The goal of this talk is to provide some resources to help everyone feel included and welcome as a conference speaker. Open source conferences are always striving to increase the diversity of their speakers by recruiting new speakers and encouraging people from underrepresented groups to submit talks. But how do you decide what topic to cover? What can you do to help your topic stand out? How do you prevent imposter syndrome from getting in the way of your success as a speaker? You do not need to be the world’s leading expert on a topic to give a presentation. You just need to know a few things that can help other people learn enough about the topic to get started. By bringing your authentic voice and unique perspective to the topic, people will walk away from your talk with new insights that they wouldn’t get from another speaker. This talk will cover: Selecting a topic and a conference for your topic. Writing a title and abstract that will increase the chances of your talk being accepted. The importance of your bio during the talk selection process. Tips for writing and preparing your presentation. The audience will walk away with practical advice about writing and submitting talk proposals along with some tips for delivering a successful presentation.

1. ©2022 VMware, Inc. @geekygirldawn
Overcoming Imposter
Syndrome to Become
a Conference Speaker
SCALE July 2022
Dr. Dawn M. Foster
Director of OSS Community Strategy
fosterd@vmware.com fastwonderblog.com
Open Source at VMware @vmwopensource
blogs.vmware.com/opensource

2. ©2022 VMware, Inc. @geekygirldawn 2
whoami
• Geek, traveler, reader
• 20+ yr tech career focused on
community & open source
(Intel, Puppet, Scale Factory, …)
• OpenUK Board, CHAOSS Board and
Maintainer, TODO Group Steering
• Kubernetes contributor & CNCF
Contributor Strategy SIG
• PhD from the University of Greenwich
focus on Linux kernel collaboration
Photos by Mom, Josh Bancroft, Don Park

3. ©2022 VMware, Inc. @geekygirldawn 3
My Journey
2006 - 2007
Panels & Lightning talks
100+ Conference Talks
Many Program Selection Committees
1995 - 2005
Internal Presentations

4. @geekygirldawn
©2022 VMware, Inc.
Benefits to You and Your Employer
Topic and Conference Selection
Writing Titles and Abstracts
Bio and Other Supporting Info
Insights into the Talk Selection Process
Tips for Writing and Preparing
Resources and Final Thoughts
4
Agenda
Photo by Marco Verch - CC BY 2.0

5. ©2022 VMware, Inc. @geekygirldawn
Attend for free
Access to other Speakers
Advance your career
5
Benefits for You
Image by The Linux Foundation CC BY

6. ©2022 VMware, Inc. @geekygirldawn
Showcase our talent,
technologies,
and expertise
6
Benefits for Your Employer
Photo by ThisisEngineering RAEng on Unsplash

7. ©2022 VMware, Inc. @geekygirldawn
Talk to your manager
for approval before
submitting a proposal
7
Approval
Process
Photo by Christina @ wocintechchat.com on Unsplash

8. ©2022 VMware, Inc. @geekygirldawn
Image by the CNCF CC BY-NC 2.0
Topic and Conference Selection
Image by the CNCF CC BY-NC 2.0

9. ©2022 VMware, Inc. @geekygirldawn
What do you know that
people with less experience
could benefit from learning?
9
Pick a Topic
Image by Tim Samoff CC BY-ND 2.0

10. ©2022 VMware, Inc. @geekygirldawn
Conference talks are
not advertising
opportunities.
10
No Pitches
Image by the CNCF CC BY-NC 2.0

11. ©2022 VMware, Inc. @geekygirldawn
Unique, important,
innovative, relevant,
and focused
11
Topics should be …
Photo by
Dan Meyers
on
Unsplash

12. ©2022 VMware, Inc. @geekygirldawn
Requires advance planning
to submit proposals
12
Calls for Proposals
(CFPs)
Photo by This.Usually.Works - CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

13. ©2022 VMware, Inc. @geekygirldawn
Select a conference
that fits your topic
13
Pick a
Conference
Image by the CNCF CC BY-NC 2.0

