A Lightning Talk at the Researcher to Reader Conference is a very short presentation given by one person, where they are announcing or promoting something, or raising a concern. Typically, the Conference timetable includes 10-20 Lightning Talks, which take place during the breaks in the main programme. The sessions may be scheduled in parallel or repeated, depending on the time available in the Programme.

Lightning Talks are very short speeches that may be given by any registered delegate, and are an excellent way to briefly introduce a topic or to convey simple information. The Lightning Talks are scheduled during the breaks in the plenary programme, and each will be strictly limited to a 5-minute slot, with no Q&A. The speakers may use slides if they wish, but not videos, online demonstrations or other links to external resources.

These sessions can potentially include presentations by people promoting products, services or other initiatives, as participants are free to choose whether or not to attend, but the promotional nature of the session must be made clear in the published abstract. If a speaker is from a commercial organisation, the organisation must be a sponsor in order to be able to offer a promotional Lightning Talk.

In the R2R Call for Papers, people who have proposed a Lighting Talk may be invited to adapt their proposal to another session type. People who have proposed other session types may be invited to adapt their proposal to be a Lightning Talk. People may also contribute to more than one session at the Conference (for example giving a Lightning Talk as well as facilitating a Collaborative Workshop).

The Title of a Lightning Talk is normally restricted to 2-6 words and the Abstract to 40-50 words.

Each Lightning Talk speaker is strongly encouraged to participate in the whole Conference, not just appear for their own session, and must be a registered delegate at the normally applicable tariff. Lightning Talk speakers are not normally invited to the informal contributor dinner at the end of the first day of the Conference, unless this is part of a sponsorship offering.

Page created 8 July 2024 and edited 12 August 2024