OECD Forum 2009: Memo for Speakers - Moderator

Guidelines for Speakers

Biography and photos

Please provide the Forum Secretariat with a short career biography (no more than 300 words) in English and, if possible French, and a photo before 15th May 2009.

The photo - used for the Forum website and programme - should meet the following specifications:

Preparation of papers

Please send your final paper for presentation at the Forum by 12th June 2009 to oecd.forum@oecd.org or sue.kendall-bilicki@oecd.org. It is essential that you provide the paper on time for use by the moderator and interpreters in preparing the session.

We do not provide facilities for speakers to use PowerPoint other such projections during their presentations.

After the presentations, the final papers will be posted on the website. The magazine Highlights, OECD Forum 2009, summarising the sessions, will be published later in the year.

Organisation of the sessions

The timing of each session is as follows:

• Introduction by the moderator 
• Invited speaker(s)
• General discussion
• Final remarks by the moderator

The initial presentation time is limited to a maximum of 8 minutes for each speaker; it is absolutely essential each presentation is finished within the given time limit.

On the day of your session, we request that you arrive at least one hour before your session starts. On arrival, you will be met by the OECD Protocol Team and escorted to the “Speakers’ Lounge” where you will meet the other speakers and the moderator of your panel to participate in final preparations for your session.

Role of the Moderator

• Introduce the topic of the session and the speakers;
• Manage the general discussion, make comments on the content of the presentation, identifying strengths and weaknesses, highlighting issues not fully addressed by the speaker, asking questions to clarify the content, etc.
• Ensure good timekeeping so that there are no delays or over-runs;
• Summarise the main conclusions at the end of the session.

A major element of the moderator's role is to make the session lively and interactive, to help focus the discussion and to summarise conclusions. To enliven the general discussion:

Ask participants from the floor to introduce themselves and make short comments or ask questions, avoiding long speeches; Add your personal comments or questions.