CFP for PyCon 2016 is open and you should propose a talk!

There has been a lot of discussion on trying to improve the talk quality at the events. As my bit of contribution to this, below is a re-hash of some good advice from the internet on why you should give a talk, and how to submit a good proposal.

Why?

• You needn’t be an expert on a topic. If you have enough experience about something to help make the next person’s experience with it better, you are good.

• Its a great way to find people who are interested in the same things as you are and to get to talk to them. If you are an introvert, you should definitely be speaking!

• Proposing and giving a talk is about thinking about something hard enough to refine your thoughts, and being able to explain it to others. Its a useful skill to hone.

How?

• Talks are entertainment. Pick a topic that you are excited about and fascinated by. Let it be a general topic that will have a significant number of people interested in it.

• What you want the attendees to be telling their friends about your talk, after they go back. Make it the objective of your talk.

• Submit a complete, clear and compelling proposal. Show the reviewers that you are willing to put in the effort to prepare for and to give a great talk. Here are a bunch of proposals to see and learn from.

• Submit an outline along with your talk. Show the talk can be delivered in the given time and will be interesting. Include an indication of how much time you intend to spend on each part of your talk.

• Choose a good title. The title is what catches the attention of your audience when they are trying to pick a talk. Avoid buzz words.

• Get feedback. Like any writing, feedback can be helpful at all stages – brainstorm while choosing topics to getting critique on the full abstract.

• Convince the reviewers that you can give a well-rehearsed and entertaining – link to previous talks you’ve given, include links to any testimonials you’ve received from your audience, etc. If you don’t have a previously recorded talk, give a small talk to your friends or colleagues and have it recorded.

References

• PyCon US has some good advice on how to submit a proposal and most of it is generic enough for you to use for PyCon India, or any other conference.

• These posts (1 2 and more) by Jesse Davis are so so good!

• I also liked “The Talk on Talks” by Zach Holman.