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@mariatta@fosstodon.orgObvious things conference speakers should do:
- submit a talk proposal
- take a photo/selfie
- write up bio
- give the talk
Not obvious things conference speakers should do:
- update email filter so emails from conference organizers don't end up in spam
- when traveling, plan to arrive at Talk day - 2 days, in case of flight cancellations
- show up at least 30 minutes before the talk slot, not 5 minutes before
- use light mode presentation slides (light bg, dark text)
anything else?
Adding to my list of non-obvious thing you can do as a conference speaker:
- Offer to be a backup speaker in case of other speaker's cancellation (and don't feel bad if you're not needed)
(I need to convert this whole thread into a blog post)
One more non-obvious thing for conference speakers:
- use personal email address (instead of work email) when you submit your talk to the CFP system.
Just in case your employment status change between the time you applied to speak and the time you're scheduled to speak. This assumes you still want to speak regardless of your employment affiliation.
Sometimes it's not actually easy for the organizers to change your email address on their end 
- Learn if there's a green room, and use it if so.
- Plan what you will do with your junk during the talk. Where is your backpack going? Swag bag? Phone? Jacket?
- Make sure you are hydrated and empty your bladder an hour beforehand. Both overhydration and dehydration can make stage fright feel *way* worse (and vice versa).
- Are you using your own clicker? Charge & test it about 6 hours early. Give yourself time to buy new batteries (you will forget them).
@mariatta This may all sound very fussy, but if you fuss about these minor details in advance, you won't be thinking about anything other than doing a good job with the talk itself when it's time, and you'll be a lot more relaxed
@glyph Yes the clicker!! Somehow I expected that should be a "given", something conference organizers would provide (and Display adapter), so I don't need to bring my own, but there were a few times when I've had to use my own clicker 
The clicker is now part of my traveling kit.
@mariatta @glyph the display adaptor can be a problem - for example Apple devices are not common on South Africa, so only 1 or 2 presentations a year at PyConZA use one. None of the organisers have an Apple so the first time in recent years that someone needed a specific adaptor we had to scrabble to borrow one from another attendee as we didn't know the one we had wouldn't do. We now specify HDMI input and make it clear presenters need to bring whatever they need to emit HDMI.
@kimvanwyk @mariatta what kind of "specific adaptor" are you talking about? by "an Apple" you mean like someone was trying to present from their Lightning-only iPhone?
@glyph @mariatta I have no idea actually, I wasn't directly in the room at the time and I don't know enough about Apple devices to know the likely details. It's possible I've got the wrong end of the stick and the kit the conference owns would have worked but was already in use. Effectively I know the lesson we took from it was to repeatedly remind speakers well before the conference to please ensure they bring what they need to connect to HDMI.
@kimvanwyk @mariatta the specific complaint hit my eye oddly just because it's the sort of thing that would have been a vendor-specific problem in like… 2012, maybe… but nowadays if you've got a dell XPS or a macbook air you're in the same boat ;). Nevertheless, the core message, "communicate clearly about display output requirements" is important.
Not just "HDMI" either. Resolution is an important detail! Some places allegedly have 4:3 setups, which is a nightmare if you're not expecting it…
@glyph @mariatta good point on resolution, I should have mentioned it. The pyconZA setup forces 1280x720 @ 50Hz as the only option through a display adapter programmed to only accept that. The more important thing we do here though is be very clear about this and include it in the technical setup instructions in the conference website: https://2023.za.pycon.org/talks/presentation-setup-details/
@glyph @kimvanwyk I was thinking it's the MacBook with USB C?
@mariatta @kimvanwyk It is true that that is "not HDMI" but a lot of laptops are in that boat these days (ThinkPad Z13, Dell XPS 13, microsoft surface pro, HP spectre, etc), not particularly an Apple thing
@mariatta @kimvanwyk not to mention the fact that about half of Apple's line-up *does* have HDMI ports these days, too.
