Oral Presentation Guidelines

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
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
• 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. All presenters must upload their slide presentation before going to their conference room. There will not be an option to use your own device. Please save and label slides with last name_first name_presentation number. Should you require assistance with uploading or presenting, technicians will be available. 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
This portal will open at a later date, and a deadline will be posted in the coming months.

           Upload slides
         
     Advance upload deadline: 11:59 PM (Pacific Time) on Friday, 11 September 2026

This portal will open at a later date, and a deadline will be posted in the coming months.

     2. Upload onsite at the Speaker Ready Room

• • Open during registration hours

        Upload your slide presentation at least two hours before your session begins,
        or the day before if presenting in the first morning session.

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, walk to the lectern and locate your presentation
• If the person before you left their slides on the screen, clear the screen and bring up the list of files for your session

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
• 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.