Every session at BarCamp Philly starts the same way: somebody writes an idea on a card and pitches it to a room full of strangers. That’s the whole barrier to entry — no selection committee, no speaker application, no six-month lead time. If that sounds terrifying and a little exciting, good. This guide is for you.
Technical.ly published a walkthrough from the organizing team on putting a session together. Consider this the extended version: the same ground, plus lessons from hundreds of sessions that have come to life on that board.
Start with what you can’t stop talking about
The best sessions start with one question: what excites you? Expertise helps, but enthusiasm carries a room in a way credentials never will. If you’re into it, the room will be too.
Already have an idea? Write it down and expand on it. See how much you have to say. If you’re stuck, try working backward instead: name the one or two things you want people to walk away with — a life lesson, a Philly resource nobody knows about, an AI tool worth an hour, a problem more people should be looking at. Build the session around those takeaways and the rest tends to fill itself in.
And bring the idea you’ve been second-guessing. Past boards have covered impostor syndrome, ultimate frisbee, retro gaming, and running for the zombie apocalypse. An eight-year-old once led a session on making movies with an iPad. Tech usually makes up only about a quarter of the board. Whatever you’re sitting on probably fits.
One note on what plays best: year after year, the warmest reception goes to community members who simply want to share something they’ve learned or lead a conversation about a hot topic. Product demos and workshops drawn from paid coaching or consulting programs bring value too, and those now get a dedicated home — following a practice rooted at BarCamps around the world, the admin collective schedules commercially oriented talks into a DemoCamp track. If your session leans commercial, propose it anyway. It has a place on the board.
Shape the hour before you fill it
Each session gets a 60-minute block, and the veteran move is to program about 45 of it. The first few minutes of any hour go to people finding seats and trickling in from other rooms, and the last 10 to 15 belong to your audience: time to get back to the atrium, check the board, and take a bio break before the next block starts. Inside your 45, save room at the end for questions. Some of the best sessions are twenty minutes of material and the rest the room talking. BarCamp runs on participation over presentation — people come to be in a conversation.
So think about shape before you think about slides. A round-table discussion where you play host. A panel-style Q&A with a few people who know the topic from different angles. A live demo or hands-on workshop. A group problem-solving session where the room works on something together. Even a behind-the-scenes showing of something you made.
Sessions can also reach past the talk format entirely. Community members have led meditation sessions, performed music, and delivered standup and improv comedy sets. If it fills an hour and brings people together, it belongs on a card.
One more thing to know going in: BarCamp runs on the rule of two feet. Anyone who has stopped learning or contributing is encouraged to walk to another session, no apology needed. That sounds harsh until you realize what it does for you: everyone still in their seat at minute forty actually wants to be there, and those are the people to design for.
Pack like the show depends on it
The rule here is an old one: failing to plan is planning to fail. Assume something will misbehave and bring the backup.
BarCamp Philly’s partners at Wharton keep the classroom AV in excellent shape. Even so, the single most common reason a session starts late is a missing cable that fits the presenter’s device. So bring the adapter that works with your machine, and wherever possible, store your deck in the cloud so it loads straight onto the classroom presentation device. Add a USB copy as a second layer of insurance. If your session leans on handouts, print them ahead of time. If you want more writing surface than a whiteboard, an easel pad works. The speakers who look calm at 10 a.m. are the ones who packed for the version of the day where something fails.
Rough drafts welcome
This might be the most important part: polish is optional. BarCamp is a great place to test a new idea. Half-formed talks and first drafts are welcome. So is “I’ve been thinking about this and want to see if it holds up.”
A prepared talk is optional too. Some of the most memorable sessions over the years have been ad-hoc panels a community member pulled together the day of the event. The audience is an easy-going bunch of neighbors and colleagues who showed up to root for you.
If nerves are the thing holding you back, borrow some tricks: bring a co-presenter and split the load. Plant a supportive friend in the room. Put an inside joke in your slides just for yourself. Humor keeps a room engaged and keeps you loose. Everybody loves to laugh, including the person holding the clicker.
The morning of
A handful of talks get reviewed and accepted ahead of the event, but most of the board gets built the morning of. Show up, write your session idea on a card, and pitch it briefly to the whole room. Then everyone votes with stickers, and sessions that draw interest get a room and a time slot on the big board. Two hours after doors open, a schedule exists that didn’t exist at breakfast — and your name is on it.
Curious how the rest of the day works? Read up on what an unconference is, then start scribbling. The board is empty until you get there.