allow time for all delegates to read content. Be aware that neuro-diverse delegates may need longer to read content.
• All conference rooms will have access to a laptop or PC which can accommodate most formats of PowerPoint. Technicians will be on hand to help you upload your presentation if required.
• If you are using alternative presentation software let us know and we can test it will work in advance.
• Please arrive in good time for your session to meet the chair and other speakers in your session.

For any other information on the conference please consult the conference website or email cpdservices@abdn.ac.uk 

Guidelines for Individual Talks

General
Thank you for contributing to the PCST 2025 Conference.  A draft PCST programme will be available on the conference website – from the 17 of March.

Presenting Guidelines

• Each parallel session is 75 minutes in length and will have 6 speakers.
• Each session will be assigned a chair who will be listed in the conference programme. 
• Your talk should last no more than 8 minutes in length.
• If you do go over your 8 minutes then the Chair of the session will stand up to indicate you must end your talk. There will be time for some questions and your Chair will pick these from the attendees.
• Talks should be presented in English.
• Please remember that you will be speaking to an audience that may not have English as a first language, and you should pace yourself accordingly.
• Please note that you do not have to use a PowerPoint (or other) presentation and can chose to focus on a verbal presentation – if this suits your presentation style and topic.
• We have a very busy programme and we will help you to keep on time as over-running impacts on other presenters and the programme overall.
• All rooms will have a laptop, screen and projector and there are technical staff and members of the local organising committee on hand to help with any technical issues.

Your Presentation

• If you are using a presentation please provide it by 5pm on 19 May 2025 to cpdservices@abdn.ac.uk  with the subject header: PCST Conference Individual Talk
• Please attach or provide a link to your presentation entitled ABSTRACT NUMBER YOUR FULL NAME 
  This will allow us to pre-load presentations onto the laptops being used at the conference.
• PLEASE NOTE: presentations sent after this time will not be pre-uploaded.
• You should also bring a copy of your presentation on USB, just to be on the safe side.
  If you don’t provide your presentation before the deadline please make sure you upload it to the appropriate folder, on the appropriate laptop, in the appropriate room, at the latest at the break prior to your session. This is your own responsibility.

Please consider the following accessibility guidelines:

• It is recommended that in PowerPoint you use the widescreen (16:9) slide size.
• The amount of text per slide should be limited to allow for increased font size and to allow time for all delegates to read content. Be aware that neurodiverse delegates may need longer to read content.
• All conference rooms will have access to a laptop or PC which can accommodate most formats of PowerPoint.
• Technicians will be on hand to help you upload your presentation if required.
• Please see our quick guidelines on making accessible PowerPoint Presentations
• If you are using alternative presentation software let us know and we can test it will work in advance.
  Please arrive in good time for your session to meet the chair and other speakers in your session.

For any other information on the conference please consult the conference website or email cpdservices@abdn.ac.uk 

Guidelines for Visual Presentation Presenters

All visual presentations should be displayed throughout the whole conference and will be located in the same space as the catering and exhibitions so are likely to have good foot fall throughout the event. There are two dedicated Visual Presentation Sessions – when you will be expected to be at your display.

General

Thank you for contributing to the PCST 2025 Conference.  A draft PCST programme will be available on the conference website from the 17 of March.

Visual Presentation Guidelines

• The category of Visual Presentations at PCST2025 may include posters, digital display or other displays.
• All submissions will be allocated a poster board. Unless you provide details for a digital or other display.
•  

Digital Displays

• If you wish to present a digital display you must confirm that by 21 April 2025 and the digital file which must be less than 10 megabytes must be provided by 5pm on 19 May 2025 to cpdservices@abdn.ac.uk with the subject header: PCST Conference Visual Presentation
• Please attach or provide a link to your presentation entitled: ABSTRACT NUMBER YOUR FULL NAME
• This will allow us to pre-load presentations onto the laptops and screens being used at the conference.
• PLEASE NOTE: presentations sent after this time will not be uploaded.

Other Displays

If you wish to present in a different format please let us know by 21 April 2025 – we will do our best to accommodate your needs. However, we cannot guarantee this – and will let you know what we can provide as an alternative.

Posters

• We recommend posters of A0 size (841mm x 1189cm) in portrait orientation. An A1 size will fit in landscape orientation. The dimensions of the poster board are 954mm x 2360mm.
• Make sure you clearly display the title of your poster, your name, your department or faculty and institution.
• In order to make the poster accessible, please remember that the colours red with green or yellow with blue are difficult to read for some people.
• A strong contrast between text colour and background should be used and multiple text colours should be avoided.
• Author name(s), affiliations and presentation title should be included.
• We suggest including a small photo of the presenting author on your poster. This helps other delegates locate you if they want to talk about your work at a time outside of your designated session.
• We also recommend including a QR code for delegates wishing to get extra information.
• Please do not send posters in advance. The Local Organising Committee cannot collect posters printed in Aberdeen.

For any other information on the conference please consult the conference website or email cpdservices@abdn.ac.uk 

Guidelines for 3 Minute TalksGeneral

Thank you for contributing to the PCST 2025 Conference.  A draft PCST programme will available on the conference website from the 17 of March.

Presenting Guidelines

• Each session will have up to 15 presenters, and there will be a Chair assigned to the session.
  Presentations should last no longer than 3 minutes. There will be time for questions and discussions at the end of the session.
• Please note that you do not have to use a power point (or other) presentation and can chose to focus on a verbal presentation – if this suits your presentation style and topic. You have the option of presenting one PowerPoint slide without any animations.
• If you do go over time the Chair will stand up to indicate that you must stop speaking.
• We have a very busy programme and we will help you to keep on time as over-running impacts on other presenters and the programme overall.
• Talks should be presented in English.
• Please remember that you will be speaking to an audience that may not have English as a first language, and you should pace yourself accordingly
• All rooms will have a laptop, screen and projector and there are technical staff and members of the local organising committee on hand to help with any technical issues.

Your Presentation

• If you are using a presentation please provide it by 5pm on 19 May 2025 to cpdservices@abdn.ac.uk with the subject header: PCST Conference Individual Talk:
• Please email with your ABSTRACT NUMBER YOUR FULL NAME
• This will allow us to pre-load presentations onto the laptops being used at the conference. PLEASE NOTE: presentations sent after this time will not be pre-uploaded.
• You should also bring a copy of your presentation on USB, just to be on the safe side.
• If you don’t provide your presentation before the deadline please make sure you upload it to the appropriate folder, on the appropriate laptop, in the appropriate room, at the latest at the break prior to your session. This is your own responsibility.

Please consider the following accessibility guidelines:

• It is recommended that in PowerPoint you use the widescreen (16:9) slide size.
• The amount of text per slide should be limited to allow for increased font size and to allow time for all delegates to read content. Be aware that neurodiverse delegates may need longer to read content.
• All conference rooms will have access to a laptop or PC which can accommodate most formats of PowerPoint. Technicians will be on hand to help you upload your presentation if required.
• Please see our quick guidelines on making accessible PowerPoint Presentations
• If you are using alternative presentation software let us know and we can test it will work in advance.
• Please arrive in good time for your session to meet the chair and other speakers in your session.

For any other information on the conference please consult the conference website or email cpdservices@abdn.ac.uk