Re: [ECOLOG-L] Wit at last? Re: [ECOLOG-L] 2013 ESA Annual Meeting: Call for Ignite ESA Proposals (Due Nov. 29th)
Hi Wayne, I'm glad to hear you like the idea. I think we're in agreement that slides can become more of a crutch than a tool for public speaking. One of the benefits of Ignite and similar styles (PechaKucha is another) is to step people away from over-reliance on slides and toward a more dynamic and engaging speaking style. Ignite is definitely intended to be less formal and higher energy than traditional presentations. There are some examples linked from the call page that demonstrate the format more effectively than I can describe by email. Slides are part of the standard Ignite format that we're adopting. The effect of the automatic slide advancement every 15 seconds is to make the slides more of a prompt and pacing mechanism for the speaker and less of a script. There's much less opportunity to use PowerPoint as a teleprompter. A speaker can't really read their slides to people at pace set by Ignite. Which means designing a slide that's a support for the points being made, not a duplication of them. We think this could be a good format for communicating the same kinds of science that are already presented more formally, but we're also hoping people will propose presentations focusing on ideas, problems, experiences, lessons learned, and so on, which wouldn't fit into a more formal presentation style and length. Much of the thought behind creating a new session type was prompted by hearing how much people really value the time they spend exchanging ideas outside of sessions, combined with an interest in seeing some shorter presentations types offered. Jennifer Jennifer Riem Science Programs Coordinator Ecological Society of America jenni...@esa.org 202.833.8773 x 218 -Original Message- From: Wayne Tyson [mailto:landr...@cox.net] Sent: Thursday, September 27, 2012 12:06 AM To: Jennifer Riem; ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU Subject: Wit at last? Re: [ECOLOG-L] 2013 ESA Annual Meeting: Call for Ignite ESA Proposals (Due Nov. 29th) Jennifer et y'all: What a great idea! Any idea that can't be clearly explained (to your neighbor or grandmother) in five minutes may not be well enough worked out yet. Maybe y'all are just that much more talented than I am, but I'm still trying to summarize ideas that first occurred to me decades ago. (But why slides? Have we become so dependent upon visuals that we can't understand the spoken word? And one every fifteen seconds? Gag me with a spoon!) Hmmm, maybe what y'all are doing is dropping the pretense of perfection that has weighed down academics for so long, and are just shotgunning a stream of consciousness and then retiring to the bar to slug out differences and build on each others ideas. Now, THAT I could go for! WT Therefore, since brevity is the soul of wit, And tediousness the limbs and outward flourishes, I will be brief -- Polonius (Shakespeare's Hamlet) - Original Message - From: Jennifer Riem jenni...@esa.org To: ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU Sent: Wednesday, September 26, 2012 2:38 PM Subject: [ECOLOG-L] 2013 ESA Annual Meeting: Call for Ignite ESA Proposals (Due Nov. 29th) Call for Proposals - New Session Type! Ignite ESA Sessions Deadline for Submission: November 29, 2012 98th Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of America Minneapolis, Minnesota August 4-9, 2013 http://www.esa.org/minneapolis We invite proposals for a new session type, Ignite ESA, which will debut during the 98th ESA Annual Meeting to be held August 4-9, 2013 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. http://www.esa.org/minneapolis/ignite.php ABOUT IGNITE ESA SESSIONS Ignite ESA is intended to stimulate the exchange of new and exciting ideas in a short time period. Ignite ESA Sessions will be scheduled for 1 hour and consist of up to 10 5-minute talks presented in the Ignite style (http://igniteshow.com/) which address a common theme. Each Ignite talk will feature 20 slides that advance automatically every 15 seconds. Although there will be no time during the session for questions and answers, there will be a dedicated space nearby where presenters and attendees will be encouraged to gather for extended discussion immediately following each session. Each session should be organized around a general theme that is related to the advancement of ecology, either conceptually or technologically. These sessions will provide an opportunity for ecologists to share information with their colleagues that would not fit into the usual session types. The more concise speaking slot and quick slide transitions lend themselves to a more conversational and storytelling presentation style. Given 5 minutes to speak and brief visual aids, what would you share with other ecologists? What would you most like to learn from your colleagues? The One Presentation Rule does not apply to Ignite ESA talks. Speakers may speak in an Ignite session in addition to a traditional presentation elsewhere in the program. We ask that speakers not commit to more
