Speakers - ninelabs/city.webafternoon.com GitHub Wiki

Finding Speakers

Start with doing some research. It’s likely that there have been conferences (like TEDx or Creative Mornings) which have attracted local experts and crowd pleasing speakers.

Put together a short list of names that interest you. Who is eager to share their skills? Who runs their own consultancy, design firm, or creative agency? Who are the masters of programming, development, or user experience?

Brainstorm with your team to get a mix of potential topics and speakers. People will usually throw out names that they know, friends-of-friends, or top tier speakers they’re inspired by.

Once you’ve created your list of potential speakers, start getting contact information for them. You’ll want to contact them at least 3 months in advance so they have enough time to check their calendars and clear the date. More sought after speakers usually require more advance notice.

Speaker Fees

Some speakers will ask you to pay them a speaker fee. Go for it if you have the budget and think they are worth the expense. Many great people are totally willing to speak for free if they are looking for exposure or just like your event. Just be wary of people who are looking to sell something from the stage.

A Note on Diversity: There have been ripples of controversy surrounding the line-up of speakers at many tech events. While you should be aware of having an “all white guy” speaker list, you should value ideas and presentation ability over gender or ethnicity. That said, make an effort to find a diverse group of speakers in all senses of the word. There are lots of great ideas coming from people who are not white and/or male.

Selecting the Talks

To help you get a feeling for the kind of talks that fit Web Afternoon, we put together some guidelines to help. We don’t want to dictate the content of your event. We’re simply aiming to provide you with a practical set of standards that help ensure that every audience member can trust the ideas they’re hearing and enjoy the content of the event. This way, we can all preserve the integrity and value of the Web Afternoon brand throughout the world.

Guideline 1: No selling from the stage

If it’s essential to a talk that the speaker mention what they do and describe the businesses that they’re in, they should. But speakers may never use the stage to pitch their products or services, plug their books, or ask for funding. It’s a fine line between shameless self-promotion and wholesome self-reporting so, as a rule of thumb, if it feels like an advertisement, it probably is and shouldn’t be on the Web Afternoon stage.

Guideline 2: No political agendas

Politics and policy are key parts of the global conversation. But the Web Afternoon stage is not the place for partisan politics, nor for extremist or inflammatory positions. Speakers should not overtly advocate for parties, party platforms and political leaders in their talks — nor should they insult or belittle political adversaries. Advise speakers to focus on discussing concrete problems and solutions.

Guideline 3: No religious proselytizing (including new age beliefs)

Don't book speakers who attempt to prove or persuade of the correctness of a single religion, deity or belief system, whether through rhetoric or "scientific proof." Be wary of speakers promoting new age beliefs, including concepts such as quantum consciousness, Gaia theory, archaeoastronomy, and drug-induced spiritual epiphanies. Speakers can be honest about their beliefs, but should not use the stage to promote them.

Preparing Your Speakers

Web Afternoon’s format may be different than what many speakers are accustomed to. (Long talks, podiums and readings are discouraged) To get the best out of your speakers, prepare them for what to expect.

  • Talk to every speaker (by phone or in person) weeks, if not months, before the event. Make sure they understand the format, and know who their audience is.
  • From the earliest conversation, reinforce key points: Their talk should be directed at a smart general audience. (Avoid industry jargon.) It should focus on one unique aspect of their story. (Don't try to cover too much.) It should not be a sales pitch. (Absolutely no corporate plugs.)
  • Have your speakers send you their presentation two weeks before the event so you can review it and make suggestions.
  • Regroup with all of your speakers on the day of the event to refresh them. If possible, offer them rehearsal time before the actual event begins.
  • Repeatedly reinforce the fact that they will be held to a strict time limit (talks may never be longer than 18 minutes); encourage rehearsal.
  • Make sure they sign the speaker waiver. Each speaker must affirm that they are the sole author of their presentation, that they own all rights to the content in their presentation, that they will inform you about any third-party material in their presentation, and that use of their presentation won't violate the rights of any third party.

Collecting Speaker Info

You’ll need a few things from each speaker so they can be added to the Website.

  • Color Headshot - 800px x 600px or larger: For the current Website, this will be cropped to 225x261. We need the larger size in case the design changes or if you decide to do print materials.
  • Two paragragh bio: This should be written in the 3rd person and contain enough information about the speaker to convey why they are worth listening to. We prefer casual voice and tone. It should include:
  • Current Title and Company Name
  • Personal Blog or Website URL
  • Twitter Handle
  • Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+ URLs (optional)
  • Talk title and two paragraph abstract: Again, a casual tone is preferred. It should be a consice description of the content of their talk.
  • Preferred airport and travel dates: Obviously this only applies to out of town speakers. You’ll need to know which airport they prefer and when they want to arrive and leave. For a nice touch ask if they have a frequent flyer number and preferred airline.
  • Any special hotel or dietary requests: Many people have food allergies, may prefer a certain floor or part of the hotel. Ask them and make notes. Be sure to consider dietary requests when planning catering or speaker’s dinners.