Session moderators assist with introducing session speakers, ensuring talks start and end on time, and choosing questions for the speakers to answer during Q&A. Please read all information carefully before arriving at the meeting. These guidelines will help ensure that your session goes smoothly.

If you have any programmatic questions or accessibility needs, please contact meetings@ashg.org ASAP so we can make arrangements.

Before the meeting:

• All moderators are required to register as scientific attendees. Moderators are not eligible to register as a guest or with an exhibitor staff registration.
• Each moderator must complete a financial disclosure form prior to the start of the meeting.
• Moderators will need to prepare a disclosure slide to disclose any financial relationships with ACCME-defined ineligible companies. If you do not have disclosures, your slide should say “nothing to disclose.”
• Upload a disclosure slide via the presentation upload site. It is recommended that you upload the slide prior to traveling and keep a digital copy of the slide with you at the meeting.
• Moderators are expected to be familiar with the speaker order, presentation titles, and timing. Session details, including time and location, can be viewed in our online planner.
• Select one moderator to manage the questions coming in through the mobile app and one moderator to manage questions asked at the microphones. You can read FAQs regarding the Q&A module.

At the meeting:

• Moderators must bring their own laptops to monitor questions through the app during the question-and-answer period of the session. The Q&A module is best accessed using a laptop or iPad, not a mobile device. Please be sure your laptop is fully charged, as you will not have the ability to plug your laptop in during the session.
• All moderators and speakers must arrive to the session room at least 15 minutes before the start of the session. Use this time to introduce yourself to the co-moderator, speakers, and A/V technician, ensure the proper pronunciation of speaker names, affiliations, and presentation titles, and set up laptops.
• Moderators should connect to the conference center WiFi and check that they have access to audience questions submitted through the mobile app prior to the start of the session. Ask your PC liaison if you have any difficulty.
• Moderators must show a disclosure slide and verbally disclose any financial relationships with ACCME-defined ineligible companies at the start of the session. Moderators should remind speakers to do the same at the start of their talks.
• During the initial introduction, moderators will read an announcement sheet provided by ASHG that will be on the head table on the stage. This will include reminders of ASHG’s policies and the session’s eligibility to offer continuing education credits.
• You will also receive a sheet that includes all speakers names and talk titles, which will be on the head table on the stage.
• Please remember ASHG’s policies prohibit video and audio recording or taking pictures of speakers presenting or their slides.
  • No intervention is needed if the official ASHG photographer and/or representatives from “ASHGTV” are in the meeting room.

• STAY ON TIME! Electronic timers will be used to assist you. Because many registrants move from session to session, it is important that all sessions run on time and that the speaker order is not changed. When necessary, cut off questions to stay on schedule.
  • If a presenter does not show up, please take a break between presentations to ensure presenters are speaking at their assigned times.
• During the Q&A, you will have access to questions submitted by the audience through the mobile app, and audience members will also be able to come up to aisle mics to ask questions.
  • Encourage diversity among the question askers. Research shows that this will encourage overall diversity during Q&A. Source: https://www.cell.com/ajhg/pdfExtended/S0002-9297(19)30229-0
• End the session on time and thank the speakers for presenting.

FAQs:

If you are no longer able to moderate a session, please notify your session’s Program Committee liaison or meetings@ashg.org as soon as possible to allow time to find a replacement moderator. Suggestions for replacements are welcome.

If a co-moderator does not show up, alert your Program Committee liaison, who can get in touch with the co-moderator or act as a replacement.

If a speaker does not show up, inform the audience that there will be a break in the schedule and wait to start the next presentation at the scheduled time. Do not change the order of speakers since attendees often alternate between session rooms to see certain talks.

If a presenter forgot to upload their presentation before the session, direct them to the A/V technician available in the session room.

If there are technical difficulties during the session, an A/V technician will be in the session room the whole time and can assist.

How to ensure Q&A periods are used effectively:

• Listen to the presentations and try to prepare a few questions in case the audience does not have enough to fill the Q&A period. If possible, read through the speakers’ abstracts ahead of time in your session and come prepared with a question or two.

Be sure to take questions from the audience using the aisle microphones in addition to the questions that are submitted in the mobile app.