A presentation at Shine Bootcamp by Shine Bootcamp
Become a conference speaker A virtual workshop for women who want to speak Presented by: Upasna Gautam, Product Manager at CNN
About me Upasna Gautam Product Manager, E-Commerce at CNN in Austin, TX 8 years of conference speaking experience Former Pharma Research Scientist & Lab Rat Product + Data Science + SEO @upasnagautam | @shinebootcamp
Objectives Why is it important for women to have a presence on the speaker roster? How to choose a presentation topic Where to speak and how to find the right events How to craft a compelling proposal @upasnagautam | @shinebootcamp
Representation in the Tech industry @upasnagautam | @shinebootcamp
@upasnagautam | @shinebootcamp
THE DATA Women represent 25% of the speakers at tech conferences Womenâs representation in technical roles in the workforce is 20% Women hold a mere 5% of leadership positions in the tech industury 70% of women speakers at tech conferences have reported being the âlone womanâ chosen to speak @upasnagautam | @shinebootcamp
INCLUSION DRIVES INNOVATION @upasnagautam | @shinebootcamp
WE CANâT BE WHAT WE CANâT SEE @upasnagautam | @shinebootcamp
25% REPRESENTATION OF WOMEN SPEAKERS AT TECH CONFERENCES @upasnagautam | @shinebootcamp
20% WOMENâS REPRESENTATION IN TECHNICAL ROLES IN THE WORKFORCE @upasnagautam | @shinebootcamp
ANYONE CAN BE A GREAT SPEAKER. ANYONE! THIS MEANS YOU! THATâs BECAUSE: PUBLIC SPEAKING IS AN ACQUIRED SKILL AND YOU CAN LEARN IT WITH PRACTICE
the benefits of conference speaking YOU LEARN HOW TO FLUENTLY SPEAK YOUR MIND Youâll no longer say âit doesnât matterâ because youâve lacked the confidence to state your case clearly You will exchange self-doubt with confidence You will become hyper-aware of the words you choose to speak and how they impact others - this will fine tune your communication skills for any/every type of person you encounter @upasnagautam | @shinebootcamp
the benefits of conference speaking YOU LEARN HOW TO FLUENTLY SPEAK YOUR MIND 1. You will exchange selfdoubt with confidence 3. You will become hyperaware of the words you choose to speak and how 2. they impact others - this Youâll no longer say it doesnât matter because youâve lacked the confidence to state your will fine tune your communication skills for any/every type of person you encounter case clearly @upasnagautam | @shinebootcamp
the benefits of conference speaking DEVELOP STRONGER CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS You will learn how to think through real problems and provide solutions Youâll learn how to analyze the potential costs and benefits of solutions You will enhance your ability to conduct and analyze research You will foster a sense of curiosity about a wide range of topics and curate more interests, while cultivating inquisitiveness about the world @upasnagautam | @shinebootcamp
the benefits of conference speaking DEVELOP STRONGER CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS 1. 2. You will learn how to Youâll learn how to analyze think through real problems the potential costs and provide solutions and benefits of solutions 3. 4. You will foster a sense of curiosity You will enhance your about a wide range of topics and ability to conduct curate more interests, while and analyze research cultivating inquisitiveness about the world
Confidence IS THE COMPANION OF SUCCESS Success @upasnagautam | @shinebootcamp
curiosity CURIOSITY IS THE ENGINE OF ACHIEVEMENT @upasnagautam | @shinebootcamp
YOU DONâT HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL YOU REACH THE top TOP TO the to BECOME become A leader LEADER a @upasnagautam | @shinebootcamp
the benefits of conference speaking YOU WILL GAIN THE SKILLS TO BECOME A GREAT LEADER Communication is the most critical leadership skill You will learn how to convey your message so that you can unite both stakeholders and individual contributors around a mission You will have an external platform and audience to amplify your domain knowledge authority and become a SME (Subject Matter Expert) Leaders require the capacity to drive change and public speaking skills are vital in learning that ability @upasnagautam | @shinebootcamp
