What Makes a Great Speaker Submission?

Start with something you know well enough to help someone else. A problem you worked through. An assumption you had to rethink. A project that taught you something you wish you'd known at the beginning.

Then think about who needs that lesson. What are they struggling with? What could your experience help them do? A specific experience with a useful takeaway gives us something to get excited about.

Name the problem, the useful idea, or the decision the session will help people make. Use words your intended audience recognizes. Make the title specific enough that someone can decide whether the session is for them.

An illustrative title: “From AI Demo to Dependable Workflow: Three Checks Before Launch.” It identifies a transition and gives the audience a concrete expectation. Choose a promise you can support with your actual experience.

Explain who the session is for, why the problem matters, what you will cover, and what attendees will leave able to do. Include the level of experience you assume and the evidence or examples you will use. Follow the conference’s requested format and word limit.

An example to adapt to your own work: “A successful AI demo is the beginning of the evaluation. This session gives teams planning their first AI workflow a way to examine output quality, human review, and failures before launch. We will work through an example and identify the evidence needed to decide what to automate. Attendees will leave with three evaluation questions they can apply to a workflow of their own.”

Your final abstract should describe the session you can deliver. Add your own experience and supporting material so reviewers can see why you are the right person to teach it.

Know what you know, and know what you don't know.

Tell us what you've actually done and what you learned from doing it. Be clear about your role, the results, and the limits of your experience. If you've tried something once, say so. If you're still working through a question, tell us what you've figured out so far.

You can teach a valuable lesson while still having more to learn. That honesty gives people a reason to trust you.

Because your reason for caring about a subject is often where the connection begins. What made you pursue this problem? Why did you stick with it? Why should someone in the audience care about the answer?

Simon Sinek's How Great Leaders Inspire Action is one of our favorites. His talk introduces the idea of starting with why. As you watch, pay attention to how he gives you a reason to care and draws you into the idea.

Bring that thinking to your submission. Help us understand what makes this worth talking about.

Be professional. Be personal, too.

Your background helps us understand your qualifications. Your story helps us understand you. Tell us about the experience that shaped your point of view, the work that gets you curious, or the challenge that brought you to this topic.

You're applying to connect with an audience. Give us a sense of the person they'll meet and why they'll want to keep the conversation going after the session.

Yes. Help us hear you.

If the submission form allows it, include a recording of a talk, webinar, workshop, or interview. Choose a sample where you're explaining something you care about. Add a timestamp if the best example is part of a longer video.

If you're new to speaking, a short recording can help us get to know you, where the conference accepts one. Let us hear how you explain an idea and see what happens when you get interested in it. Check that your links work without a login.

Let us hear your voice. Tell us what surprised you. Share the question you couldn't leave alone. If humor comes naturally, use it. If you're thoughtful and measured, let that come through.

You don't have to perform someone else's version of a conference speaker. Your perspective and the way you share it are part of what makes the session worth attending.

Give them a real question and a reason to want the answer.

For example: “Our first AI pilot worked in the demo and fell apart in daily use. I'll share what we missed, what we changed, and the three questions I'd ask before starting again.”

That gives us a story, something at stake, and a useful promise. Explain enough that people can see the value of joining you.

Inspire people. Help them see something they could try, a problem they could solve, or a possibility they hadn't considered. Give them something worth taking back to their own work.

Check the audience, topic, format, session length, word limits, and submission deadline against the current call for proposals. Make sure the title and abstract promise the same session.

Confirm that your bio explains your relevant experience, your speaking links open without a login, and each promised takeaway fits the available time. Read the proposal aloud. It should sound like a person with something useful to share.

Conference selection also depends on the overall program and available space. This guide is preparation advice; the current call for proposals is the source for submission requirements.