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Conference Speakers, Check Your Egos

davidbisset.com

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Re: Conference Speakers, Check Your Egos

#41

Post by drak0n1c »

nitwit005 wrote: post #25

> if you ARE the only person capable of giving the talk then is there is a diversity issue. Can you take an honest look at the diversity of your industry and perhaps mentor new ones – especially those from under represented groups – to be able to speak on such topics? This seems a bit bizarre to me. Sure, they're the only one who knows right now, but they are giving a talk at a conference, which is supposed to have t…

My spouse plans conferences. Her event planning team is mostly women. Most of the speakers at their conferences are men - the main reason why is because many women candidates refuse the opportunity. An attendee who loudly complained about diversity became more understanding after being invited to help recruit speakers.

The ego shouldn't be checked - it should be encouraged if you want more people to want to be conference speakers.

Re: Conference Speakers, Check Your Egos

#43

Post by ghaff »

denzil_correa wrote: post #22
phlakaton wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I go to conferences for two reasons: to meet people and learn stuff. And really, as I am generally poor at meeting people, the learning part is the bulk of it. So, really, I completely disagree with the foundation of your statement. Whether or not information is technically available, there are any number of reasons why conference presentations are useful. They provide synthesis of information from multiple sources.…

When you say “meet people” - what does it mean? Does it mean - you just have a 1-time conversation with people or do you hope your conversation goes beyond the conference? If it is the latter, you are not going to “meet people”. You are actually trying to foster collaborations. “Meet people” is a broad phrase which encapsulates that concept.

I meet new people who I may or may not stay in touch with over time. I put names to faces of people I’ve met online and may have social time with. I get to spend time with people I’ve worked with in the past, have met previously, etc.

In my case they’re also the only chance I get to get together with a lot of co-workers F2F.

So a lot of things. In a nutshell, a combination of casual (but sometimes illuminating) conversations, begin new relationships, and extend/deepen existing ones.

And learning/new insights/stuff to look into as well.

Re: Conference Speakers, Check Your Egos

#44

Post by ghaff »

braythwayt wrote: post #38
ravenstine wrote: post #4

Conferences don't exist to convey information. You can learn stuff from conferences, but I don't think I've ever been to one where people were talking about things that weren't already publicly available on the internet. (An exception might be conferences like Apple's WWDC, since that's a place for the company to announce proprietary info) When people attend conferences, they're doing it to be seen . That's true whet…

> Conferences don't exist to convey information In this I agree with you. I have yet to give a talk where the technical content couldn't be better conveyed in text. Different people comprehend information at different rates. Some people like to pause here and there and think about what they've just read. People read faster than they listen to the spoken word. Blog posts can organize content with footnotes and links t…

I agree with all that. It’s also the reason I think most conference talks should be 30 minutes or so. There are exceptions and people are different but mostly by 30 minutes I’m either meh or I want to take a look at this at my own pace under better conditions.

Re: Conference Speakers, Check Your Egos

#45

Post by jhayward »

braythwayt wrote: post #38
ravenstine wrote: post #4

Conferences don't exist to convey information. You can learn stuff from conferences, but I don't think I've ever been to one where people were talking about things that weren't already publicly available on the internet. (An exception might be conferences like Apple's WWDC, since that's a place for the company to announce proprietary info) When people attend conferences, they're doing it to be seen . That's true whet…

> Conferences don't exist to convey information In this I agree with you. I have yet to give a talk where the technical content couldn't be better conveyed in text. Different people comprehend information at different rates. Some people like to pause here and there and think about what they've just read. People read faster than they listen to the spoken word. Blog posts can organize content with footnotes and links t…

> I am NOT trying to teach anything in a conference talk

I would say you have a very limited idea of what teaching encompasses. It's not synonymous with "training".

Re: Conference Speakers, Check Your Egos

#46

Post by teh_klev »

I've been to a few developer conferences in the UK over the years with "famous names" on the bill. But I don't remember detecting any of the speakers having overly burgeoning egos. In fact I got to speak to a quite a few of these folks at lunch time (most, if not all, ate lunch with the attendees as well), breaks and post conference; and in these encounters so none of these folks made me feel "they were too important" to speak to me.

Sure some of the folks have a certain "showmanship" on stage such as back in the day Don Box (and his bath full of SOAP) and these days Scott Hanselman at NDC or Build. But that's fine, they make what could be a dull presentation highly entertaining and you're learning some stuff as well.

Maybe this is a US thing (seeing as the author seems to be based in the US) or certain types of conferences (WordPress conferences?)?

Re: Conference Speakers, Check Your Egos

#47

Post by danmg »

Endy wrote: post #36

I hate the phrase, "check your [facet of personality]." I have asked people to examine their motivations, and I always will - because saying, "why do you believe you are the most qualified person to give this talk?" should really be answered before the person gets up to speak. And if the answer is, "I'm not, but the person who is doesn't want to evangelize", fine. But yes, consider why you're speaking. That's fine. O…

It's bandwagoning. When someone uses that phrasing you can safely ignore what they're saying.
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