Co-located Event Speaker Guide - MeetingPlay Platform

Overview

We are excited to welcome you as a co-located event speaker alongside KubeCon + CloudNativeCon Europe 2021. Co-located events will take place online Tuesday, May 4 in Central European Summer Time (CEST) UTC+2. This is your official co-located event speaker guide. Please bookmark this page for easy reference and continue to check back as the event gets closer as we will be adding more speaker details. If you have any questions, please email your event lead.

Please click through the tabs on this page to access information.

Event Leads

Cloud Native Wasm Day: Elna Vogel, evogel@linuxfoundation.org
Cloud Native Security Day: Lindsay Gendreau, lmays@linuxfoundation.org
Crossplane Community Day: Lindsay Gendreau, lmays@linuxfoundation.org
FluentCon: Elna Vogel, evogel@linuxfoundation.org
Kubernetes AI Day: Kristin Kenlaw, kkenlaw@linuxfoundation.org
Kubernetes on Edge Day: Kristin Kenlaw, kkenlaw@linuxfoundation.org
ServiceMeshCon: Lindsay Gendreau, lmays@linuxfoundation.org

Important Dates + Deadlines

Official Schedule Posted: Monday, March 15
Speaker Registration Deadline: Friday, March 19
Pre-recorded Video File + Slide Submission Deadline: Wednesday, April 7
Upload Headshot + Bio to Sched.com Deadline: Wednesday, April 7
Event Date: Tuesday, May 4

Crossplane Community Day Important Dates + Deadlines

Official Schedule Posted: Tuesday, March 23
Speaker Registration Deadline: Monday, March 29
Pre-recorded Video File + Slide Submission Deadline: Wednesday, April 7
Upload Headshot + Bio to Sched.com Deadline: Wednesday, April 7
Event Date: Tuesday, May 4

Code of Conduct

Please read, and abide by our code of conduct. Our code of conduct is strictly enforced. We ask that speakers especially review this code of conduct and are careful to be inclusive in the words and images used during their presentation.

Registration

To confirm that you will be presenting, please register by Friday, March 19. As a speaker, you receive complimentary registration for the co-located event you are participating in. To register, add the co-located event to your KubeCon + CloudNativeCon Europe 2021 – Virtual registration and enter the code provided in your acceptance email during checkout.

Our registration system is now integrated with The Linux Foundation ID system (LFID). After clicking “Register Now,” you will be prompted to log in with your existing LFID or create a new one. If you have forgotten the password for an existing account, reset it by clicking “Forgot Password.”

You will also be able to use 3rd party authentication providers (Gmail, GitHub, LinkedIn, and Facebook) to automatically generate your LFID. If you experience issues, click the “Contact Us” link on the LFID page to connect with our support team.

If you are not registered by Friday, March 19, there is a possibility that your speaking slot will be replaced by one on our waitlist so please do so promptly.

If you previously purchased your registration, please email your event lead and we will get your registration updated and any refunds processed.

Schedule + Uploading Photo + Bio

The official schedule will be announced on Monday, March 15, and will be posted on the co-located event’s website via Sched.com. If you are a new user, you will receive an email directly from Sched.com asking you to create your account. Please upload your photo and bio no later than Wednesday, April 7.

On March 15, please review the schedule and notify the event lead immediately if you believe you will not be able to participate in the live Q&A at the time your session is scheduled. To display times in your own timezone please choose your location from the drop-down menu on the right side of the schedule, just above “Filter by Date.”

Session Timing

Lightning Talks are 10-minutes in duration (no Q&A)
Full-length sessions are 30-minutes in duration (including 10-min Live Q&A)
Workshops/Tutorials are 90 – 120 minutes in duration (including 15-min Live Q&A)

Speaker Changes and Session Edits Policy

If you need to cancel, replace speakers, or update your session, please contact your event lead and note the below policy. All requests must be made no later than Wednesday, April 7.

If you are on a solo session and are no longer able to attend the conference, your session will be canceled and replaced with a session from the waitlist. Neither you nor your company will be allowed to replace you as a speaker.
If you are on a dual session, and either you or a co-speaker are no longer able to present, you may replace yourself or your co-speaker. Please send the replacement speaker’s name, company, job title, and email address to us. The replacement speaker will need to be approved before updates are made to the session.
Unfortunately, due to the nature of the virtual event platform, we are unable to approve any speaker or panelist additions to sessions. Example: If you are a solo speaker on a talk and wish to add a second speaker, we will not be able to approve this addition.
If you need to update your title and/or description, please send those updates to your event lead. The program committee will need to review before approving the changes.

