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Chairing a Session during a Virtual Conference - Some Adjustments!


"can you hear me",
"can you hear me now",
"your voice is breaking",
"can not see your presentation",
"can all of you who are not presenting mute yourselves",
"looks like he is having network issues",
"may be she should login again"
"network issues"
"server issues"

Several months ago when I was invited to chair one of the two tracks in an International conference, I readily agreed to be the Session Chair because of its relevance to the work I do additionally it was on a Saturday and it was a one day conference so a morning flight out of Mumbai and evening into Mumbai from Delhi so it suited me and was not going to interfere with my work work!

Then the entire world was more or less on its knees with extensive travel restrictions and stay at home directives. So the physical conference turned virtual. So now I was to chair a virtual session!

Google Meet was the virtual venue which I was using for the first time, so the best way to take help! was from my son who has been attending all his Engineering lectures on this same platform and I thought is a pro!

The virtual conference was a mixed feeling. Here are a couple of things that will help physicalize the virtual conference!

Sitting in the privacy of my home and chairing the conference did look odd .. so to get one level closer to the physical, I dressed formally (to the pleasant surprise of my family). This definitely gives one a formal feeling of attending a conference (in my case chairing!).
[Dress Formal; even though it sounds odd!]

Invariably the sessions stretch - there is a constant "can you hear me", "can you hear me now", "your voice is breaking", "can not see your presentation", "can all of you who are not presenting mute yourselves", "looks like he is having network issues", "may be he should login again", and a 15 minute presentation stretches by as many as 5 minutes. So as a session chair, be prepared to budget quite a bit of extra time.
[Budget 20% extra time; if all goes well you would have helped everyone slightly lessen the pain of staring at the screen!]

A formal conference lunch time is not sufficient - there is no ready-made food. So increase the lunch time break. Also staring at the screen requires some rest for your eyes. 90 minutes a good lunch break. Also introduce flex you joints break every hour
[Increase the lunch time break]

Do not feel shy to speak out during the presentation if the person is taking a lot of time introducing his topic. A strict reminder to wrap up is a good idea.
[Time strictness in virtual world]

Ask the presenters to email their presentation before the start of the conference. If they can not present but can talk on the audio, you can at the least run through the slides. Even better ask them to video record their presentations. You make sure they have stuck to their allotted time plus you have the luxury of playing the video just in case the presenter goes off line!
[Backup presentation | email | video presentation]

You do miss a couple of things ...

Missing a group photo opportunity.
Missing the reverberation, odor, the coldness of a conference room
Missing the face to face talk with your host
Missing the local cuisine at the venue
Missing the informal discussion with young researchers
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Location: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

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