Conferences

Introduction

Conferences are important to many members of #include <C++> - we attend, speak at, and help to run many of the largest C++ Conferences and Events.

Becoming a Speaker

You can do it

Speaking at local user groups, regional conferences, and even national and international conferences may seem intimidating, but almost everyone can do it if they want to and are willing to put in the effort to develop the skill of speaking. Here are some resources that may help you.

Fred Tingaud, who runs the CPPP conference and is an experienced speaker, has written a comprehensive series of blog posts on technical speaking and becoming a speaker you may find helpful:

One practical hurdle many people face is describing themselves. If you are asked for “a short bio”, here’s a very useful template from Ian Coldwater on Twitter:

[name] is a [title] at [company], where [pronoun] [does thing you do]. In [name or pronoun]’s spare time, [pronoun] enjoys [doing non-work thing] and [food or drink].

Becoming an Inclusive Speaker

Speaker Requirements

Many speakers have a list of requirements and preferences to speak at a conference, such as “the conference should have an enforced code of conduct.” Here are some “speaker kits” we’ve found:

Running an Inclusive Conference

Our overall advice is on the Organising Conferences page. Here are some resources you may want to peruse to learn more about this large topic, to avoid your conference being featured on Congrats, you have an all male panel! or scoring badly on 50 percent.

Codes of Conduct

Motivations for Codes of Conduct

Personal Stories

Advice to Organisers