Conference Speaking 101

Given at Baltimore Women in Computing. A short guide to getting involved in conference speaking.

Transcript

1. Conference Speaking 101 Samantha Quiñones BWIC, June 2015
3. I am a Public Speaker • ~30 conferences, user groups, podcasts & events in the past 24 months
5. Why? • Speaking will boost your career • You will learn a ton • Affordable way of attending more conferences • Make new friends • Cynical networking opportunities
6. Why not?
7. Almost No One Thinks They Belong Here
8. You have something valuable to share.
9. Technical Conference Speaking 101
10. Selecting Topics • Expanding on a tool or process you’ve used… • Stuff that you’d like to learn more about… • Personal interests…
11. Writing An Abstract • A short pitch for a topic in under 300 words • Good abstracts define a problem and promise a solution
12. Caching is among the most vital parts of a modern system, and it is one of the most cost-effective ways of squeezing that extra bit of oomph from an app. Thankfully, we now have more caching techniques and tools than ever, but knowing know how they fit together is difficult. Memcached and redis are just the first step on a journey of building leaner, faster apps. We'll go from reverse proxies like Varnish and NGINX to the newest features of redis 3.0 and beyond! After this session, you’ll have everything you need to create the right caching game plan for your application!
13. Getting Help • http://helpmeabstract.com • Find speakers who are open to mentoring (easier than you might think!)
14. Calls for Papers
15. Finding Open Calls • http://calltospeakers.com • http://twitter.com/callbackwomen
16. Conferences are Different • Regional / National • Community / Corporate • Monotrack / Polytrack
17. Speaker Packages • Uncompensated - It’s on you • Assistance available - Expenses may be covered based on need • Expenses covered - Some or all expenses covered by the event • Compensated - Speakers receive payment
18. The Selection Process • Selection Committee • Blind Review • Thematic Coherence • Demographic Balance
19. You will get rejected.
21. Getting Accepted • Keep communication with the organizers open • Be clear about who is arranging travel and lodging
22. Constructing a Talk • Think length first, then pace • Play to your strengths • Don’t be afraid to develop your own style
23. Find Your Practice Routine • I do… • 2-3 reads in the week leading up, even with familiar material • 1-2 mirror performances as close as possible to delivery
24. Show Time • It’s OK to be nervous. • The time goes by REALLY quickly. • Remember, your audience wants you to succeed!
25. Learning from Feedback • Learn to separate constructive criticism from garbage • A tiny minority will be nasty. They will probably drown out most of the positive feedback you get. It’s normal.
26. Resources • http://helpmeabstract.com • http://calltospeakers.com • http://callbackwomen.com • @ieatkillerbees