I consider myself a decent speaker. I've had my better moments (and ones I'd rather forget), but I wouldn't call public speaking one of my natural strengths (it's one I continually work at). What I am pretty good at, though, is writing sessions abstracts and submissions for conference call for papers.
Writing a good CFP submission can be difficult, even for many seasoned speakers. What I always recommend is that you have another set of eyes review your submission before you send it - but you may not have someone readily available who has experience writing and reviewing CFPs. That is why, as a service to the community, whether you are a potential first-time speaker or a seasoned veteran, I am making myself available to review your CFP submission.
Before you entrust a stranger with feedback on your hard work, let me share some of my qualifications:
- I have been a speaker at over 60 conferences and events starting back in 2007.
- I have served on the conference committee for major conferences such as O'Reilly's Fluent and QCon New York.
- I have run (both independently and for my job) over a dozen conferences since 2007.
If you'd like to have me review your CFP, I've opened my dm's on Twitter (@remotesynth). Reach out to me there. My only ask of you is that you give me a day or two to review and respond (I can't guarantee that I'll be available for last minute, time sensitive reviews). So, if you have never been a speaker and want some help or you have been a speaker but need another set of eyes on your CFP submission, I'd love to help.
Top comments (3)
Thank you for that.
I would love to speak at some event and try to share my knowledge at it could be benefit to other people.
Nevertheless, I don't from where to start?
I think that meetup events can be a good start. But for the next step, I don't know where to start?
Maybe it is different in Europe and the US.
I definitely recommend starting at a local meetup. Some meetups like the one I run in Orlando have lightning talks, where you can get up and talk about anything for 5 minutes...this is a great way to "break the ice" for a new speaker.
As for the next event, it really depends on the area you focus on and what types of conferences there are. I personally wouldn't jump to a major conference as a first timer - though a lot of these conferences do make room for first time speakers. I prefer to give myself the opportunity to screw up the first time without much consequence 😉 Perhaps there are some smaller community/regional conferences in your field...those could be great first conference speaking opportunities.
Thanks for the advice.
It's true indeed to first "practice" into "smaller" conferences before jumping into the deep end.