the benefits of conference speaking YOU WILL GAIN THE SKILLS TO BECOME A GREAT LEADER 1. 3. Communication is the most You will have an external platform critical leadership skill and audience to amplify your domain 2. knowledge authority and become a You will learn how to convey your message so that you can SME (Subject Matter Expert) 4. unite both stakeholders and Leaders require the capacity to individual contributors drive change and public speaking around a mission skills are vital in learning that ability @upasnagautam | @shinebootcamp
How to choose a presentation topic @upasnagautam | @shinebootcamp
âTHINK OF YOURSELF AS A TEACHER, NOT A SPEAKER.â - Andy Crestodina, Co-Founder @ Orbit Media @upasnagautam | @shinebootcamp
REMINDER THERE IS ALWAYS SOMEONE WHO KNOWS MORE THAN YOU. THERE IS ALWAYS SOMEONE WHO KNOWS LESS THAN YOU. @upasnagautam | @shinebootcamp
that means⊠YOUâLL ALWAYS HAVE SOMETHING TO LEARN. YOUâLL ALWAYS HAVE SOMETHING TO TEACH. @upasnagautam | @shinebootcamp
LETâS REPEAT THAT ON ANY GIVEN TOPIC⊠THERE IS ALWAYS SOMEONE WHO KNOWS MORE THAN YOU THERE IS ALWAYS SOMEONE WHO KNOWS LESS THAN YOU THIS MEANS THAT: YOUâLL ALWAYS HAVE SOMETHING TO LEARN YOUâLL ALWAYS HAVE SOMETHING TO TEACH
STEP 1: DEFINE THE GOAL Start at a high-level How can you⊠Share your passion for a certain technology that changed the way you work and/or think? Help others learn from a mistake you made? Offer solutions to a complex problem you encountered? Show successful navigation through a technical roadblock? @upasnagautam | @shinebootcamp
USE EVERYDAY INSPIRATION TO PICK A TOPIC @upasnagautam | @shinebootcamp
STEP 2: MIND MAP Organize and visualize each of your topic ideas What techniques did I test out? What research did I conduct? Why is it important? What roadblocks did I encounter? What problem did I solve? What tools did I use? @upasnagautam | @shinebootcamp
TURN YOUR AHA! MOMENT INTO A TEACHABLE MOMENT @upasnagautam | @shinebootcamp
STEP 3: GRADE YOUR IDEAS If you explained the topic to a friend, how would you rate yourself on a scale of 1-5 for each of these four factors? Passion Confidence How much does the topic excite you How relaxed and poised are you and do you love learning about it? discussing this topic with a friend? Expertise Relevancy How well can you explain the topic to How critical is the skill or someone outside of your industry? solution to your industry? @upasnagautam | @shinebootcamp
PASSION CONFIDENCE EXPERTISE RELEVANCY Topic 1 Topic 2 Topic 3 @upasnagautam | @shinebootcamp
PICK THE TOPIC WHERE YOU SCORE THE HIGHEST OVERALL AND HIGHEST IN PASSION @upasnagautam | @shinebootcamp
PASSION BUILDS EXPERTISE Age, education, and experience help perceptions of expertise, but they donât guarantee that youâre good at something Expertise is the by-product of caring about, committing to practicing, and continuing to hone your craft If youâre passionate about making a difference, donât let a lack of experience hold you back from sharing The more you communicate, the more opportunities youâll have to refine your ideas and build your expertise @upasnagautam | @shinebootcamp
PASSION BUILDS EXPERTISE Age, education, and Expertise is the by- If youâre passionate The more you experience help product of caring about making a communicate, the perceptions of about, committing difference, donât let more opportunities expertise, but they to practicing, and a lack of experience youâll have to refine donât guarantee that continuing to hone hold you back from your ideas and build youâre good at your craft sharing your expertise something @upasnagautam | @shinebootcamp
