Speaking at a conference for a large audience might sound a bit daunting at first, but at EuRuKo we like to welcome speakers from all backgrounds, experience and knowledge levels to give a talk. This could be about how you use Ruby, what you’ve learned while working with Ruby or how you see the Ruby community, or the developer community as a whole.
With this list of 7 reasons we hope to make speaking at EuRuKo a positively unforgettable experience for you. And don’t forget to apply asap, the deadline is April 17th 14:00 CEST. Yes, that’s tomorrow after lunch!
Please check our guidelines for our CFP. For first-time speakers, we offer hands-on help to create a good proposal.
1. Your point of view matters
Not everyone who works in software development has a Computer Science or equivalent degree. Not everyone has the same cultural background. Not everyone has worked at a startup, or an agency, or a big corporation. Although a topic might not be new, the way you look at things from your personal experience might be very insightful for others, with a different background. So please share your experience or the best practices that you’ve picked up in your daily work.
2. What’s obvious for you, might not be obvious for others
Knowledge is a funny thing. You know a lot more than you think you know. But once you know something it becomes obvious to you and you don’t recognize this as knowledge anymore. But with so many things to learn in programming, we cannot know everything. This makes everyone a specialist in their own cross-section of information.
3. The process can be more interesting than the end-result
We don’t all learn in the same way and oftentimes it’s more interesting to discover learning strategies from others, than what they actually learned in the first place.
4. Add your voice to the discussion
Technology has an increasing influence on society, yet the people working in technology do not always reflect society. That’s why it’s super important to get a more diverse set of people to discuss technology and where it’s going. If you’re part of a underrepresented group in technology, we would benefit from hearing your voice.
5. Be a role model
In order to get a more diverse set of people in technology, we need role models that appeal to a more diverse set of people. Although being a role model sounds like a big responsibility, it doesn’t need to be one. By getting on stage and talking about what you do you can help inspire others to work in technology too.
6. Be a time traveller
The version of you who would have benefited from hearing your talk 6-12 months ago is right there, sitting in the audience. It’s the perfect opportunity for you to engage in a little time travel and help that person learn from your experience.
7. We don’t do Q&A at the end of a talk
Q&A’s add little value for the other attendees and can be a drawback for first-time speakers. That’s why we’ve decided to not have a Q&A session at the end of a talk. If people are really interested in getting more info about your talk, they have plenty of opportunity to walk up to you and ask in private. The great thing about attending conferences is having the opportunity to engage with speakers and other participants!