Re: [ECOLOG-L] Wit at last? Re: [ECOLOG-L] 2013 ESA Annual Meeting: Call for Ignite ESA Proposals (Due Nov. 29th)
Hi Jennifer, Good luck with it! It doesn't have to be perfect; in fact, it's appeal lies in its imperfection. I like the restriction to five minutes part, but slides drive me nuts, and a regular spacing of every 15 seconds would drive me to distraction. I'd rather look at the speaker. I think the name and the type of presentation are far less important than the substance of the ideas themselves. And I would hope that the ideas would be challenging ones, not just self-conscious dribbling of ecological jargon and pretension. I would hope that speakers would be directly challenged in the post-session sessions and the speakers given time to further explain their ideas in rebuttal or in agreement with the criticism. Even though I have given up going to meetings, I wish I could go to your sessions and the follow-ups. Maybe produce a video of the whole thing--especially including the bar room brawls. Reality show? WT - Original Message - From: Jennifer Riem jenni...@esa.org To: ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU Sent: Thursday, September 27, 2012 1:15 PM Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] Wit at last? Re: [ECOLOG-L] 2013 ESA Annual Meeting: Call for Ignite ESA Proposals (Due Nov. 29th) Hi Wayne, I'm glad to hear you like the idea. I think we're in agreement that slides can become more of a crutch than a tool for public speaking. One of the benefits of Ignite and similar styles (PechaKucha is another) is to step people away from over-reliance on slides and toward a more dynamic and engaging speaking style. Ignite is definitely intended to be less formal and higher energy than traditional presentations. There are some examples linked from the call page that demonstrate the format more effectively than I can describe by email. Slides are part of the standard Ignite format that we're adopting. The effect of the automatic slide advancement every 15 seconds is to make the slides more of a prompt and pacing mechanism for the speaker and less of a script. There's much less opportunity to use PowerPoint as a teleprompter. A speaker can't really read their slides to people at pace set by Ignite. Which means designing a slide that's a support for the points being made, not a duplication of them. We think this could be a good format for communicating the same kinds of science that are already presented more formally, but we're also hoping people will propose presentations focusing on ideas, problems, experiences, lessons learned, and so on, which wouldn't fit into a more formal presentation style and length. Much of the thought behind creating a new session type was prompted by hearing how much people really value the time they spend exchanging ideas outside of sessions, combined with an interest in seeing some shorter presentations types offered. Jennifer Jennifer Riem Science Programs Coordinator Ecological Society of America jenni...@esa.org 202.833.8773 x 218 -Original Message- From: Wayne Tyson [mailto:landr...@cox.net] Sent: Thursday, September 27, 2012 12:06 AM To: Jennifer Riem; ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU Subject: Wit at last? Re: [ECOLOG-L] 2013 ESA Annual Meeting: Call for Ignite ESA Proposals (Due Nov. 29th) Jennifer et y'all: What a great idea! Any idea that can't be clearly explained (to your neighbor or grandmother) in five minutes may not be well enough worked out yet. Maybe y'all are just that much more talented than I am, but I'm still trying to summarize ideas that first occurred to me decades ago. (But why slides? Have we become so dependent upon visuals that we can't understand the spoken word? And one every fifteen seconds? Gag me with a spoon!) Hmmm, maybe what y'all are doing is dropping the pretense of perfection that has weighed down academics for so long, and are just shotgunning a stream of consciousness and then retiring to the bar to slug out differences and build on each others ideas. Now, THAT I could go for! WT Therefore, since brevity is the soul of wit, And tediousness the limbs and outward flourishes, I will be brief -- Polonius (Shakespeare's Hamlet) - Original Message - From: Jennifer Riem jenni...@esa.org To: ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU Sent: Wednesday, September 26, 2012 2:38 PM Subject: [ECOLOG-L] 2013 ESA Annual Meeting: Call for Ignite ESA Proposals (Due Nov. 29th) Call for Proposals - New Session Type! Ignite ESA Sessions Deadline for Submission: November 29, 2012 98th Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of America Minneapolis, Minnesota August 4-9, 2013 http://www.esa.org/minneapolis We invite proposals for a new session type, Ignite ESA, which will debut during the 98th ESA Annual Meeting to be held August 4-9, 2013 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. http://www.esa.org/minneapolis/ignite.php ABOUT IGNITE ESA SESSIONS Ignite ESA is intended to stimulate the exchange of new and exciting ideas in a short time period. Ignite ESA Sessions will be scheduled for 1 hour and consist of up to 10 5
