Presenter's Manual

Session Presenter Guidelines

The following guidelines have been established by the CAMEX Educational Program Committee to ensure that all presenters understand the basic expectations NACS has for them and their presentations at this year's conference. Please read the following information and contact Tony Ellis, NACS Director of Education at tellis@nacs.org or (800) 622-7498, ext. 2354 with any questions.

1. The Primary Presenter on the session proposal form is responsible for sharing all relevant information and communications from NACS with any co-presenters. NACS will communicate with all presenters so long as an e-mail address is provided. However, the Primary Presenter is expected to coordinate communications and other logistics with all additional presenters for their session.
2. Presentations must be targeted to the participants of CAMEX educational sessions. According to the 2007 CAMEX Participant Surveys, the primary demographics are: 78.3% Institutionally Owned stores, 50.6% with Approximate Annual Sales less than $3M, 52.7% Store Manager/Director, 68.2% Female, 68.1 between the age of 36-55, 68.4% with nine (9) or more years of experience in the profession.
3. Presentation promotional text must convey the intended learning outcomes (or what the participant will learn during the program) AND the experience level of the presentation relative to the topic (threshold, intermediate, or advanced). View descriptions of the levels of experience and examples of these levels relative to industry topics.
   Level of Experience for the Presentation

   Presentations may be offered for participants at different levels of experience with regard to the topic or skill set to be addressed. It is very important to correctly identify the difficulty level targeted by your presentation.

   ( T ) — Threshold: Requires little or no previous knowledge of the topic area and should emphasize the definition of terms and description of key concepts. The focus should be on "What is it?" "How does it work?" and "Why do we use it?"

   ( I ) — Intermediate: Requires a basic knowledge and some experience in the topic area. The focus should be on "How does it work?" and "Benefits of using it" and should include detailed examples. Some evaluation of alternative methods would be appropriate at this level. Key words in the learning objectives could include: execute, perform, apply, and accomplish.

   ( A ) — Advanced: Requires a working knowledge and considerable experience in the topic area. The session may require basic or working knowledge in one or more areas related to the specific session topic. The focus should be on "Can I use this in my store/company?" "How do I implement it?" "How do I evaluate it?" Key words in the learning objectives could include: integrate, conceptualize, analyze, evaluate, and implement.

4. All sessions must provide a handout or other learning tool for each participant. PLEASE NOTE: It is better to have a succinct, one-page summary of your primary points as a handout versus a printout of your PowerPoint presentation. Your PowerPoint show should be the "headlines" of your session points…not the detail. Your participants will need the details of "how do I do this" or "what steps do I follow" once they get home. Therefore, your slide show is NOT the best thing to send them home with.
   Develop your handout to clearly answer questions like "What are the steps I should follow?" and/or "What are the most important things learned?" (from a case study presentation, for example).
5. If presenters are unfamiliar with the NACS College Store Competency Model and related concepts, there is complete information online at www.nacs.org/pd. If you or your colleagues have questions about preparing for the CAMEX session, feel free to contact Tony Ellis, NACS director of education, at (800) 622-7498 or e-mail tellis@nacs.org.
6. Presenters and presentations should address the following needs of adult learners:
   1. Let participants direct their own learning (i.e., outline your session and ask for comments to determine areas to focus upon or cover more quickly)
   2. Engage the participants (i.e., ask questions, poll the audience)
   3. Use the participants' existing knowledge (i.e., as for effective practices)
   4. Make sure your session has immediate utility (That is, what will they take away and be able to implement as soon as they return home?)

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