Ask Chloé: How to Get Your Talk Accepted
Welcome to the Ask Chloé column on Security Boulevard! Each week, Chloé provides answers to readers’ questions to help guide them as they navigate the technology industry. This week, Chloé offers advice on getting a talk accepted at an InfoSec conference.
Dear Chloé,
I’ve been trying to get my talk accepted at InfoSec conferences; however, I keep receiving rejections. Do you happen to have any tips to get a talk accepted?
– The Next Speaker
Dear The Next Speaker,
Great question! Here are five quick tips that I have for you.
Know your audience. Who is the audience of the conference? Is it a hacker or corporate conference? When submitting your call for participation (CFP), it may be wise to create two different versions: One formal and one informal. Talks are more likely to get accepted when the speaker submits a proposal that accurately reflects their target audience and that the reviewers believe will draw a large, excited audience.
Submit two to three CFPs, not just one. The odds greatly improve when you submit more than one CFP to a conference. Most speakers have more than one talk they can present, so make sure you have more than one topic idea.
Ask for feedback on the CFP. If the talk is rejected, reach out to the organizers and politely ask if they can provide feedback. Not all conferences will provide feedback, but if they do, consider their views and revisit your CFP. Afterward, decide if you want to incorporate their suggestions or not. However, if more than one person gives you the same feedback, you should seriously consider the input and revise your CFP.
Does the title and/or abstract pull people in? Think about the times you’ve read the title and abstract of a talk or session at a conference. What elements motivated you to attend? Was it a catchy title? Was the description straightforward or creative? Was it a talk on a problem that you encountered? That’s what you want to do with your CFP.
Don’t give up. Rejections are incredibly common for all speakers. If you want to be a speaker, don’t give up. Rejections are the norm. Sometimes it will hurt, and sometimes you will just shrug it off. Good luck!
Learn more about the award-winning tech changemaker, Chloé Messdaghi, at https://www.chloemessdaghi.com.
Have a question? Want advice? Submit your anonymous question to Chloé: [email protected].