PASSION BUILDS EXPERTISE Age, education, and If youâre passionate about experience help perceptions making a difference, donât let of expertise, but they donât a lack of experience hold you guarantee that youâre good at back from sharing something Expertise is the by-product of The more you communicate, caring about, committing to the more opportunities youâll practicing, and continuing to have to refine your ideas and hone your craft build your expertise
PURPOSE DIRECTS PASSION, AND PASSION IGNITES PURPOSE @upasnagautam | @shinebootcamp
âCONFIDENCE COMES UP WHEN YOUâRE PASSIONATE ABOUT IT. START FROM A PLACE OF CONVICTION.â - Kirsty Hulse, Founder @ Roar Training @upasnagautam | @shinebootcamp
ASK YOURSELF What are you endlessly curious about? What canât you stand about the industry? What bugs you? What makes you really pissed off? What has always felt like an obvious question no one is asking? Where do you go when you âwhyâ something to death? @upasnagautam | @shinebootcamp
BUT WHAT ABOUT STORYTELLING? @upasnagautam | @shinebootcamp
WRITE DOWN A TIME WHERE YOU: Experienced pain, loss or rejection Messed up And get into specifics! Journal the sights, sounds, smells, people involved Write down the lessons learned & what youâll pass on @upasnagautam | @shinebootcamp
@upasnagautam | @shinebootcamp
Where to speak and how to find the right events @upasnagautam | @shinebootcamp
DEFINE YOUR AUDIENCE Find the people who need your help and answer the questions: Who can benefit the most from the information you have to offer? What does the audience need to know about? Why should the audience care? What pain points do they have? How can you solve them? What industries and domains would be best served with this knowledge? No matter what your topic is, start by speaking for a beginner-level audience
EVERYONE CAN HELP SOMEONE. @upasnagautam | @shinebootcamp
START SMALL Start searching. Search for events on Eventbrite, Meetup.com, and Papercall.io that are targeted towards a beginner audience - these are usually free events Create your speaker profile on Eventbrite, Meetup, SpeakerHub, and other speaker sites Google the search term âCall for Speakersâ, pair it with keywords from your field, and see what you find! Donât be picky - no audience is too small
THE SIZE OF THE AUDIENCE DOES NOT MATTER. WHATâS IMPORTANT IS THAT THEYâRE LISTENING. @upasnagautam | @shinebootcamp
LEVERAGE YOUR NETWORK Show and tell! Start communicating that youâre interested in sharing your knowledge with trusted friends, peers, and mentors - the more radars you are on, the more chances that an opportunity will pop up What groups and/or organizations are you already a part of? Let the leaders and organizers know that youâre willing to offer your time and share knowledge with your fellow members Use LinkedIn and Twitter to candidly and genuinely communicate your motives and goals around seeking speaking opportunities @upasnagautam | @shinebootcamp
FUN FACT This is how I got recommended for the first meetup I ever spoke at 8 years ago, AND the TED Talk I did last year!
HELP THE PEOPLE IN YOUR NETWORK AND LET THEM HELP YOU. @upasnagautam | @shinebootcamp
How to craft a compelling proposal
THE CFP CFP stands for Call for Proposal, and is an open invitation for speakers to apply to a conference. Large conferences use a formal Iâve distilled the common call for speakers and call for requirements into a template proposals process that you can use for all of your pitching After applying for and speaking at Whether itâs an email to a Meetup over 50 conferences across the organizer or submitting a formal globe, I began to see similarities in CFP, this proposal template will the application requirements serve as a guide you can continuously refer back to, reuse, and iterate upon
THE PROPOSAL TEMPLATE Comprised of three core components: Title Abstract Key Takeaways Most of this information should already be loosely defined from the âHow to Choose a Presentation Topicâ exercises that you completed earlier (see earlier slides). In the next three slides, weâll dive into each of these components!
