Author: Christian Heilmann
Translated by: Zhuang Qi
Like any other skill, being a great public speaker first means doing it regularly. Of course, you can read all the materials about public speaking, but the main trick is to do it and overcome your fears and uncertainties.
The key problem is that becoming a conference speaker isn’t easy. This is partly based on the decisions of most conference organizers who only invite well-known speakers. It’s also based on the fact that audiences in surveys keep asking for well-known speakers, which is also sad—it solidifies the speaker circle.
However, there is a way, which is largely based on getting your name out there more and participating in conferences through various channels.
Participate in Podcasts
Recently, podcasts have exploded, and many people follow them during commutes and outings. Being invited to participate in discussions or bring something to the podcast’s news round is likely easier than being invited to an event. However, this is also a big step toward success. Listen to some podcasts, see what topics they cover, and how they connect to what you want to talk about, and you’re halfway there. Podcasters are always looking for content and things to cover, and by reaching out to them and offering expert opinions, you don’t have to do the promotion work yourself, but you’ll also become known. Getting invited is a process that often happens through word of mouth. This means that by helping a smaller, emerging podcast, you’re not only helping someone else but also getting on the radar of bigger companies. Usually, you’ll meet podcasters at events. If you’re flexible enough to record on-site, you’ll quickly find your first contributor.
Participate in Panel Discussions
The same applies to panel discussions. Although speaking opportunities are rare, by definition, panel discussions require more people to participate. Most speakers are “panel members” who don’t want to participate in panels when they have their own speeches to worry about. This is your opportunity to sneak onto the stage and get your first experience in front of an audience. Since you may not be famous yet, a good way to be invited to panel discussions is to be a subject matter expert or part of a larger group (library authors, tech stack enthusiasts, etc.) and bring your expertise to the discussion.
Participate in Grassroots Activities
Barcamps used to be a really great counter-movement to the conference circuit, and they still exist to some extent. They are non-conferences, meaning they are gatherings of networking and speaking enthusiasts. Unlike conferences, they are free. The Rules of Barcamp state that everyone attending the conference must give a talk.
These talks are usually 15 minutes long and can be about anything that excites you. I’ve seen various technical lectures at Barcamps, as well as knitting techniques and gardening advice.
Barcamps and similar grassroots activities are great opportunities to get your first public speaking experience and be discovered by interested people and conference organizers. Usually, you’ll find that such activities are organized around other events. For example, Indie Web Camps or a11ycamps.
Join Meetups
Meetup is an informal gathering of industry people who talk about hot topics and generally get to know and understand other local peers. Usually, they have a quick speaking session to start the event, which is your chance to get your foot in the door and speak to an expert audience (or an audience that’s not the normal conference crowd).
Typically, local IT companies that want to get noticed will organize meetups in their offices, and while this means you need to understand their agenda, it’s a great place to get to know the company while also being a guest speaker.
Ask Questions at Conferences
Remember, never be shy to ask questions at any conference. I’m 100% sure that my success at work was a major breakthrough after I asked detailed technical questions to speakers at the @media2005 conference.
I spent four months arguing with my boss to get tickets to the conference, saying it was important for my team to be there and wanting to get my money’s worth—everyone attending a conference should do the same.
You don’t get answers if you don’t ask, plain and simple. If your question is technically valuable and interesting, you can be very sure that other listeners have the same question but are afraid to ask.
Write Articles
Many conference organizers also run online magazines. These magazines change over time, but there are always big companies there, and you should easily find them. The benefit of online magazines for conference organizers is that they can keep the buzz going between events and try to build a community around their brand. This is a good opportunity for you. Not only can you hone your writing skills, but you can also get speaking opportunities from the source.
Write articles for magazines and keep an eye out for article writing opportunities, and you’ll find yourself being invited to speak faster than you think.
Participate in Lunch Meetings
A brown bag presentation is when you offer to go to a company during their lunch break to give a talk. That’s where the name comes from—because Americans used to bring their lunches in brown paper bags.
Lunch meetings are a great opportunity:
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They are not that common: Therefore, offering them to a company makes the person who agrees an innovator. Many companies have these things on their radar but struggle to fill them with internal presenters.
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It means you can reach people who don’t usually attend conferences but have considerable word-of-mouth power, or who do a lot in big companies without making a big fuss.
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Your talk doesn’t impact the company’s daily delivery, but adds extra value to the normal break.
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It doesn’t mean too much travel because you can do these at local companies (of course, living in a hotspot makes this easy).
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You can learn about their clients and partners from the company’s blog and extranet.
Publish Your Own Speaker Terms
Imagine you’re a conference organizer. You have to deal with many people and juggle many things. Who are you more likely to invite? A speaker you need to email every few days to get information, or someone you can easily work with?
What matters most to conference organizers is having all the details of speaker terms listed online. These are on GitHub, and you can fork them and use them as your own speaker portfolio.
In these, I list all the things conference organizers keep asking me:
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A short, up-to-date resume
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Usable avatars and photos
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All important personal information (name, location, job title, social media handles, homepage)
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Videos of other talks/other presentation slides
I also list appropriate details:
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What I can do for an event
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Which topics I prefer to cover
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What my pet peeves are—the things I won’t do and don’t want to support
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What I will provide at the event
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Podium technical requirements
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My expectations of conference organizers
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Financial agreements (I usually don’t ask to be paid, but cover my travel expenses, and trade normal speaking fees for free diversity tickets)
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What could go wrong and how I will handle it
Thinking through these things not only helps conference organizers but also is a great opportunity to focus on what you want from the event. You don’t want to be seen as someone who doesn’t know what they want. You want to be a professional speaker who is happy to deliver a good talk but also expects a professional environment.
With all this information and being able to copy + paste as a simple link, the only thing the conference organizer has to do is set the date and get the title and abstract for your talk. This may not seem like much, but even with only 10 speakers at your event, having to chase this information can really eat into your time.
By being prepared, you can save the conference organizer a lot of time.
Getting speaking invitations is an accumulative process. The more you speak, the more likely you are to be invited again. Treat any speaking opportunity as a networking and advertising opportunity. Other speakers, organizers, and even conference partners will communicate with each other and share speaking opportunities. Being known as someone who is helpful, good, and easy to work with goes a long way in this regard.
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