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Ananya Neogi
Ananya Neogi

Posted on • Updated on

Are you a conference speaker? Share your experience!

If you're a conference speaker, share your experience so far!
Some insights on the following would be great for people who wish to start speaking at conferences -

  • How did you get started?
  • Tips for writing CFPs?
  • Things to keep in mind while preparing for the talk?
  • Share any links to resources that you've come across or you have written yourself on the topic of public speaking.

Top comments (5)

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laurieontech profile image
Laurie

I answered a bunch of these questions in an interview about speaking :)
cfpland.com/blog/speakers-story-la...

But I’d say my biggest CFP tips are to ask for someone to read it over! This can be a friend, a fellow speaker, many conferences offer advice and mentorship if you ask.

The best advice I’ve been given is that people come to conferences to be entertained. They absolutely want to learn, but you need to hold their interest. Play to your strengths, engaging story teller? Funny? Creative? Pick a style that works for you. And leave yourself time to iterate your talk. Try it out on people or local meetups. All of these can be helpful tricks to feeling more comfortable.

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ananyaneogi profile image
Ananya Neogi

Thank you Laurie! These are some really great tips 😄

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azphillipse profile image
azphillipse • Edited

Good morning,

I got started in programming long before HTML was a baby, it was BASIC Programming. I was mostly interested in how it worked. After 42 years later, I picked up the programming idea again after looking in to improve my website's functions as a whole.
My understanding of CFP is a person or mentor looking over your programming work? Correct?
The things to think about when interviewing a person. What questions am I going to ask, what research have I done to know this person better and what advice do they have for the audience.
You youtube.com is one of the best resources for information, but you have to be picky when selecting the data needed.

Thank you,
Shane P.
Owner of simplifiedsolutionseo.com

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harshilpatel007 profile image
Harshil Patel

I've not done many speaks so far. But, what I learned in my very small experience is that,

1) Know your audience.
1.1) What they are?
1.2) What tech they worked in or working in?
1.3) What they know about the tech that you presenting to them. ( I had a very horrible day once. That day I selected a very common topic that everyone knows about it.)

2) Do some research on your topic.
2.1) know the latest updates about that tech.
2.2) try to discuss about latest changes or updates.
2.3) be ready for tricky questions.

3) Always integrate FUN. LOTS OF FUN.

So, this is what I learned from my past experiences.

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ananyaneogi profile image
Ananya Neogi

Thanks Harshil! 😄