Letter to Session Organizers
Dear Colleague:
You have it in your power to make the convention a better experience, and we write to enlist your help. Each year after the convention, we ask attendees for their feedback. Although an overwhelming number of attendees rate the convention a success, many complain about presenters who speak for more time than they should and presiders who fail to intervene when this happens. We therefore want to remind session presiders of their responsibilities to do the following:
- Begin and end sessions on time.
- Inform participants well in advance of the convention how long their presentations should be, factoring in an additional few minutes for introductions, transition between speakers, etc.
- Warn participants when their time is nearly up, and stop them when they exceed it.
- Ensure that there are at least fifteen minutes for discussion during each session.
It would be difficult to overstate the disappointment and frustration people feel when participants go over their allotted time and leave little or no opportunity for discussion. Listeners rightly hold the presider responsible. When the time allotted for your session is up, aides will clear the rooms. Please do not count on the half hour between sessions for discussion, be it formal or informal. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the convention office at convention@mla.org.
Sincerely,
The MLA Program Committee