Speaker resources

If you’ve been accepted to speak at UNLEASH 2010, congratulations! This page provides everything you need to prepare for your UNLEASH session, and makes it easy to upload your presentation materials. We look forward to seeing you in Madison.

Important dates

Deadline	To do
Now	Register - Use the coupon code in your speaker confirmation email for free registration. If you already registered and paid for UNLEASH, contact Nora Ryan to arrange a credit.
Now	Make travel arrangements - Contact the Hilton Madison Monona Terrace at 608.255.5100 for hotel reservations. Mention the "Sonic Foundry UNLEASH Conference" for discounted rates through March 24.
Feb 24	Upload your photo and bio (if you haven't already) - Featured in conference programs, UNLEASH Catalog and Mediasite Player.
Feb 28	Get promoted! - We will feature video previews for some of the exciting UNLEASH sessions in upcoming conference promotions. Want to be featured? Simply mediasite a 1-minute video overview of your session (similar to your abstract proposal). Contact Kristin for technical details about about video format, etc.
March 22	Upload your presentation and related links - PowerPoint 2007 format preferred

Your Sonic Foundry UNLEASH contacts

For questions about	Contact
Your presentation or the conference program	Kristin Zurovitch - via email or 608.443.1634
Registration and travel	Nora Ryan - via email or 608.443.1608
Rich Media Impact Awards	Erica St. Angel - via email or 608.443.1608

Preparing for your session

download Session Preparation Tips PDF

A few tips to help you design a great UNLEASH presentation.

• Know your audience. Attendees pick sessions based on the abstract and classifications you provided for the presentation – e.g. application, technology or business strategy focused session; new vs. advanced user; industry type. Meet your audience’s expectations by presenting what you proposed. Need to modify your abstract or classifications? Please contact Kristin Zurovitch as soon as possible.
• Real-life examples rule. Be sure to share best practices, tips/tricks and even lessons learned to support your message. Your audience will thank you.
• A picture’s worth... Audiences also appreciate an insider’s glimpse into what others are doing. Consider incorporating actual Mediasite content, demos, photos, screenshots or a virtual tour into your presentation.
• Highlight your organization, briefly. Limit the amount of time spent talking about your organization and its history – 2-3 minutes usually works well.
• Be bullet-savvy. Don’t overweight your slides with text or small font sizes. Again, images often tell the best story. For inspiration, consider Guy Kawasaki’s 10/20/30 Rule of PowerPoint or check out Presentation Zen.
• Share links. Consider providing your audience links to additional reference materials related to your presentation. (Uploaded links will appear in the Mediasite Player of your recorded session.)
• Timing is everything. Plan your content to accommodate the session time you’ve been given. A good rule of thumb is one slide per minute. Be sure to reserve 10 minutes of your session time for Q&A.
• Practice, practice, practice. We’ve all heard it before, and we’ve seen each year that our best speakers were well-rehearsed and owned every slide. (Practice also ensures you will not go long.)
• Presentation format. There is no specific presentation template for UNLEASH, so feel free to use a template of your choice. Remember, however, to use colors, themes and fonts best suited to large screen projection and Mediasite playback. Uploaded presentations should be in PPT format (PowerPoint 2007 preferred) and not exceed 10MB.
• Avoid last minute changes. Once you finalize your presentation, try to avoid last minute changes. If you need to update slides after you uploaded them, contact Kristin Zurovitch or plan to address minor updates verbally during your presentation.
• Want examples? For an idea of previous UNLEASH sessions, check out catalogs of select 2008 and 2009 presentations.

At the conference

A few more tips to help you be a rock-star presenter:

• Arrive early. Plan to arrive in your session room 10 minutes before your presentation is scheduled to start.
• Use the conference laptop. To minimize transition time between speakers and provide the optimal live recording environment (we’re streaming the entire conference to a registered online audience!), your presentation will be pre-loaded on the conference laptop in your session room. The laptop will be connected and configured for projection, audio and Mediasite recording.
• Meet your moderator. A Sonic Foundry member will be available to help with your microphone and answer any final questions you may have. Your moderator will introduce you and your session and will also open up the Q&A period at the end of your presentation.
• Start with a promise. Set expectations by telling the audience what they will learn by the time you complete your presentation.
• Remember the online audience. With a live online audience also watching your presentation, it’s important to make sure they hear any audience comments or questions. Sonic Foundry staff in your session room will watch for attendees with comments or questions and provide them a microphone. In the event a microphone is not used, please repeat the comment/question so it is recorded for the online audience to hear.
• Keep track of time. To help you stay within your allotted session time, a podium clock will be provided.

Presentation equipment

Your session room will have:

• Pre-configured Windows laptop on which your presentation slides, if any, will be pre-loaded. Laptop will be connected to a projector, house sound and Mediasite.
• Internet connectivity
• Wireless lapel microphone
• Speaking podium with fixed-mount wired microphone

If you have any additional AV needs, please contact Kristin Zurovitch as soon as possible.

We strongly discourage you from bringing your own equipment. If for some reason it is absolutely necessary to bring equipment onsite, arrangements must be made with Kristin Zurovitch by March 22. Please make sure all your equipment is labeled with your name prior to your session.

Presentation distribution

Your presentation will be streamed live via Mediasite to all registered and authorized UNLEASH Online attendees. It will also be available for on-demand access during the conference by all registered and authorized attendees via the UNLEASH 2010 catalog.

If you provided Sonic Foundry permission (when you submitted your speaking proposal) to select your presentation to be featured in a sample UNLEASH 2010 catalog, it may be distributed to non-UNLEASH 2010 attendees after the conference.