Proposals for 2026 Storytelling Session
The Program Committee invites the SfN membership to submit proposals for the Storytelling Session to be held at Neuroscience 2026. Proposal submitters must be active SfN members. Submission opens Tuesday, December 9.
Visit Neuroscience 2025 and Neuroscience 2024 for past Storytelling Session examples.
- Storytelling Session Content
- Participants
- Growth and Opportunity
- Funding
- Proposal Requirements
- General
- Presenter Guidelines and Policies for SfN Events
- Contact Information
Storytelling Session Content
The Storytelling Session invites presenters to share content through the art of storytelling. Through storytelling, personal narrative brings science to life. Narratives used by the presenters should engage the audience. Current research shows that storytelling is more effective at transmitting data than facts, and that facts alone do not change minds in the broader non-scientific community. Proposals for the Storytelling Session should engage narrative communication to forge citizen-scientist relationships, connect with audiences through stories, and highlight non-traditional venues for scientific communication.
An effective Storytelling Session proposal should appeal to a broad section of scientists. Topics should be centered around how scientists can communicate within and outside of the scientific community by telling stories related to their experiences. Past sessions have involved presenters speaking about factors that influenced their career paths, the science behind why people connect through stories, and how scientists can communicate to a lay audience. All speakers must agree to present in person.
Participants
The person submitting the proposal must be an active member of SfN. The proposer must be prepared to provide a conflict of interest (COI) disclosure for each speaker. A relevant COI is a financial relationship to a product or device from a commercial interest associated with the topic on which one is speaking. A commercial interest is defined as any entity producing, marketing, re- selling, or distributing health care goods or services consumed by, or used on, patients. Relationships with governmental agencies (e.g., NIH), nonprofits or universities do not have to be disclosed. An example of the COI form that is required from each participant is available via PDF.
It is required that you name in your proposal a chair (perhaps yourself) who has agreed to be responsible for the event and speakers and will act as the host/moderator for the session. The person submitting the proposal must be a member of SfN. Speakers are encouraged to be SfN members but may be nonmembers. Speakers are required to have a free My SfN account.
The chair’s responsibilities include entering required submission information for the entire session; obtaining consent from all speakers about their in-person presentation requirement; ensuring all proposed speakers have updated their My SfN account with their name, email, institution, and address; and making sure that all speakers have returned necessary logistical and programming information (i.e., disclosure forms, audiovisual needs) to SfN.
The Storytelling Session should have no more than four speakers (not including the chair, who will also serve as host of the session).
During the submission and review process, the proposer (if different from the chair) will be the primary contact. After acceptance into the annual meeting program, the chair becomes the primary contact and, furthermore, is responsible for relaying any and all important information to and from the other speakers.
Each participant should be familiar with the overall objectives of the session and of the material likely to be covered by the other speakers.
Note that the Program Committee does not permit the inclusion of chairs or speakers who have participated in [mini]symposia, Basic-Translational- Clinical Roundtables, Dual Perspectives Sessions, or Storytelling Sessions in the past two annual meetings (Neuroscience 2024 and 2025). The session should also include speakers from different institutions and regions. Organizers should ensure speakers understand that chairing or presenting in a 2026 symposium, minisymposium, or featured panel means they are ineligible to participate in another of those annual meeting sessions until Neuroscience 2029.
Speakers are permitted to be in only one lecture, symposium, minisymposium, or featured panel session. If a speaker is on multiple accepted proposals, they must be replaced on all but one. If a speaker is invited to and agrees to present a lecture, symposium, minisymposium, Basic-Translational-Clinical Roundtable, or Dual Perspectives session, they must be replaced in the Storytelling Session.
Important: All proposed speakers must have agreed to speak at the Storytelling session and to present in person, before the proposal form is submitted.
Growth and Opportunity
Growth and opportunity are organizational priorities of SfN and programming must ensure representation of all members. SfN encourages and promotes participation, accessibility, active representation and leadership from all populations. Recognizing that opportunity advances the field of neuroscience, SfN encourages membership and participation. The Society promotes an environment that is supportive of all individuals in the interest of advancing science.
The Program Committee is tasked with maintaining a balance of perspectives across all dimensions with regard to the Annual Meeting scientific program and key lecturer opportunities. The success of our field — and of the entire scientific community — requires perspectives and participation from all professional levels and experiences.
Funding
Storytelling Session presenters will receive half-price annual meeting registration and the opportunity to reserve lodging before the hotel blocks open up to Neuroscience 2026 attendees.
Proposal Requirements
Proposals originate from SfN’s vast membership. Proposal submitters must be active SfN members. Click the button at the top of the page to log into the 2026 site and submit your proposal. The proposal site will direct you to provide the following (all character limits include spaces):
- Contact information (institutions, emails, addresses) and COI disclosures for the moderator and speakers. Note: all proposed speakers are required to have a free My SfN account.
- Titles for the overall session and each story or presentation.
- For each presenter, indicate whether the presentation will be in a lecture or a story format.
- Publicly accessible links to storytellers’ past storytelling presentations, if applicable.
- Overall session description for use in the annual meeting Program and Exhibit Guide and Neuroscience Meeting Planner (500 characters).
- Overall objectives for how your proposed session: is timely, relates to the field, or uses narrative communication to connect with the audience (500 characters).
- The extent to which your session could have a broad appeal for the membership (500 characters).
- Other considerations that may make the proposal attractive (500 characters).
General
Final selection is made by the Program Committee, whose primary consideration is to determine what will best serve the interests of the Society for Neuroscience and the success of the annual meeting. Note that proposals that fail to be accommodated one year will not be held over for consideration the next. However, a proposal can be resubmitted the following year and will receive the same consideration as any other submission.
The Program Committee reserves the right to alter or combine proposals in the best interest of the annual meeting program. This includes adding and removing presenters, suggesting different organizers, combining proposals, etc.
For more information, contact SfN staff at (202) 962-4000 or email program@sfn.org.
Presenter Guidelines and Policies for SfN Events
By accepting the invitation to participate in a Society for Neuroscience (SfN) digital or in-person event, you are agreeing to follow the SfN speaker guidelines and policies.
Contact Information
To make sure that you receive all SfN program-related correspondence, please add sconnor@sfn.org, program@sfn.org, and sfn@support.ctimeetingtech.com to your email “safe senders” list.
