Thank you for presenting at the 2024 FICP Annual Conference! Use this resource as a one-stop-shop while preparing for your session. If you have any questions, please reach out to the FICP Education Team.
Tip! Pending your speaking role, not all sections on this page will be relevant to your session and/or participation. Please leverage as you see fit.
Important Dates
- Outline Your Session: September 2024
- Participate on a Prep Call: October 2024
- Submit Your Presentation Deck: November 1, 2024
- Conference Dates: November 10 – 13, 2024
Presentation Guidelines
Make Your Content Stick!
Promote Your Session
Preparing for Your Onsite Experience
Travel & Hotel Information
About FICP
Presentation Guidelines
PowerPoint Presentations are due Friday, November 1. Please submit your final materials (slide deck, handouts, etc.) to the FICP Education Team.
PowerPoint Guidelines
- Utilize the 2024 FICP Annual Conference PowerPoint Template for your presentation to ensure all presentations are unified under the conference theme.
- To support greener, more sustainable conference practices we will not provide hard copies of presentation materials. Instead, these materials will be available via the conference mobile app for attendees after the conference. Alternatively, FICP can pre-load any handouts or supporting materials in advance of your session.
- You are welcome to print your own printed handouts.
- When creating your slide deck, reference our presentation best practices under the “Make Your Content Stick!” section below.
The FICP Education Team will organize a prep call before going onsite. During this call, we will review your outline and/or PowerPoint if ready. After reviewing the content, we will cover logistics for the conference.
Make Your Content Stick!
Embrace Adult Learning Principles to Ensure Impactful Programming
Various studies show that within one hour, people forget 50 percent of new information presented. Within 24 hours, that number rises to 70 percent, and within a week, it rockets to 90 percent. Use the following guidelines to help you tailor your presentation to adult learners:
- They prioritize learning based on the content’s relevance and practical application. They want to know “what’s in it for me?”.
- Use clear outcomes, real-life examples, and connections to existing knowledge to enhance engagement.
- Articulate clear learning outcomes to provide a roadmap for success.
- Your content should tell a story; each new piece of information should logically build on the last so learners understand what comes next.
- A typical lecture where attendees sit passively can produce cognitive overload. Adults will retain more information when they have opportunities to actively practice their knowledge and skills.
- Stories, case studies and real-life scenarios connect the learner to the lessons. Asking the learner to actually do something (analyze, share, discuss, reflect, demonstrate or present) allows for active processing and better learning.
- They should be encouraged to reflect, share and discuss their knowledge and experience during the learning process.
- Create meaningful associations to significantly boost retention.
- Personal relevance in learning permits deeper understanding.
- Emphasize and repeat key takeaways!
- Research shows attention is at its highest when something unexpected (humor, activity, visual aid, interaction, engagement, etc.) is introduced into a learning activity.
- Less is more when it comes to learning — focus on key elements and strategic learning outcomes to prevent cognitive overload and aid learning transfer. You won’t solve all the world’s problems within your session time, focus on one.
Leverage PowerPoint Best Practices for Captivating Slides
Creating slides for a presentation allows you to paint a picture for the audience. Slides should serve as an outline for your presentation, not a script. When creating content, aim to keep slides SIMPLE:
- Short and sweet: Limit you’re the amount of text on your slides. If you must reduce the font size, there is too much text!
- Illustrations: Use images and infographics in lieu of text; white space helps emphasize the most important point
- Maintain font color and size: Don’t sacrifice specificity for creative confusion. Consider your delivery method; can attendees see the text from the back of the room?
- Placement: Ensure your message does not get lost; it should be front and center
- Less is best: A learner can only absorb so much from one slide
- Enrich: Build in videos, polling and/or other interactive elements; give your slides a story
Engage the Audience to Maximize Retention of Information
Research shows that attention is at its highest when something unexpected is introduced into a learning activity — for example, humor, polling, an activity, a visual aid or group discussion. For the best results, pick a few interactive elements to incorporate into your presentation:
- Tell a story
- Share an important case study
- Pose a difficult question
- Incorporate time for reflection and discussion with peers
- Challenge the audience to do something during the presentation
- Incorporate humor
- Facilitate a game (brief show of hands, etc.)
- Allow time for questions
- Poll your audience (we recommend slido’s free version!)
Handouts are a fantastic and helpful way to engage your audience and trim your slide deck. Freshen up on the top tips for effective presentation handouts.
Market Your Presentation
Be sure to follow and tag FICP on Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin, and use the hashtag #FICP24 when promoting your session on social media! Download this graphic to post.
Preparing for Your Onsite Experience
Audio/Visual Provided & Layout
All breakout session rooms will have a screen, projector, laptop, slide advancer, and lavalier microphones for the speaker(s). Most rooms will be set in theater to maximize space and allow for more active participants. If you have specific questions about your assigned room, please contact the Education Team.
Your PowerPoint will be pre-loaded on the laptop in advance of your session. Should you have any changes, please bring a copy on a USB drive and send the new version to the FICP Education Team.
Travel and Hotel Information
The 2024 FICP Annual Conference will be held at the Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel. You can read more about the accommodations here.
Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel
1550 Court Place
Denver, CO 80202 USA
+1 (844) 631-0595
About FICP
With a history spanning 60+ years, Financial & Insurance Conference Professionals (FICP®) provides access to education, experience and resources targeting the needs of financial services and insurance meeting professionals from across North America. FICP offers first-rate conferences, symposia, virtual networking and educational opportunities to assist the development of high-caliber meetings professionals. These resources also serve to help meetings professionals increase their success and strategic value. FICP boasts a community of 1,500 meetings and events professionals and hospitality partners and maintains a unique, balanced planner-to-hospitality partner ratio at all events.