PART 1: THE TITLE As a beginner/first-time speaker, itâs important to: Keep the title clear and Avoid jokes, puns, and concise 10 words max is a colloquialisms good rule to follow Provoke curiosity Check out âKickass Headline Generatorâ tool if youâre stumped - itâs totally free and super fun Pro Tip: Alliteration works like a charm for memorability
PART 2: THE ABSTRACT The abstract summarizes the scope of your talk Many conferences use the abstract as the Think of the abstract as your value description of the talk in the agenda - with that in proposition - the value that you will mind, your target reader is the conference acknowledge, deliver, and communicate attendee who is reading the agenda Keep your abstract to 4-5 sentences Keep in mind: a shallow introduction to Pose the problem your talk will provide a many things is not as interesting as an in- solution for depth introduction to one thing Explain why it is important and of value Define the benefits the attendee will gain @upasnagautam | @shinebootcamp
PART 3: THE KEY TAKEAWAYS A takeaway is a tactic This is a simple, bulleted list Use the following format: âSession of 3-5 learning objectives attendees will learn:â followed by bullet points containing your learning objectives Key takeaways are tips can the attendee put into immediate use Defining key takeaways goes a long way in helping reviewers and attendees It should inform ânext stepsâ for better understand the point and the attendee to take after potential value of your session he/she/they listen to your talk @upasnagautam | @shinebootcamp
YOUR NEXT STEPS You are ready. Proofread, proofread, proofread Find contact information for organizers of smaller conferences/meetups, and reach out to them directly Have a trusted friend, peer, and/or mentor review your proposal template Submit as many proposals as you can Sometimes conferences will accept a proposal that was rejected at a similar conference - other times, the same Always ask for feedback on rejected talks, conference will reject a proposal one year, and use those suggestions to improve your and accept it the next proposals and try again at other events
Y e s , you are experienced enough. Y e s , you have valuable stories to share. Y e s , you can get accepted.
YOUR NEXT STEPS Start your mind map Follow along on Instagram for more tips, templates, upcoming workshop info Spread the word and wisdom to other women
How to Break Into the Tech Conference Speaker Circuit SEPTEMBER CONTENT SERIES | TUNE IN EACH TUESDAY THIS MONTH! SEPT 8: SEPT 15: WHY IS IT IMPORTANT FOR WOMEN TO HAVE HOW TO CHOOSE A CONFERENCE A PRESENCE ON THE SPEAKER ROSTER? PRESENTATION TOPIC SEPT 22: SEPT 29: WHERE TO SPEAK AND HOW TO HOW TO CRAFT A FIND THE RIGHT EVENTS COMPELLING PROPOSAL @upasnagautam | @shinebootcamp
if you found this content helpful and/or insightful: Tune in right here every Tuesday of Share this post with this month, where Iâll be sharing tips others who may benefit for women in tech on how to break into the conference circuit Continue learning with Follow along for news on my upcoming workshops next weekâs post: Comment below with what How to Choose a Presentation Topic youâd like more guidance on @upasnagautam | @shinebootcamp
a speaker accelerator for women Gain the skills, confidence and experience to craft and deliver a powerful presentation. shinebootcamp.Com | @shinebootcamp
The scenario is not uncommon: youâre a woman in a male-dominated field. Perhaps, like me, English is not your first language. Youâre confident in your work, but the thought of public speaking and being documented for the world to see petrifies you.
Maybe youâre also thinking, âI could never do that,â or âIâm not experienced enough to speak at a conference,â or âIâll never get accepted.â That was me, five years ago. Since then, Iâve given 36 talks all over the globe, from local Meetups to a TEDx.
đđŒ Hi friends, Iâm Upasna Gautam, the newest Shine Speaker Coach!
And Iâm here to tell you, YES you can do that, YES you are experienced enough, and YES, you CAN get accepted.
As a seasoned public speaker and the newest Shine Speaker Coach, Iâve put together a workshop with templates, resources, and guidance from my own journey and experiences. What has worked for me wonât always work for you, but we can still learn from each other. If this is a leap youâve been thinking of taking, wait no more. â After this introductory workshop, youâll be armed with information like:
Take the first step, and donât let imposter syndrome get in the way of your own untapped success.
for free. You
can too.