Speaker Information

Speaker Information
16th Annual IHA Health Literacy Conference

Thank you for agreeing to speak at the 16th Annual IHA Health Literacy Conference. Please read through the following information carefully. We suggest you bookmark this page, as it is only accessible through this link. If you have any questions or comments, please contact Michael Villaire at mvillaire@iha4health-copy.mystagingwebsite.com or (562) 690-4001 ext. 202. 

Important Dates

  • March 1, 2017 – Deadline to submit presentation materials (PowerPoint slides, handouts, etc.)
  • March 3, 2017 – Our travel agent begins accepting travel requests (see “Transportation” below)
  • April 5, 2017 – Deadline to finalize travel requests (see “Transportation” below); Deadline to submit requests for additional hotel accommodations at the special attendee rate (see “Hotel Accommodations” below)
     

Presentation Materials

Our CME accrediting organization requires all material to be submitted for review 60 days before the conference. Please submit all of your presentation materials to IHA by March 1, 2017. We also need a bit of time to format them and post them on our website for attendees to download prior to the conference. If you need more time to submit your materials, please send requests for extensions to Diana Gonzalez dgonzalez@iha4health-copy.mystagingwebsite.com or Kirby Johnson kjohnson@iha4health-copy.mystagingwebsite.com immediately.

Suggestions for Using PowerPoint

PowerPoint can be a powerful tool. It can also be a nightmare for attendees to read and comprehend, especially when we violate all of our own rules on readability and design. This is one of the main areas in which speakers get poor reviews in attendee evaluations.

The biggest frustrations for attendees, as stated in their conference evaluation forms, were when speakers had too much data on each slide or simply read their slides. Please keep this in mind when designing your presentation. For more tips on effective communication, check out Making Data Talk: A Workbook by the National Cancer Institute. This free resource offers helpful tips in designing a presentation that helps you get your point across. We encourage and fully support anyone who chooses to supply attendees with a few fact-laden sheets for reference purposes, and uses their slide presentation to graphically support their talk.

In your presentation, please consider these points:

  • Provide context for why your specific topic and information is important to those interested in health literacy.
  • Draw connections to other issues in healthcare and health literacy, where appropriate.
  • Provide solutions, or at least
  • Pose good questions, because questions lead to discussion, which leads to thinking, which leads to solutions.
  • Refrain from beginning your presentation with a summary of health literacy statistics. You were chosen for your ability to talk about your particular subject. Feel free to frame the issue, but know that a basic overview of health literacy is covered in a preconference session on Wednesday evening.
     

Registration

We ask that all* speakers use the coupon code SPKR17 when registering for the conference. (*NOTE: IHA offers only 1 complimentary registration per session. For breakout sessions with multiple speakers, please be sure that only the person whom you selected to receive free registration uses this code). You will be able to select any continuing education credits and breakout sessions that you’d like to attend when you register. For those that are facilitating a breakout session, please do not select breakout sessions on the day you are presenting or register for your own session. Not sure when you’re presenting? Click here to view the agenda.

Travel Arrangements

Transportation

As noted in your Speaker Agreement Letter, IHA will cover the cost of 1 round-trip, coach airfare. (For breakout sessions with multiple speakers, you already decided who is getting the airfare.)

Please do not book your own travel and submit a receipt. Flight and shuttle service to Hotel Irvine must be booked through our travel agent, Diane Lucas, at Gray’s Travel Services.  You can reach her at (800) 966-8728 ext. 1118 or dlucas@graystravel.com. She will need your:

  • Name (as it appears on your ID)
  • Date of birth
  • Cell phone number
  • Travel dates and times
  • Preferred airports for departure and arrival
  • Any preferences in regards to airline, frequent flier points, and seating location.

The agency has recommended that air travel be booked no sooner than 60 days ahead of time. That means you should contact her around March 3, 2017 with your travel request. Please note that all travel requests must be finalized by April 5, 2017.

Diane will look for the best fare from your departure city (which is usually a one-stop flight for those traveling across country). If you would like to use a specific airline or make your flight nonstop, she will accommodate your personal requests within 15% above the best fare. If your travel requests result in significant increases in airfare, please work with Diane to meet our budget goals. Any requests for a higher-priced flight will be referred directly to Michael Villaire.

Shuttle Service

If you are flying in to Orange County-John Wayne Airport (SNA), you will be able to take the Hotel Irvine shuttle directly to the hotel. Their shuttles leave every 15-45 minutes. For more information on Hotel Irvine’s shuttle service, please contact them at (888) 230-4452. If you are flying in to an airport other than SNA, Diane Lucas will arrange your transportation to and from the hotel when she books your flight.

Hotel Accommodations

IHA will book your hotel room at Hotel Irvine once you’ve confirmed your transportation. We provide 2 nights’ accommodations (1 room) for speakers from each session. Please let us know if there are any special accommodations you require (accessible room, 2 double beds rather than 1 king, etc.) and we will do our best to ensure they are met. Additional rooms or nights may be booked at your own expense. Please submit requests for additional hotel accommodations to IHA by April 5, 2017 to receive the special attendee rate of $139 per night.

At the Conference

Plenary session speakers will be introduced by Michael Villaire. For those giving breakout sessions, please start your session by introducing yourself to the group or ask a colleague to do your introduction. We encourage you to do your best to start and end on time. To assist you, we provide staff in each room who will sit in the front row with time “flash cards” showing you the amount of time left in your session. Please plan on leaving a minimum of 5-10 minutes for a robust Q&A session. Our attendees are usually not shy about asking questions and sharing opinions.

We hope the conference is as good an experience for you as it is for our attendees. We are proud to bring together the best and most engaged group of speakers, thinkers, and doers in this field. If there is anything at all we can do to make your experience a better one, please do not hesitate to ask. Thank you again for agreeing to share your expertise and be part of this conference.