Info for speakers

Thank you for your participation in the 2022 CBI National Student Electronic Media Convention in Baltimore. CBI is a non-profit association of members and we could not pull off a convention like this without your help.

Where is the convention hotel?
Hilton Baltimore Inner Harbor
401 W. Pratt St. • Baltimore, MD 21201

What if I’m just coming for my presentation? Where can I park?
CBI will have a limited amount of parking vouchers for presenters who use self parking at the hotel garage. Be sure to ask at the registration desk (Holiday Ballroom 6) if you want one.

When should I arrive?
Ideally, 30 minutes before your session so you can find the registration desk, pick up your badge and check your presentation AV. Feel free to arrive earlier or stay later to check out what goes on at the convention. Also feel free to talk to our vendors and exhibitors while you’re here.

What should I bring? What AV is set up? What about internet access?
If you need a laptop for your presentation, you can bring your own or bring your presentation on a flash drive and use our laptops. Every room will have a laptop that already is connected to the projector and ready to go. If you prefer to bring your own laptop, but need an adapter to connect your laptop to a projector, please bring that adapter. Projectors are HDMI. Wireless internet access will be available in all rooms, but speeds may be unreliable for streaming video/audio playback, so we recommend saving all parts of your presentation in the presentation file (not just links to streaming sources). Some rooms will have patches to house sound, and some rooms will have desktop speakers to play audio.
There are only 10 minutes between sessions for changeovers, so please be respectful of the presenter after you and wrap up on time. Please be prepared to connect your laptop or set up your presentation on our laptop quickly (power on, etc.).
There will be a CBI Board member in every room at the beginning of every session to make announcements and updates. Another Board Member is assigned to float among the presentation rooms to assist with AV, but the more prepared we all are, the better.

Can I give handouts?
If you have handouts, please bring copies. Extra copies may be left at the registration table for students to pick up. We would also love to post a PDF of your presentation on our website after the convention.

What is the audience like?
Excited college students involved in radio, TV and electronic media production from around the country. Some are preparing for careers in broadcasting and media, and some are developing skills to supplement their other career goals. Expertise ranges from freshmen who are totally fresh to broadcasting to students who produce daily live shows. Media they represent includes traditional terrestrial broadcasting, radio and TV, campus cable, podcasting, audio production, web broadcasting, new media and more. Professional staff who advise and work with stations in engineering, sales and educational aspects also attend, with a wide variety of expertise and experience.

How should I prepare for my presentation?
The best presentations include preparation. Chances are, you are appearing with co-presenters and a good presentation with multiple people requires some communication between those involved. If you do not know the other people on your panel, let us know and we will provide you with their contact information or the contact information for the person who coordinated the session. If we’ve approved your solo session, it’s likely that you have experience teaching or presenting, so we think you know how best to prepare!

The keys to a keeping an audience interested are:

• Stay on topic, which is to say cover the material in the session description and do not let one or two people distract you from that goal.
• Do not think of this as a classroom lecture. These are students who want to be engaged and drawn in. They sit in classes almost every day and have traveled hundreds or thousands of miles to be here so try to engage your audience by asking them questions, letting them ask you questions, and bringing examples of your work and the work of others.
• Do bring a variety of things to talk about, not just your experiences. We find that if a speaker’s presentation is all about “look at what I/we have done,” people leave.
• Do arrive early and plan to stay late as students almost always have more questions than you can cover at the end of your session, but please take those conversations into the hall or exhibition area in Holiday Ballroom 6 or the Holiday Ballroom foyer, as there is another session that needs to set up for the session after yours.

Questions? Email events@askcbi.org.