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So you want to give your first talk
You have a story worth telling. Here is how we help you get it on stage, from slide review to dry runs to the day of.
A lot of the talks we’re proudest of came from folks who’d never spoken at a meetup before. If that sounds like you, this one’s for you.
You don’t have to be an expert
You just have to have done a thing and be able to talk about what surprised you while doing it. That’s really the bar.
The people in the room aren’t expecting a polished conference talk. They came to learn from someone who’s actually been in the code. So the bar is honest, not perfect.
What we’ll help you with
A few things, mostly:
- Slide review. Send us a draft. We’ll tell you what’s working, what to cut, and where the talk starts to drag.
- A dry run. We’ll sit through the whole thing with you on a call. At least once. More if it helps.
- The boring stuff on the day. Mic, projector, clicker, water, the lot. We handle it so you can just talk.
How to actually submit
The CFP form is open all year. Some topic ideas if you’re stuck:
- A thing you shipped that wasn’t obvious to ship
- A failure post-mortem (yes, we love these)
- A live demo you’ve actually rehearsed
- A deep-dive on an AWS service you really know
We usually reply within a week. Don’t overthink the form. A paragraph about what you want to talk about is plenty.
