year to 20 years as a speaker 4 Respondents had spoken for 1 through to 40 events in the past year 4 One person had spoken at over 100 in the last year!
4 for self-employed people 2 or 3 days of work while at the conference 4 child or petcare to pay for 4 employees may have to use vacation time 4 food and drinks at the event
many of the costs are in losing opportunities for billable work. 4 10 days of prep 4 2 days of travel 4 3 days at the conference 4 plus extra expenses due to being on the road
4 When will speakers hear if they have been accepted or not? 4 What is the selection process? 4 Will you use the submitted abstract as the talk description on the site?
correct legal name of your speaker for the booking 4 and make sure that name is only used for the booking, not on the event site 4 if there are a number of flights ask your speaker their preference 4 find out if they will want to check a bag if there is an extra charge
the speaker have any special requirements - for example an accessible room 4 will the speaker be travelling with a family member? 4 would they prefer to arrange their own accomodation?
give a tutorial on the first day, and a talk on the last day, but their speaker's package only covered 3 nights hotel. It was an interesting conversation, but was made right in the end when they agreed to cover the full 4 nights."
internet connection from the podium 4 will playing audio or video present a problem? 4 any notes based on your knowledge of the venue / setup 4 if you want speakers to present on a conference laptop*
where do we meet? 4 What time is registration at the venue? 4 Is there a technical check? 4 Where should I present myself before my talk? 4 What other commitments do I have? 4 What time and where is the after party?
hotel are covered? 4 What is not covered? 4 If there are meals at the event outline what is provided, especially if your speaker has explained any food allergies. 4 local travel information 4 tips on local sights to see if the speaker has half a day after arriving
up from the airport — but it didn't arrive. And couldn't contact the organisers on the day either. Added a lot of stress to getting to the venue on time. "
when rain is forecast 4 Travel power adapters - correct for the speaker's origin 4 Sim cards and mifi devices 4 Portable batteries 4 lipsalve and moisturizer
or trip to a local attraction 4 Putting something in the gift bag a speaker has mentioned hoping to try 4 Small hand crafted items 4 Food gifts that can be eaten or shared during the conference
way to making everyone feel comfortable and welcome. Too many events, I feel like I walk in, speak, and leave without really interacting. Those dinners, when they do happen, can be gold."
few people from both the organisers and the other speakers. If this is in a city I'm not used to, it makes me feel more confident for the rest of the conference as I at least have a couple of people I know."
food restrictions, preferences and allergies 4 If "dinner" is more "nibbles" let speakers know 4 Relaxed and social is generally more important than expensive and flashy
organizers didn't make themselves known to the speakers. It was totally anonymous. There where two evening events, still none of the organizers bothered to say hi to a speaker."
can be helpful to speakers. 4 Especially where the conference is not in the same location they are staying. 4 In my experience they encourage speakers to stick around, rather than hiding in the hotel.
met the organizer and there appears to be no staff or volunteers. You show up, find your room, set yourself up, give a talk, and just kind of fade away."
for the first 5 mins of my talk. I had no idea what to do or what went wrong, but I saw Toby and Mike quietly but quickly making their way to the stage and all the cables to sort out whatever had went wrong. Realizing that they had my back in that moment and were on top of finding a fix was extremely reassuring."
raffle tickets with good prizes. It got me over 50 responses to a talk with 100 people attending, and I received all the feedback only 15 minutes after my talk was done. It was really helpful."
speakers were harassed. [The conference organizers] dismissed our report of harassment by the male attendee because "he is a good guy and has a family and didn't mean it that way." I actively encourage my peers to avoid that conference."
went against the coc - I did feel very uncomfortable doing so, but they handled it so well. They made me feel very comfortable in approaching them and that it had been the right thing to do. They kept my identity anonymous through the rest of the process when approaching the individual and dealing with the issue."
(Smashing Conf in Oxford), so I let the organizers know, not because I was going to cancel, just as a warning that my voice wasn't going to be great. Cat brought me tea, honey, lemon, and various medicines to help me feel better."
but was ill. I dragged myself there not really feeling up to it and this was pretty obvious to the organiser when I got there. Within 30m the organisers had arranged an alternate speaker, and sent me home. They still covered expenses, accommodation, etc.despite me not speaking."
and travel costs 4 "buddy" system 4 cover a +1 to attend 4 24/7 contact number in case someone gets stranded 4 lots of reminders that the number is to be used for anything