Speaking - Getting Your Presentation Accepted

18 Jan 2019 by Keith Elder

Now that you have a great title, abstract, bio and headshot you're ready to start looking for the stage (i.e. conference) to tell your story. When looking at conferences, here are somethings to keep in mind.

Talk to Your Leader

You should talk to your leader before submitting your call for papers. It's important that your leader has awareness so when you're accepted to speak they're aware you'll be out of the office and they'll have insight into what expenses will be incurred. This is a great opportunity for you to grow your skills and represent Quicken Loans, but we want to make sure that everyone has visibility before applying.

Know the Conference

When submitting to a conference, pay attention to the type of conference you're submitting to. For example, if the conference covers a wide variety of topics, then it's typically better to focus on introductory presentations or talks to appeal to a wider audience. Conference organizers want to make sure everyone has something that would benefit them, so think about this from their point of view. If the conference is focused on a specific topic, like JavaScript, then it's better to submit talks with more focus and depth. Conferences with a topic of focus like presentations with more depth or an advanced topic.

Submit Multiple Sessions

A lot of conferences like to do what's called "double dipping" with speakers. This means they like speakers to give at least two talks. It's cheaper for them, especially if they're covering some of the expenses, to have a speaker do two talks instead of one. Thus, always submit multiple talks to a conference. The general rule is you should submit at least three talks to a conference, but no more than five. If you have 20 talks prepared, pick the most relevant ones and limit yourself to five. Everything else is just noise for the organizers and, while it's great you have 20 talks ready, they probably won't appreciate it if every speaker submits 20 talks.

Why, Not How

Be sure you're covering the "why" and not the "how." If you're writing an abstract on a topic to show someone how something is done, it's time to do a reset. With one hour or less to cover the material, focus on the why. There are blogs, YouTube and other resources available for someone to learn how to do something. Instead, focus on the why. Keith Elder, Senior Technology Evangelist at Quicken Loans says, "Many speakers get on stage and spend time showing attendees how to do something that someone on YouTube has probably already shown. Your goal as a speaker should be to inspire the audience and show them what's possible. Leave them convinced that you've shown them the correct path they should take or, at a minimum, investigate further and consider. Spend your time showing them why it matters so when they get back home they can spend time learning the how."

Play the Game

There's no doubt that a bit of politics is involved in getting accepted to a conference. Someone that has more Twitter followers or is more popular is going to get picked over someone just starting out. Spend time building a following. Tweeting, blogging and writing open source software are examples of ways to get your name out there. Bigger names sell tickets, so don't take it personally. Your abstract could be the ultimate abstract with the most relevant topic in the world. However, if a famous blogger or power Twitter user submits the same thing, they'll get selected. The organizers know those that are more popular are going to Tweet about the conference and draw more attention to it, and hopefully sell more tickets.