

So you want to speak at a conference - jcolman
http://katemats.com/public-speaking-at-a-conference/

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99
Recently the "everyone must be a speaker" drum-roll is getting too loud. Does
being a non-speaker at conferences and workshops reduce my technical ability?
I think not.

The problem with insisting that "everyone must be a speaker" - all the shy-
introverted-yet-technically-good-developers get the short end of the stick and
you are left with spin doctors who can promote themselves very well. Sad.

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probably_wrong
> all the shy-introverted-yet-technically-good-developers get the short end of
> the stick and you are left with spin doctors who can promote themselves very
> well

Exactly, which is why more good technical speakers are needed: the guy who
makes the best job at convincing why his idea is better than the one from the
other guy is the one that will get his idea implemented.

And I'm not talking about people selling smoke: if I'm competing for one idea
against another developer's proposal, and both seems reasonable enough, how
will the boss know my idea is better if I keep it to myself? Even if I send
him a paper explaining why my method is O(n log n), if my co-worker makes a 45
min presentation addressing my boss' concerns (which may not be only technical
- "using this cloud provider it's reliable and will make us look as a forward-
moving company" solves _two_ of my boss' problems), he'll get the
implementation.

When dealing with humans, emotions also play a role. Perhaps after the robot
uprising we can solve our problems by forwarding benchmarks in CSV files, but
until then it wouldn't hurt taking a course on two in how to get our ideas
across our bosses' thick skulls.

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rpgmaker
Can somebody please explain to me what is the point of the overlay header in
some websites (like OP's)? Do people really want to reduce the content's
available screen real state because of the header? I really don't see the
point of it and it's one of the main reasons I love readability. Do people
really want the header present at all times while you are reading the page's
content? It's not inconvenient to just go to the top of the page in case you
need a link from there but maybe I missed the usability tests proving
otherwise. This is a genuine question btw, so if anyone could inform me I
would really appreciate it.

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socillion
I think it works decently on desktop computers, but it's ridiculous on laptops
with 768 pixels vertically. This site measures as 555 px, which really sucks.

NoScript blocks most of them (including this site) which helps.

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rpgmaker
NoScript blocks them by default or do you need to apply some rule?

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socillion
By default you have to whitelist sites, and most of the fixed bars require
Javascript - so yeah.

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munin
IME, at industrial conferences, your pitches get accepted if you are friends
with the organizers, or if someone who is friends with the organizers vouches
for you to the organizers or co-presents with you. That's about it.

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patio11
1) To that speaking slots are allocated socially, that (correctly) suggests
that one should network if one wants to get more speaking gigs.

2) It is _wildly not the case_ that all speaking gigs begin with having an in
with the organizers, just like it is wildly not the case that all jobs or
contracts are awarded to nephews. Pitching is an art. Doing it well will raise
your hit rate. Failing to do it at all, while either waiting for the world to
recognize your genius or bemoaning the unfairness of it all, is an incredibly
effective method to not get speaking gigs.

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munin
what you say is true, but it is probably more effective and easier to network
with the organizers than to be good at pitching. that's not a bad thing!
networking with the organizers will probably get you more job opportunities
and open other professional doors too!

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contingencies
I would say forget lists like this and just make reasonable preparations and
be humble, open and honest. People can sense those qualities and you will have
no problems.

