Curious about giving a talk but not sure where to start? Here are our top 5 questions and answers about preparing to speak at BarCamp Philly
1. What do you want to say with your presentation?
Think about what is important to share with your audience. You likely have a ton of great ideas! The best talks tend to have interesting visuals or is a topic that the speaker is passionate about. Talks can also be given by more than 1 person in a session, so grab a friend!
2. Who is your audience?
When crafting and giving your presentation, who are you intending to speak to? Is it an experienced audience with extensive prior knowledge or are you hoping to educate novices on the basics of your favorite subject? Attendees come from a fairly diverse background.
3. What is the one thing you want your audience to walk away with after listening to your speaking session?
Folks are going to attend a lot of sessions in one day! Try to focus on just one or two key takeaways that will stick out in their minds. Additionally, having a takeaway like an informational cheat sheet, a QR code to your slide deck, website, white paper, or printed infographic will help make your point memorable.
4. What type of session do you want to host?
Talks can take on any format you like! They can be straight informational like a lecture, a fun educational learning experience, or cultivate a group discussion with a round-table Q&A or an entirely different “immersive learning” experience.
5. What resources do you need for your presentation?
You don’t need to create a slide deck, but you should come with specific materials or tools you need. If you’ve prepared materials, please bring your laptop or a flash drive. We can accommodate most requests, but the earlier you tell the BarCamp Philly team what you need, the faster we can assist you. We have projectors and white boards for you.
Remember that BarCamp Philly is about sharing ideas, whether unfinished or polished like marble. This is meant to be fun, not intimidating. If you have any questions, please let the BarCamp Philly team know! We aren’t mind readers (yet), so we can only help you if you help us out and share what you need with us!
