by Allison Pollard How do I submit to speak at conferences? At some point, you may wish to speak at a conference or other event that has an open call for topics. Writing a submission that gets picked can be tricky. Part of it is your ability to craft a clear proposal that resonates. The […]
Advice for Aspiring Speakers – Part 1
by Allison Pollard Seven of us showed up at the start. We were at a week-long Open Space event in Oregon, and Jenny Tarwater offered “Launching New Voices” as a session to a group of 29 people that included experienced speakers, mentors, and conference volunteers. Jenny wanted to tap into the wisdom of this amazing […]
Seek a topic, not a gender
Women in Agile and its members frequently receive requests to recommend female speakers because apparently they are hard to find. While I appreciate the effort and attention to gender parity, I feel like asking for female speakers is the wrong approach. It feels more about a quota than caring about the quality and the expertise of the speakers themselves. As a conference organizer I wouldn’t want to get called out for not having enough diverse speakers on a panel, but as a speaker I also don’t want to feel that the token reason I was chosen was because of my gender. Conferences need to challenge themselves to consider what their outcome is for a more diverse lineup of speakers, not just diversity for diversity’s sake.
The value of an Agile Coach – or Football coach.
As I sit here today, three days from Super Bowl LIII, I’m thinking of two things. First, will the Patriots win the Super Bowl this year? And second, why do companies not understand the value of an agile coach? It made me think about the Patriot’s coach, Bill Belichick, and his job as coach to, […]
Making Safety a Prerequisite for Your Meetups
by Anjali Leon, South Florida Women in Agile group Meetups have awakened new possibilities for people who have similar interests to find each other and meet face to face to learn, share, and expand their common interests. Creating one of these special interest groups is as easy as creating an account on meetup.com and […]
2018 Launching New Voices – Suzi’s Experience
By: Susan (Suzi) Webber @SuziWebb What I Learned About Speaking from Launching New Voices I’m an introvert. At cocktail parties, I’m the one over on the couch by myself talking to the dog. I pin the needle WAY over on the introvert side. Giving presentations is not something I usually feel comfortable doing. And I’m […]