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Meetups, local, and
regional events
14
Starter Events

15. ©2022 VMware, Inc. @geekygirldawn 15
Photo by Gael Varoquaux CC BY 2.0
Writing Titles and Abstracts

16. ©2022 VMware, Inc. @geekygirldawn
Clear, descriptive, and
detailed, but also concise
16
Abstract
Photo by Jo Zimny Photos - CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

17. ©2022 VMware, Inc. @geekygirldawn
Paragraph about why the topic is
important and relevant to the
conference.
The session will cover:
• Several
• Main
• Points
The audience will walk away with …
17
My Abstract Formula
Photo by Michael Himbeault - CC BY 2.0

18. ©2022 VMware, Inc. @geekygirldawn
Short and clear
Matches your content
18
Talk Titles
Image by hehaden CC BY-NC 2.0

19. ©2022 VMware, Inc. @geekygirldawn
Photo by Tow
fi
qu barbhuiya on Unsplash
19
Bio and Other Supporting Material

20. ©2022 VMware, Inc. @geekygirldawn
Your expertise is an important
part of the selection process
20
Bio
Photo by Ian Southwell - CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

21. ©2022 VMware, Inc. @geekygirldawn
Your best examples of
past presentations,
blog posts, or videos
21
Supporting Material
Image by the Linux Foundation CC BY-NC 2.0

22. ©2022 VMware, Inc. @geekygirldawn 22
Photo by Ed Kohler CC BY 2.0
Selection
Process
Insights

23. ©2022 VMware, Inc. @geekygirldawn
Be clear about your content
and don’t pitch a big reveal
23
Not Enough Detail
Image by James Jordan CC BY-ND 2.0

24. ©2022 VMware, Inc. @geekygirldawn
Proofread and
get feedback
24
Poorly written
Image by Santiago Uceda CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

25. ©2022 VMware, Inc. @geekygirldawn
You’re competing against
other great proposals
25
Don’t get discouraged
Image by Aiky RATSIMANOHATRA CC BY-NC 2.0

26. ©2022 VMware, Inc. @geekygirldawn
Photo by Mike's Birds - CC BY-SA 2.0
26
Tips for Writing and Preparing

27. ©2022 VMware, Inc. @geekygirldawn
Don’t wait until the
last minute to write your talk
27
Start Early
Photo by Nigel CC BY 2.0

28. ©2022 VMware, Inc. @geekygirldawn
Start with an outline
and have speaker notes
28
Get Organized
Image by vintagemodernquilts | lisa CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

29. ©2022 VMware, Inc. @geekygirldawn
Practice, practice, practice
Speak slowly and have pauses
29
Preparation
Image by Jim Griffin - Public Domain

30. ©2022 VMware, Inc. @geekygirldawn
Your social media,
internal channels,
marketing.
fastwonderblog.com/speaking
30
Promote Your Talk
Photo by
Juliana Romão
on
Unsplash

31. ©2022 VMware, Inc. @geekygirldawn
PR training
for questions,
courses on speaking,
and your colleagues
31
Internal
Resources
Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash

32. @geekygirldawn
©2020 VMware, Inc. 32
Helpful Articles
My 2 part blog post series on this topic:
Benefits and Barriers and Steps to Success
VMware OSS Blog: Crafting the Perfect Proposal
Dzone: Becoming a Conference Speaker
Photo by Vicente - CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

33. ©2022 VMware, Inc. @geekygirldawn
Don’t let anything get in the
way of sharing what you
know. Others can learn
from your experience.
33
Final Thoughts
Image by Jim Griffin - Public Domain

34. ©2022 VMware, Inc. @geekygirldawn
Dr. Dawn M. Foster
fosterd@vmware.com
fastwonderblog.com
Open Source at VMware
blogs.vmware.com/opensource
@vmwopensource
34
Thank You!
Photo by Thangaraj Kumaravel - CC BY-NC-ND 2.0