Your First Conference Proposal!

Speaking at conferences is a great way to get to know new people, travel the country (and the world!), learn new techniques, and network with other developers. But submitting your first conference presentation can be daunting. You might not be sure how much detail to include or how formal to me. You might even think that your perspective isn't valuable.

In this talk, we'll start with a discussion of impostor syndrome and how you can overcome it to start your speaking career. Multiple and diverse voices add value to all conferences, so we'll talk about how to get yourself a speaker mentor, how to build confidence, and the importance of rehearsal. Then we'll get into the nitty gritty of what conferences are looking for in a proposal. By the end of the meeting, you'll have a list of conferences to apply for, some ideas for what to present, and a plan for giving your first conference talk in 2016.

First given as a PyLadies Remote class in January 2016. Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAQAXVU1jIo

Transcript

1. Your First Conference Proposal! Lacey Williams Henschel @laceynwilliams
2. About Me
3. Where I’ve Spoken ← Jane Austen! Keynote! →
4. Where I’ve Been Rejected (. . . also I should put myself out there more.)
5. Bake the Cookies, Wear the Dress Seriously, stop watching me. Go watch Adrienne.
6. “No, I’m not.” Yes, you are. Not thinking that you are enough is called impostor syndrome. You can do this! Step 0: You Are Enough
7. Well, what are you into? What do you do well? What have you learned? What are you good at explaining? “How do you do you?” - Adrienne Lowe Step 1: What Do I Say?
8. So? Personal experience counts. But I don’t have anything groundbreaking to share. . . .
9. Step 2: Where Should I Say It? @CallbackWomen @DjangoCon @PyCon @PyTennesee @PyTexas AKA: Where to Speak @DjangoconEurope @EuroPython @ELAConf @OSBridge @OSCON @AlterConf @WriteTheDocs @PyconAU @DjangoConAU @PyLadies meetups
10. More Step 2: Ask your friends! Ask Twitter! Ask the Google! [Your language + “conferences”] Propose with a buddy! Look for a Code of Conduct!
11. Step 3: How Should I Say It? AKA: The Proposal All proposals “have something in common: they aren’t going to fit in their time slot.” - Ned Batchelder
12. All that stuff you cut? Use it to propose a second talk!
13. More Step 3: Metaphors are for Kickass Speakers
14. Even More Step 3: Geeking Out is Frackin’ Awesome!
15. OMG Step 3 is never going to stop.
16. Step 4: Who Can Help Me?
17. More Step 4: People are Nice! Psssst. You there. Want someone to look at your proposal? Just ask. Google Docs’ “suggest” feature is your friend!
18. Step 5: Oh Crap, I Was Accepted Of course you were! Take a moment and celebrate. Don’t freak out.
19. No, Seriously Seriously. Don’t freak out! But here are some speaking tips....
20. “Pretend you are talking to your friends.” - Dale Carnegie
21. “I had a drama teacher that kept a collection of lightweight plastic cups she could throw at us if we moved without a good reason. Her aim was spectacular, and it broke all of us of moving while giving a speech.” - Katie Cunningham
22. “Bullets are live ammunition. Even in small quantities they can kill a talk.” - Daniel Roy Greenfeld
23. “I try to say anything BUT what is on the slide.” - Daniel Roy Greenfeld
24. How Do You Get to Carnegie Hall?
25. “I went to a talk where the speaker was presenting on a technical matter with beer in hand. Maybe he thought it was hip, but his talk sucked.” - Daniel Roy Greenfeld
26. A Different Step 5: I Was Rejected This feeling sucks, especially the first time. But it’s okay.
27. What Rejection Doesn’t Mean (Promise) They hated my topic. They hated ME. I’m not good enough. I should scrap this topic entirely. I just wasn’t meant to speak at conferences.
28. What Most Likely Happened: (and remember, I’m an organizer) We think you’d be better for this other conference... We had so, so many submissions this year. There was another similar proposal... W e think your talk needs a few tweaks.
29. How to Handle It Ask for feedback! Thank the committee! Get back on the horse! Submit this (or another!) topic to another conference!
30. Step 6: Remember This You got this! You have a perspective that our community values. We want to hear from you.
31. Step 7: Go Back to Step 1 How you’ll feel after your first talk!
32. Now go read/watch these people... Carina C. Zona (@cczona): Regularly gives talks at local PyLadies meetups on giving conference talks. Look out for one! Adrienne Lowe (@adriennefriend): Gave the talk, “Bake the Cookies, Wear the Dress” Katie Cunningham (@kcunning): Wrote that awesome post about being still while speaking
33. Daniel Roy Greenfeld (@pydanny): Wrote a great post with presentation tips. Ned Batchelder (@nedbat): Several posts on presenting, geared toward Pycon. Barbara Shaurette (@bshaurette): Runs Young Coders at PyCon; has written on getting over a fear of public speaking. Julie Pagano (@juliepagano): Gave the talk, “It’s Dangerous to Go Alone: Battling the Invisible Monsters in Tech” Eric Snow (@ericsnowcrntly): Wrote “Advice for PyCon Speakers”
34. I have more questions! @laceynwilliams lacey@djangogirls.org Thanks, y’all!