Oral presentation instructions

Create your slide presentation

The most successful presentation slides are graphically rich presentations of your research that both highlight the main points and fill in the most interesting details.

Your presentation slides should include:

• All slides formatted for easy understanding of the information on each slide
• Explanations for each graph, picture, and table
• Media file(s) embedded in your primary presentation as a slide
• No automatic slide advance timings

Fonts
The session computer will have the standard font sets included in Mac OSX, Windows 10, as well as PowerPoint and Keynote. Please refrain from using custom or purchased fonts, as these will not be available and may impact how your presentation looks.

Aspect ratio
The meeting will be utilizing 16:9 aspect ratio projectors (widescreen) in all rooms. To utilize the full screen, you should create your presentation in “widescreen” format. The standard 4:3 format will work but it will not fill the entire screen when in presentation mode.

Media files
As a precaution, bring all media files with you to the meeting, even though you’ve embedded them in your slide presentation. While we can help with many aspects of your talk on-site, we can’t “fix” a missing media file.

Presentation file types
All file types are accepted except LibreOffice, and there are no file size restrictions. The session computer will run both Mac and Windows files natively. The computer has the following software installed.

• PowerPoint for Windows
• PowerPoint for Mac
• Keynote (latest version)
• Adobe Reader for Mac
• Google Chrome for Mac

In PowerPoint, save your file as a .pptx. Do not use .ppt, .pps, or other formats, as this will affect your file’s ability to open correctly. Presenter notes (if any) will be visible on the session computer.

Upload your slide presentation

All in-person presentations are handled by our onsite presentation management system, LaunchPad. All presenters must upload their slide presentation to LaunchPad before the meeting, or directly to the presentation computer in the conference room. There will not be an option to use your own device. Should you require assistance with uploading or presenting, SPIE staff will be available to assist. Always bring a back-up copy of your slide presentation and media files with you to your session onsite.

There are two options to upload your slide presentation:

1. Upload in advance

Link will be posted soon. Please check back later.

Advance upload deadline: 11:59 PM Pacific Time on Friday 20 February 2026

2. Upload onsite

Bring your presentation file on a USB device to your presentation room at least two hours before the session start time to load your file on the presentation computer. Please be respectful on ongoing presentations and choose a break to do this.

Web links and online presentation formats

• If your presentation is web based (e.g., Google Presentations), instead of using the upload portal above you may email scottc@spie.org the publicly accessible link to your presentation
• If you are using Prezi, your presentation should be downloaded for offline viewing and the zip file should be uploaded to LaunchPad.

Present in person

• Bring a back-up copy of your presentation file and any media files to your session
• Arrive in the conference room at least 10 minutes prior to the start of your session
• Locate the session chair for your session and check in with them so they know you have arrived
• When it’s time to present, simply walk to the lectern, locate your slide presentation file, and open it
• If the person before you left their slides on the screen, close them to clear out the screen and locate your file.

Audiovisual equipment in meeting rooms

• Apple MacBook - supports files created on either Mac or Windows
• LCD projection - 16:9 aspect ratio; 1920 x 1080 resolution
• Lapel microphone
• Audio connection from the laptop
• Laser pointer and slide advancer

Publication of your presentation

• After your live presentation is finished, SPIE will publish the in-person recording of your talk (slide capture with audio, no camera footage of presenter). Your presentation recording will be published and archived in the conference proceedings on the SPIE Digital Library.
• SPIE retains rights to distribute and market the official published SPIE recording of the presentation; the presenter retains copyright of all presented content.