THE SESSION CHAIR’S ROLE

The duties of the Session Chair include the following:

1. Show up to the session 5-10 minutes before the session begins. Identify the paper
presenters and discussant(s) in advance, and introduce yourself. Remind each
presenter of the time limits that apply, and describe the method you will use to alert
them of time limits during the actual presentation.

2. At the start of the session, introduce yourself to the audience, announce the
session/title, and offer a brief overview indicating how the papers are related.

3. Next, introduce the speakers with brief comments regarding the affiliation and/or
background of each presenter.

4. Prior to each presentation, announce the paper’s title, authors’ names and their
affiliations. Identify the individual who will be speaking if it is someone other than
the first author.

5. During the presentations enforce time limits strictly so that no author (or audience
member) monopolizes someone else’s time. Paper presentations each have 20-25
minutes (for full presentation papers), and 5-10 minutes in developmental
sessions, and the discussant has 10-15 minutes per paper.

6. Once presentations are complete (paper presentations and discussant’s presentation)
the remainder of the time can be used for informal discussion with the audience and
session participants. It is your job to field questions from the audience.

7. Try to conduct the session as informally as possible (e.g., use first names when
addressing participants and members of the audience) to encourage as much audience
participation as possible.