@mariatta @kimvanwyk But that's why I asked: people *do* show up with something truly wacky like a Lightning-based iPad and want to present. Technically speaking if you have the right adapter you *can* do the whole thing from your phone, no laptop needed, but gosh I wouldn't want to do that except as a lightning talk where the fact that it worked would be the whole stunt :)
@glyph @mariatta @kimvanwyk Sorry for replying to an old post, but I wanted to provide some insight—if South Africa is similar to Brazil in that regard, it’s probably because older and more budget-oriented computers are much more common than modern ones (let’s say, 4 years old or newer). Many, many professors of mine still have laptops with VGA ports or older ports, no USB-C at all, etc. Regular USB-C ports on laptops is still a fairly new thing here (compared to countries in the Global North).
@glyph @mariatta @kimvanwyk I travel with adapters and extra cables labeled with my name, Mastodon username, and email address because I’ve seen that happen somewhat frequently and always end up lending an item or two to conference organizers in the Global South. Hell, I’ve done that regularly in class at my university because our projectors are old and we haven’t had the budget to buy new cables for a while.
@anna @mariatta it's a similar situation here in South Africa, many people are on older hardware, especially those attending conferences at their own expense. Apple products are particularly expensive here, a MacBook can be 3-4x the price of a roughly equivalent non-Apple laptop which isn't cheap itself.
@mariatta I felt so bad at PyCascades showing up ~10 minutes before as the first talk of the day. Glad to know my tendency to be over early is appreciated.
And that last one, I actually made sure to switch out my IDE theme for my lightning talk when I realized how unreadable dark mode is from the audience.
@mariatta if you're taking screenshots remember to increase the font size to spectacularly large if you want the audience to be able to read it. Same for demos (pre-recorded or live).
If you're showing a console and what you want won't show in around 40 characters width and 10 lines height, you should probably find a different way to communicate the info.
@mariatta some additional lessons I had to learn the hard way:
- have a copy of slides in the cloud somewhere in case your computer goes kaput
- have another copy on a usb stick in case the network also isn’t working
- use the bathroom before the talk
- but BEFORE you get mic’d up!!
- have a “bonus” section at the end in case your talk runs fast
- and an optional section somewhere in the middle in case you’re running long
- decide if you want to take questions. you don’t have to!
@cfbolz *nods* and related to not drinking soda: eat lighter meal the day before, maybe no spicy food, etc.
@mariatta yeah, but also don't be hungry during the talk! They take more energy than you'd think
@jacob @mariatta
I‘d love to add:
- Check the presentation on the actual hardware before you go on stage (especially if you use special fonts or animations)
- Have a version with NO special fonts with you (just fonts like Arial/Times/…)
- Please never-ever say „that was it“ at the the end of your presentation. Think about a great ending, better a call of action. Practice and memorize it. Use it.
@mariatta check your slides on a phone screen, if you can’t read them, consider the font size. Also while you should check the conference website on the day to confirm the time and room of the talk, don’t rely on it. Plan for the schedule to be unavailable due to technical issues when you need it, so keep a screenshot. (Having offline notes of times and rooms to visit is good practice for attendees, too)
@mariatta if your talk has an MC or someone introducing you, be sure to meet them 10+ minutes before the talk starts. They may want to confirm how to pronounce your name, get your preference on when to take questions, check whether you'll stand in one place or move around if the talk is being filmed and that kind of thing.
@mariatta Loved the last not obvious thing. It's quite not trivial and a key to the path of a successful presentation.
@inaciomdrs Dark mode is cool, but in 99% conference venue I've been to, it just doesn't work.
@mariatta
- practice your talk
- lock your slides before you leave to travel to the conference (so you don't forget about any last minute changes since you last practiced)
- practice your talk
- make sure you have a good night sleep the night before your talk
- practice your talk
- confirm your talk length, room, and call time
- practice your talk.
@mariatta It helps to remember that people went out of their way to hear you:
- don’t apologize for anything — we want your words, not apologies.
