Speakers

Finding speakers

The most sustainable approach is a talk submission form on your website. Over time, people submit ideas on their own and you spend less time hunting for speakers.

At the start, and still occasionally, you’ll need to reach out directly. The best candidates are people you already know: coworkers, regular attendees, or speakers you’ve seen at other events. When you reach out, briefly introduce the meetup, mention the specific experience you think they have, and leave the topic open. You’ll get a better response than a generic ask.

Other sources worth tapping: industry professionals on social networks, and attendees who mention interesting work in conversation. You can also encourage first-time speakers to use your meetup to kickstart their public speaker career.

Evaluating proposals

The bar for a meetup talk is lower than for a conference, and that’s intentional. First-time speakers are welcome. Most proposals that cover Ruby or topics adjacent to your meetup’s focus get accepted.

Two things that don’t make the cut: obvious sales pitches, and topics with no connection to what the meetup is about. Everything else is worth a conversation.

Supporting speakers

Read every proposal before confirming. If the speaker seems hesitant or is presenting for the first time, offer to mentor them through the preparation. If they want feedback on their slides or talk structure, give it.

Many people give their first public talk at a community meetup because someone took the time to help them prepare. That’s part of what the meetup is for.

Talk format

A 20-minute talk followed by 5 to 10 minutes of questions works well. Two speakers presenting together is fine.

Encourage slides, or at minimum a recording if the talk involves a demo. Live demos are risky: something tends to break, and the failure is more visible in front of a room. A slide with a screen recording is more reliable and easier for the audience to follow.

Online speakers work but come with tradeoffs. Keeping a room focused on a screen is harder than a person standing in front of them. Reserve remote presentations for speakers you genuinely couldn’t have in person.

Last-minute cancellations

Cancellations are rare but happen. If a speaker drops out close to the event, check with the host company first: they sometimes have someone ready. If not, ask the room. A willing attendee with something to share is often a better option than a scrambled replacement.

If nothing comes together, wrap up earlier than planned. A shorter event is better than a bad one.