Conference Speaking 101

Conference Speaking 101Samantha Quiñones BWIC, June 2015

I am a Public Speaker

• ~30 conferences, user groups, podcasts & events in the past 24 months

Why?

• Speaking will boost your career

• You will learn a ton

• Affordable way of attending more conferences

• Make new friends

• Cynical networking opportunities

Why not?

Almost No One Thinks They Belong Here

You have something valuable to share.

Technical Conference Speaking 101

Selecting Topics

• Expanding on a tool or process you’ve used…

• Stuff that you’d like to learn more about…

• Personal interests…

Writing An Abstract

• A short pitch for a topic in under 300 words

• Good abstracts define a problem and promise a solution

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!

Getting Help

• http://helpmeabstract.com

• Find speakers who are open to mentoring (easier than you might think!)

Calls for Papers

Finding Open Calls

• http://calltospeakers.com

• http://twitter.com/callbackwomen

Conferences are Different

• Regional / National

• Community / Corporate

• Monotrack / Polytrack

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

The Selection Process

• Selection Committee

• Blind Review

• Thematic Coherence

• Demographic Balance

You will get rejected.

Getting Accepted

• Keep communication with the organizers open

• Be clear about who is arranging travel and lodging

Constructing a Talk

• Think length first, then pace

• Play to your strengths

• Don’t be afraid to develop your own style

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

Show Time

• It’s OK to be nervous.

• The time goes by REALLY quickly.

• Remember, your audience wants you to succeed!

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.

Resources

• http://helpmeabstract.com

• http://calltospeakers.com

• http://callbackwomen.com

• @ieatkillerbees