Public Speaking and Procrastination

softwaretester.blog | Benjamin Bischoff
Public Speaking and Procrastination
Benjamin Bischoff, trivago N.V.

Disclaimer
• This is not about bragging
• Take this with a grain of salt
• What works for me may not work for you
• This is a living presentation

About me
• Benjamin Bischoff
• Test Automation Engineer @ trivago
• 23 years in IT, 8 as SDET
• Procrastinator

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Making the decision to speak

Triggers
• You enjoy teaching
• You want to face your fear
• You have the feeling of
“if x can do it, I could do it, too”
• You want to go to conferences for free

Reasons for speaking
• Gaining experience
• Brand exposure
• Deep learning of a topic
• Connecting to other speakers

Perks of speaking
• Free conference admission
• Free accommodation
• Paid travel
• Speakers dinner
• Reputation

Disadvantages
• Preparation time
• Travel time
• Planing overhead
• Mental stress
• Stage fright

Where to
fi
nd conferences

Resources
• Social media (LinkedIn, Mastodon etc.)
• Announcements from conferences
• Messages from speakers
• Specialized conference list websites/
newsletters (e.g. testingconferences.org)
• Speci
fi
c conference newsletters

Choosing conferences
• Overall topic / audience
• Location (if in person)
• Conference format / tracks
• Scale and size
• Code of conduct

Pay to speak
• You pay for travel and accommodation
• Can be good for brand exposure

Call for papers/proposals

Finding a topic
• Check the conference theme
• Good topics
• Personal career
• Things you work with
• Different perspectives
• Talks you would like to see

Tips
• Don’t overestimate your audience!
• You can submit multiple talks!

Abstract
• Not too short, not too long
• Catchy title
• Easy to understand
• Short explanation of the why
• Point out the goals

Key learnings
• 3 to 5 takeaways starting with
• “Understand how…”
• “See the bene
fi
ts of…”
• “Learn why…”

Outline
• Some conferences require a full outline
• Sometimes even including times
• Fortunately not that common

Submitting your talk
• Online form, e.g. Google, Microsoft,
Airtable
• Conference speci
fi
c platforms, e.g.
cfp.trendig.com
• Open conference platforms, e.g.
PaperCall.io, EasyChair.org

Documentation

Submission list
• Conference name &
website
• When and where
• Topic, available time
• Submit date & platform
• Status & next steps

Author description
• Previous experience
• Biography in
1st and 3rd person
• Video links
• Social media
• Photo URL

Talk description
• Type (talk, workshop)
• Dif
fi
culty / target
audience
• Prerequisites
• Abstract
• 3 key takeaways

Review phase

Program committee
• A few specially selected people
• Often experts in the covered areas of the
conference
• Might have multiple feedback rounds

Community reviews
• Everyone can review abstracts and leave
comments
• Comments are often anonymous
• Feedback can be less meaningful

Result phase

Rejection
• Abstract not good enough / oo generic
• Does not
fi
t the theme
• New or experienced speakers preferred
• Diversity

Rejection
• It is nothing personal!
• Incorporate the feedback
• If you truely believe in your idea,
try it again next time!

Acceptance
• Not written in stone until you con
fi
rm
• Time to get scared excited
• Time to get to work

Travel arrangements

Booking hotels/
fl
ights/rides
• Booking done by
• conference committee
• 3rd party company
• you with later reimbursement
• Do you need a visa or speci
fi
c forms?
• Are your travel documents up-to-date?

Creating your slide deck

Slide design
• Make sure you stick to conference
guidelines/theme
• If they need PowerPoint, use it.
• Less is more
• Keep your layout consistent

Bonus tips
• Leave some room for a camera view
• If possible, create your own theme
• Forget the presenter view
• Keep your presentation self-contained

Handing in slides
• Depending on the conference
• Can be required if
• they want to review the contents
• they use a central computer to host
presentations
• Most of the time not necessary if you
present from your own computer

Rehearsing your presentation

Getting feedback
• Personal preference:
• Who do you want to show your slides to?
• Do you want to rehearse in front of
people? Who?
• Practice pacing and opening / closing
sentences
• Check slides for corporate/legal
requirements

Presentation day

Things to avoid
• Watching the previous presentation
• Showing up at the last minute
• Being unfriendly to the helpers

Watch your language
• Be inclusive
• Adapt to the audience
• Avoid gender-speci
fi
c greetings
• Don’t swear

Things to check
• Do your slides work?
• Does the clicker work?
• Does the headset
fi
t properly?
• Where should you stand?

After your presentation

Directly after the conference
• Settle travel cost refunds
• Write a message to the organizers
• Check feedback on the conference
platform
• Rewatch the recording
• Send your slides as PDF if required

Things to do later
• Save your presentation as “white label”
• Incorporate feedback/questions
• Use it again for future CFPs

Congratulate yourself!

Thank you!
Benjamin Bischoff | softwaretester.blog

Public Speaking and Procrastination

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