TECHTalk Speaker Information
TECHTalk speakers and emcees can find a timeline and information to make a TECHTalk success.
Notes on a TECHTalk
- TECHTalks are Zoom meetings (vs. webinars), meant to be casual, interactive and entertaining.
- Host team, keep your videos on throughout the meeting, or at least when you are speaking.
- Make sure you are well lit.
- Assign a team member to be your Zoom Host to:
- monitor chat:
- Post links and topic-related information for the audience
- Answer questions in chat, when needed
- Relay questions to speakers
- Notify speaker when there are raised hands for questions
- run polls
- mute audience mics when necessary
- monitor chat:
Timeline Overview
11 to 11:30 a.m. – Team logs in before the TECHTalk for setup and any clarification, questions or practice needed
11:20 to 11:30 a.m. – Attendees begin to login during this time. All tecm and speakers help warm up the audience.
11:30 a.m. to 12:20 p.m. – TECHTalk introduction, presentation, closing remarks and session end
NOTE: 12:20 to 12:30 p.m. can be used if talk questions are running over, but meetings should end at 12:20.
Detailed Meeting Timeline
11:00 a.m. – Pre-Check Meeting:
Presenting and support teams login to check video, backgrounds and sound, assign a host in Zoom, assure all are familiar with their roles, and answer any questions.
11:20 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. – Attendees begin to login.
- The meeting's Emcee along with the speaker and support team will use this time to :
- Greet and chat with the audience and each other
- Ask audience members questions
- Tell (clean/Dad-type or tech) jokes
- Try activities like fun, topic-related polls, games, etc.
- Generally interact with and warm up the audience before the meeting starts
11:30 a.m. (plus 2-3 minutes if audience is still logging in) – Session starts
- Emcee welcomes attendees.
- Host mutes all open mics
- Emcee Introduction:
- "Welcome to the [MONTH] TECHTalk"
- (Emcee - Introduce Yourself): Name, department plus anything you'd like about current work, projects, tech-related group meetings, etc.
- (Insert any additional announcements provided by the TECHTalk Team)
- "TECHTalks are recorded and available online by the end of day Friday"
- Introduce the first speaker and talk name or topic.
11:31/After Emcee Introduction – Speaker presentation(s) and Q&A
12:18 to 12:20 p.m. – Emcee closes meeting:
- (Make any additional closing points or event plugs)
- Thank you all for attending.
- "We’ll see you next [Month's DATE]
Meeting Emcees
Thank you for filling this small but important TECHTalk role!
The Emcee is a different member of the campus or Health technical community each month. Emcees are asked to join for a partiular month and will be added to invitations for a pre-check meeting just before the TECHTalk and to the TECHTalk itself.
The community in the audience will be seeing someone they are failliar with or is newer and they haven't had the chance to meet yet. This is your time to connect with peers, so take 2-3 minutes for your introduction and chat.
11:30 - 11:32 – Introduce Yourself:
Introduce yourself (name, department, what you do, specific project/tools/etc.) to identify and help others in the audience relate to you/your work or causes/topics of interest.
An example, "I'm a member of the Women in Tech at UC San Diego group, where we discuss women's issues once each month at lunch. Join in for our next meeting on [DATE/TIME/LOCATION]. Find more at [URL] or contact [EMAIL ADDRESS]."
11:30 - 11:35 – Introduce the Speaker:
After introducing yourself, announce the TECHTalk speaker(s) of the month and their talk's topic.
About 12:18 - Close the Meeting:
Moderator or other team members will alert the speakers that it's time to take the final question and stop.
The Emcee breaks in at the end of the final answer to announce that it's time for the TECHTalk and Q&A session to end. Make any closing announcements, thank the audience for attending and sign off by 12:20.
TECHTalk PowerPoint Template
- At minimum, insert the opening slide with the talk title before your talk slides.
- End your presentation with a slide containing your contact information/website.
Zoom Backgrounds
Please select one of these backgrounds for use during the TECHTalk to help your team stand out from the audience!
