How to submit CFPs
All (or almost) steps to follow to become a speaker
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Would you like to give talks in conferences but you feel disoriented and you don't know how to do?
Would you like to give talks in conferences but you feel disoriented and you don't know how to do?
Here is a resource that we hope it will help your methodology to sumbit more talks and get selected as speaker!
Here is what you will find in this resource:
Why you should propose as speaker
Why you should propose as speaker
Improve your skills
If you have learned something new the best way to fix it in your mind is the ability to explain it to others
Benefits
Attend the conference of your interest for free, know other speakers and even if you are not selected normally conferences share with you a discount code or free ticket to attend the event
Community and Knowledge sharing
You have the possibility to get in touch with many other people with your same interests and have a big impact on their growth
Personal Branding
Being speaker helps you to be more recognizable in our field and it will be easier for you to get in touch with the person you need and find the job of your dream. Companies take care a lot about all these contributions
Choose the topic you want to talk about
Choose the topic you want to talk about
It's alway hard to think about what we could share on a tech conference stage due to our impostor syndrome. Maybe you are thinking that you have anything to talk about and that you have not enough experience but in 99% of cases this is not right.
Each of us has always something that has learned and that can share with others. You don't need to be the biggest developer in the world or to have followed so many big projects. Share what you have learned, what was impactful for you, your experience that could solve a problem already faced by others.
Give yoursef the possibility to grow, if the topic is not interesting enought, the conference program cometee will be in charge of doing this decision, not you ;)
Set your environement
Set your environement
Before starting to sumbit talks I suggest to set your environemment with all info ready to be used because you will always need some data to be shared.
Here is how I suggest to do:
create your profile on sessionize.com, upload your bio, photo, socials links and talk proposals (Here is Emanuele Bartolesi's profile and Edaordo Dusi's one)
create a profile also on conference-hall.io
prepare an abstract of max 100/120 caracters: it's your business card
prepare an abstract of max 500 caracters: some events puts some limits
prepare a list of topics you will touch during your talk: some conferences asks some detailed info
How to write a good title
How to write a good title
The title of a talk, like for a film or a book, is the business card to bring people, who are potentially interested in what you have to offer, closer and earn the opportunity to tell your story.
In over a thousand hours of talks of all kinds, we have learned that the title makes the difference. But how to write the right title, the magnetic, nice, tantalizing and stimulating one that can push people to take a step towards you and explore your proposal?
Five types of titles:
Normal: Organize an effective webinar
Question: How do you organize a webinar?
How: How to organize a webinar
Numbers: 3(+1) ways to host a webinar
Reader reference: What you absolutely need to know to host a webinar
When you write a title with numbers that create quantity and bring to mind the question “What are those 3 ways to organize a webinar? And that +1? Does that mean that I don’t know one and that I’m missing something?”. In addition, you can refer to the reader, his experience and his way of dealing with the topic.
Clarity: the first ones on the list are much clearer, direct, specific and refer to the direct experience of the reader. The last two are open and generate possible alternatives in the mind of the reader.
Keep these principles in mind:
Maximum clarity and simplicity in the creation of the title of the talk (and not only)
Pay attention to spelling and the combination of sounds of words
Use the numbers and quantify the results they will get by participating
Use key terms such as “strategy”, “method”, “infallible”, “secrets” – but without exaggerating!
Always aim for a title that attracts attention, that is not exclusively serious and that activates the mind of the reader.
Always use creativity and make sure that the title has not already been heard or does not fit the usual clichés.
How to write a good abstract
How to write a good abstract
The abstract is a short and accurate summary of the content you will talk about during your talk.
Your aim is to intrigue the reader and leads them to listen to your talk during the conference.
A practical tip for writing your abstract is to put yourself in the shoes of those who are trying to understand through the title what the talk will be about: they will try to understand the content in a few lines to check the level of the talk and its interest.
Be concise and immediately go to the essential points and particular characteristics of your work, without going into detail on the theoretical context that will be explored during the talk.
Try to have in the abstract:
a clear indication of the topic;
a presentation of the structure and articulation of the talk;
a summary of the content and any conclusions/results achieved.
Do you have doubts? Ask a friend if your title and abstract are clear and iteresting enough!
Create routines and find open CFPs
Create routines and find open CFPs
Some CFPs open in certain periods but others completly randomly, for this reason I strongly suggest to greate your own routine:
subscribe to newsletters that you find interesting for events and tag these contacts in your inbox with a specific label (so that it will be easier to find them);
follow conferences of your interest on socials;
create a recurring monthly task on your calendar to have a look at the websites mentioned below.
Here are some ways to find open CFPs :
Here are some ways to find open CFPs :
cfp.watch where you can filter based on several needs (travel support, hotel, fee etc);
conference-hall.io/speaker: go on "my talks", select the talk you want to submit and apply to the open CFPs;
join this mailing list to stay always updated on CFPs open or simply have a look at this resource to see all CFP open;
confs.tech, tech-conferences-italy.now.sh, dev.events, joind.in, eventitech.it
Here are other repositories based on topics where you can find conferences and open CFPs:
And then, what happen?
And then, what happen?
You will receive the outcome of your submission by mail so remember to create a dedicated label or add the email address in the white list of your contacts.
And if you have been not selected... it's super normal! You can't imagine how many talks proposals events organizers receive but don't give up! Continue submitting talks in conferences that you are interested in and ask for feedbacks: some times there are too many talks proposals but maybe sometimes your topic is not interesting or your title and abstract are not clear. You can ask feedbacks to the events organizers or friends, colleagues and community members.
Practice in a local meetup
Practice in a local meetup
If you don't feel confortable in giving a talk to a professional audience ora a big stage and you want to practice, receive feedback and explore the world of public speaking the best place are the tech meetups: local communities organize regurarly in person moments of knowledge sharing. This is the perfect place to practice in front of a few people and in a safe place where nobody will judge you, on the contrary, all your contributions will be more than appreciated.
You can find a local community in your city on:
our platform among our active partners
asking directly to us
Doubts, questions or suggestions?
Doubts, questions or suggestions?
That's all falks! Here is how I submit CFPs, my resources and flows that I follow to be selected as speaker and / or to get some discounts/free tickets to attend conderences.
If you have any other suggestions or CFPs repository please, let me know, I will be more than happy to update this resource!
Cheers 😊
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