Focused conversation: Conference talks (and other ways to show off what we know)

Join us for a focused and friendly conversation about conference talks (and other ways to show off what we know). Conferences are not only great places to learn from other technical communicators, but they’re also great places to share our own expertise. Have you presented at a conference? Would you consider presenting? Let’s talk!

Write the Docs Portland is accepting proposals now, and they provide lots of helpful prompts and guidelines. Take a look at their Call for Proposals. These sections might be the best starting points: Who we’re looking for and What we’re looking for.

Here are a few questions for our discussion:

• Have you spoken at a conference, a meetup, an office meeting, or something similar?
• Where?
• What was your presentation about?
• Describe your process: What made you decide to present? How did you choose a topic? How did you prepare?
• Tell us how it went: Did you enjoy it? Was there any followup from attendees or organizers? Did you benefit from the experience? How?
• Are you thinking about submitting a proposal for a conference talk? (It could be for WTD or any other opportunity!) What might you speak about? Let’s workshop your idea!
• Even if you’re not thinking about submitting a proposal now, what might you speak about in the future? What have you learned from projects you’ve completed? What advice do you often share with colleagues? What challenges have you overcome? Let's brainstorm!
• How else have you shown off what you know?

Bring your thoughts and questions, and attend for as long as your schedule allows. Our goal is to give you an opportunity to support and network with each other.
The discussion is on Zoom. We’ll post the links on the Meetup event by the previous evening. To attend, you must RSVP to the Meetup event. We use the attendees list to screen out Zoom bombers, so it's especially helpful if you have the same display name in Zoom as your name on Meetup.