Tips for Leading Birds of a Feather (BoF) Sessions at iPRES 2025
- ipres20254
- Oct 3
- 4 min read
It’s no secret that we on the Local Organising Committee for iPRES 2025 are big fans of birds - we’ve made it our entire conference personality! So Birds of a Feather (BoF) discussion sessions hold a special place in our hearts.
Structure
Birds of a Feather sessions create space to discuss a certain topic, or for like-minded attendees to meet up, without a formal presentation. Because BoF sessions are not recorded, they are great for informal discussion, as well as sharing of experiences with colleagues from around the world. At iPRES 2025, we will be holding 16 in-person BoF sessions, and five virtual ones.
Length: Birds of a Feather sessions are listed in the online agenda. Most in-person BoF sessions are 45 minutes in length, with two back-to-back BoF discussions in the same 90 minute session. Virtual BoF sessions are scheduled for either 45 minutes or 60 minutes. You can check the length and timing of your session in the latest version of the Programme Spreadsheet on the “Sessions” tab.
Recording: Birds of a Feather sessions (whether in-person or online) are not recorded, so as to allow a safe space for informal discussion.
Online Platform: Virtual sessions (with online presenters and attendees) will run as live sessions on our Events Air platform using Zoom. Again, these will not be recorded.
Content
Birds of a Feather sessions are meant to be discussion sessions, rather than more formal presentations. That said, BoF facilitators should be prepared to frame and actively lead the discussion. How you do that is up to you, but here are a couple ideas to consider:
Start by talking about what inspired you to propose a discussion on this topic. You could use a couple slides if you’d like or keep it informal and just tell your story.
Consider an ‘icebreaker’ activity to get everyone talking. For example, ‘Introduce yourself and share the first word that comes to mind when you hear [session topic]’
You may want to prepare some discussion questions in advance, and invite people to put their hands up to talk about it, or break into smaller groups to discuss and report back.
You could create polls using a tool like Mentimeter (https://www.mentimeter.com/) and then lead the discussion based on some of the interesting things or observations that come out of it.
It is up to you if you want to create some general session notes for reference afterward, or have it be fully “off the record”. Please let attendees know in advance if notes will be taken, and explain how confidentiality will be preserved. For example, clarify that no comments will be attributed to specific individuals.
As facilitator, you are responsible for ensuring that your BoF is an open and welcoming space, with equal opportunity for everyone to contribute to the conversation. At the same time, you may need to remind participants of the intention of the session, if the conversation begins to wander, or begins to become dominated by one or two voices in the room.
In the Room on the Day
As most Birds of a Feather session timeslots contain two back-to-back BoFs, we encourage you to keep the setup simple for easy transition between sessions. Aim to finish a couple of minutes early if you can, so attendees can transition as needed, and the second session can start promptly.
Table Setup: The setup for rooms is Cabaret style (round tables, with 8 chairs per table, and clear sightlines to the front).
What’s provided: Wi-Fi, projector and screen, lectern, sound system and microphones, and conference laptop with HDMI connection. You will not be able to install any software on the conference laptop.
Support we will provide: AV/tech support for the presenter, and for troubleshooting technical problems during the session.
Support we will not provide: Birds of a Feather facilitators are presumed to be self-sufficient in terms of facilitation, attendee support, note-taking, etc. If you are using your own laptop, the default connection is HDMI. Please bring your own adapter if required.
Virtual Birds of a Feather
Our Conference AV team will be available to help troubleshoot if any issues arise in the conference platform. We encourage remote facilitators to do a test run of their session and familiarise themselves with the conference platform. We will offer optional test runs during the week of 27-31 October. We’ll email you details closer to the date.
Remote Presenters: Check your session time on the schedule, noted in NZDT (UTC+13), and confirm your local time zone.
Before the Conference - What to Submit and When
You may not need to use any slides for your Birds of a Feather session since it is primarily a discussion session. If you do plan to use slides though, please refer to these instructions.
If you are using the Conference Laptop to present, please submit your presentation slides to the iPRES 2025 Dropbox ahead of time. We strongly encourage submitting by 20 October, but please contact us if you anticipate needing extra time.
If you will be using your own laptop, we still encourage you to submit your slides ahead of time as a backup; however, you will need to bring them with you on the day. It’s also a good idea to bring a copy of your slides on a USB stick just in case there are any issues with your laptop.
File Format: If you are submitting slides ahead of time, please ensure they are in PPTX format.
File name: Please name the file as “Day_Session-Number_Author_Name_Brief_Title”
For example: “Tues_BoF-2_Ben_OBrien_Stories_Failure_Resilience.pptx"
On the Day: In-Person Facilitators
Be aware that if you are the second BoF in a particular session, there will be limited time to set up between BoFs. You may want to come early before the start of the session to check your set up.
On the Day: Remote Facilitators
Set yourself up in a quiet place, away from noise and distraction
Use headphones and/or microphone for best sound quality, if possible
Avoid bright lights or windows behind you
Choose a simple, non-distracting background so attention stays on you.
Questions? Contact info@ipres2025.nz