- try to avoid talking about things you cut or can’t get to — it’s negativity. If you have more, provide the link to your book or blog — focus on positivity. We’re delighted to get more words.
@mariatta all makes sense except for the last point — why recommend light mode over dark? In most of the conf’s I’ve seen, lighting is deliberately more dim, and hence darker slides with light content pop well (legible, higher contrast ratio).
(if the recommendation is really “make sure your slides are readable from the back of the room,” then I say AMEN :)
@mariatta
How "last minute" a speaker can be though? I guess if the venue is close to you and you reuse presentation material, less than a month is ok?
@mariatta My own advice would be: use a personal address if you intend to speak for yourself, and a professional address if you intend to speak for your employer.
@sfermigier @mariatta Yeah, this is fair.
If the topic you're talking about isn't relevant if you no longer work at a place, feel free to provide your work email.
If the topic is the same/more relevant if you're no longer employed at whatever place, absolutely use personal email.
@mariatta Can confirm .. this happened to me in advance of TPRC 2023 in Toronto. Womp womp. :/
@mariatta I guess it depends on whether I speak on behalf of my employer or not. But if I do speak on behalf of my employer, and they sack me, I guess I probably won't speak at all. Fortunately this has not yet been an issue and I've so far only ever used my personal contact address.
@mariatta If the conference uses HotCRP, you can merge accounts and replace the old one with the new one as long as you know the old email address and password (even if you can’t still access that email) and any emails sent via the system will automatically go to your new email.
If the conference does not use HotCRP, then they’ve already opted in to suffering. I opt out of suffering where possible so I won’t be reviewing papers for them.
@mariatta I hate that I have to say this but: practice your presentation at least three times.
@mariatta it's a personal thing but as someone who has seen in more details more presentations than pretty much anyone alive (and edited transcripts and videos for hundreds) do not live code. Ever, In any circumstances.
I mean it–it makes for deeply inaccessible, non-inclusive rambling gibberish.
I would yeet all such presentations into the Sun.
This is a hill I will die on!
@mariatta anther one is talk about yourself briefly AT THE END. People will pay no attention and you will lose from the get go with 'well as the person introducing just said…'
Notice what stand up comedians do–they don't start by introducing themselves, they end with that. People will pay attention then, you will have engaged them. And your final slide with contact details will be up there for longer.
@mariatta No bullet points.
@mariatta Do *not* read the text on your slides to the audience. They can read them faster than you can talk, then they’ll start doing email and you’ve lost them.
@mariatta Do not have an introductory “here’s what I’m going to talk about” slide with an outline on it. It’s boring, and the first seconds of the talk are where you should grab their attention with a surprising claim or demo or something.
@mariatta if you have a live demo, also have a video of it, in case something goes wrong. Fill your water bottle BEFORE the talk or get a bottled water. Pick a friendly audience member to focus on. Tailor your talk to the audience…
@mariatta
- Get the talk done before you travel
- Rehearse, standing. Check the timings. Repeat it sounds nonchalant.
- move surplus slides into an appendix.
- Anticipate obvious questions & draft answers.
- Make sure the laptop is charged up.
- Copy the presentation *off the laptop* in case it decides to die on the flight over.
- charge the laptop & bring the PSU
- turn off notifications & go off-line avoid pop-ups. Apps which don't use the OS notifications are a PITA here.
@mariatta don’t put important information in the bottom 30% of the slide.
Depending on room set-up, much of the audience may not see that part.
@mariatta for your presentation, make sure you have:
1) a copy of your actual slide deck on a cloud drive you can access.
2) a PDF version of the same (which you can use if no one has your presentation software)
3) the presentation and PDF on your travel computer
4) the presentation and PDF on an USB you take with you
And it can’t hurt to email it to yourself as well.
It sounds like overkill until, like a friend of mine, you start giving your talk and discover that you have only the title slide and first draft agenda slide…
Make sure you can access and use your presentation from anywhere. Before you need backups, they seem excessive, when you need backups they’re always insufficient.