Welcome to the Speaker Guidelines page. This page is an important resource for speakers, and the prime communication channel between speakers and conference organizers.
Please take special note of the "Current Action Items" and "Current Important Information" sections below. The content of these sections will be updated regularly, and speakers should plan to visit this page and complete the Current Action Items on a regular basis. We will notify speakers via email when new Action Items are added.
If you have any questions after reading this page, or need help at any time, please email us at speakers@eclipsecon.org.
We look forward to working with you to create another great EclipseCon!
Guide Document Quick Access
Click on the thumbnails below to access the Speaker Session Guide and the Presentation Best Practices Guide.
Current Action Items
Updated October 12, 2021
Speakers, we have now moved on to the fourth set of Action Items. Again, we appreciate your prompt response! If you have not yet completed the third set from September 13, please make sure to do those too!
- Access the downloadable Speaker Session Guide
- Be looking for your calendar invitation for joining your session during the event
- Please respond "Yes" to the invitation so we know you received it
- If you have not seen your invitation by Monday, October 18, please email us at speakers@eclipsecon.org
Past Action Items
September 13
- Schedule your pre-recording or tech check. Look for an email (subject line: "EclipseCon Speakers: Schedule Your Tech Check or Pre-recording Session"; from "Speakers@eclipsecon.org") inviting you to schedule a call with the tech team. If you indicated that you would like to pre-record when you filled out the Speaker Data Form, then you will be scheduling a pre-recording session. If you are giving your talk live, then you will be scheduling a tech-check. These calls may be scheduled between September 15 and October 15, so please plan accordingly. The tech team will not be able to pre-record after October 15.
- Read the Presentation Best Practices Guide to be sure you and your equipment are ready for your call with the tech team.
- Download the 2021 Slides Template (optional). You are free to design your slides however you like. But if you prefer to use our design, you can download one of these slides templates:
July 20
- Provide your data. If you have not already done so, please fill out the Speaker Data Form ASAP! This is a critical task, so please don't delay.
- Check the schedule. Find your talk on the Schedule page and note the day and time. If you need to request a change, please email speakers@eclipsecon.org immediately. Please note that the conference time zone is Central European Time (CET). The time shown for the talks on the Schedule page are converted into the time zone of the device you're using to view the page.
- Register for the conference. Please be sure to register with the same email address that you used to submit your talk. To register, start here.
General Speaker Information
Live and Pre-Recorded Talks
Talks may be presented live, or they may be pre-recorded ahead of time. Both live and pre-recorded talks have a presentation segment of 25 minutes, followed by a live Q&A segment of 5 minutes.
NEW THIS YEAR: Our tech support team will create the pre-recording for you!
We encourage speakers to pre-record their talks. Many speakers find that pre-recording makes their talk more polished, or helps them keep to the time limit. Mixing live sessions with pre-recorded sessions makes the day-of-event management go more smoothly for both speakers and the conference team, resulting in a better experience for attendees, presenters, and organizers.
Because of the live Q&A with the speaker on camera, a pre-recorded talk has the same look-and-feel as a live talk. Pre-recording is highly recommended, especially for talks with multiple speakers. Speakers who pre-record will still be "live" during the Q&A segment at the end of the talk, so please plan on being on line as a speaker during your talk even if you choose to pre-record.
Promoting Your Talk
Get more people to your talk! Blog, tweet (@eclipsecon), invite friends and colleagues to attend. Some of you may be contacted by a member of the Eclipse Foundation marketing team about promoting your particular talk. We appreciate your participation in our conference marketing activities. The marketing team can be contacted at marketing@eclipse.org.
For badges, icons, and banners that help promote the conference, see the Community Resources page.
Timeline
- July 20: Schedule published
- July 20: Registration opens (all speakers must register themselves)
- September 15 - October 15: Timeframe for tech checks and pre-recordings; pre-recordings must be scheduled before October 15!
Conference Platform
We are using Swapcard as our conference platform. Speakers will use Streamyard to present, and the Streamyard broadcast will be live-streamed and made available to attendees via the event we build in the Swapcard app. We have chosen Streamyard over Zoom because Streamyard produces higher quality video, and is browser-based.
Conference Schedule
- The conference time zone is Central European Time (CET).
- Talks are scheduled between 13:00 - 18:00 CET on October 26, 27, 28
- Talks slots are 30 minutes long; 25 minutes for the presentation portion, plus 5 minutes for the Q&A portion
- NEW THIS YEAR: There is a 10-minute break between each talk slot
Tech Checks
Each speaker is required to schedule a tech check with the conference tech support team. If you are pre-recording your talk, the tech check will be included in the one-hour recording session. If you are giving your talk live, your tech check will be a 15-minute session. Be sure that your setup for the tech check exactly matches the setup for your talk: same equipment, same Internet connection, same environment (lighting, background, etc.). Tech-check details will be published soon.
Tech Requirements
- You will be using your own equipment to broadcast or pre-record your session. In most cases, a laptop with built-in webcam will work well. Talks can often benefit from the use of an external wired microphone or combination wired headset and mic. We will include specific equipment recommendations in the Speaker Guide (available soon).
- You will need a reliable Internet connection. We will include recommendations for better connectivity in the upcoming Speaker Guide.
Talk Recordings
After the conference, a recording of each talk will be available for on-demand viewing in the conference platform. Talks will also be uploaded to the Eclipse Foundation YouTube channel. You gave permission for your talk to be recorded and published when you submitted it. If you have any questions or concerns about recording, please email speakers@eclipsecon.org.