If you have any update requests to your session (speaker changes, description updates, etc.), those requests must be made no later than Wednesday, April 7.

Platform Details

The event will be hosted on MeetingPlay which allows speakers to deliver content via pre-recorded talks and join live for Q&A with attendees via text, audio, or video chat. The platform is web-based platform and will be easy for everyone to access and use. All talks will be available on-demand in MeetingPlay for a short period post-event and we will also upload videos to CNCF’s YouTube channel within two weeks post-event.

We know you have a lot of questions about the platform – check back soon for an FAQ page that will be updated continuously as we work through all aspects of the virtual event. If you have a question that is not included, please contact the event lead to let us know.

Having a good internet connection is critical for engagement at the end of your presentation. Make sure your internet is fast and not being used by anyone else in your household. If you are able to, connect your computer directly to your router rather than using Wi-Fi.

You will need to be online in the backend of the platform for your session early to ensure your audio, video, and internet are ready for live Q&A. More details regarding how far in advance we’d like you to come online, log in, and test are forthcoming. After your session concludes, we ask that you continue the conversation and answer any remaining questions in your co-located event’s Slack channel for at least 15 minutes. Please notify your event lead immediately if you will not be able to participate in live Q&A.

Pre-Recording Details

All speakers are required to pre-record their presentation. In order to mitigate technical risks, we are not allowing speakers to present their talk live. We ask that you please self-record and upload an MP4 file.

Note: When you are preparing your recording, we recommend leaving the last 10 minutes of your allotted presentation time for live Q&A. Example: If your session is 30-minutes in duration, your recorded presentation should only be 20 minutes long. Lightning talks will not participate in live Q&A.

Self-Recording Your Presentation

All speakers are required to pre-record their presentation on their own. In order to mitigate technical risks, we are not allowing speakers to present their talk live. Requirements are as follows:

Video Codec: h.264 (MUST)
Video File Format: MP4 (MUST)
Resolution: 1920×1080 (MAXIMUM)
What Frame Rate: 29.97 (MAXIMUM)
What Bitrate settings: 3mbps to 4mbps (NO LARGER THAN)
What audio codec: AAC @ 256k (NO HIGHER THAN)
Size Limit for final output? 1.5GB per 60 minutes (MAXIMUM)
Files must be no larger than 1.5GB per one hour of video. If we receive larger files, we will compress them to the size specs we require.

Note: Your final MP4 file is due Wednesday, April 7 by 11:59 PM PDT.

You must upload the recording by Wednesday, April 7. This is a hard deadline. If you cannot meet this deadline we may have to cancel your session.

Please upload your MP4 file into the Google Folder shared in your acceptance email and make sure your file is named in this format:

SessionTitle_YourName_Dateofsession_version#

Example: HowToShareVideoFiles_JohnSmith_4May_v1.mp4

Email your event lead as soon as you have uploaded your video file to confirm receipt.

Note: For self-recording, the software you choose and the way you present is entirely up to you. If you want to show your face or not; if you want to use PowerPoint, Keynote, or Google slides, or no slides – it’s totally up to you. Please make sure the resolution of your file is at least 720p but 1080p is preferred. Note that if you are doing a demo, the higher the resolution, the better for attendees. Recommended Recording Software Options: Zoom (highly recommended), OBS: Open Broadcaster Software, Vimeo, Bandicam, Twitch, Screencast-O-Matic

Helpful Zoom Documents and How-to’s:

Enabling HD Video (This is disabled by default, so you will need to enable it before recording)
Recording Side-by-Side for sessions with more than one speaker
How to Record in Zoom Instructional Video – Created by our A/V vendor, Matt O’Donnell, guiding you through recording your presentation for either single or multiple speaker sessions, as well as providing tips on lighting, cameras, and audio.

Virtual Presentation Best Practices

We understand that presenting virtually is vastly different than presenting on stage in-person. Our A/V team has compiled a list of best practices and equipment recommendations to help presenters have the highest quality virtual presentation.

Tips to Keep your Virtual Audience Engaged

Learn the Content: Familiarity with the content allows a speaker to focus on presenting, rather than trying to remember the points to make. To minimize worry about forgetting elements of the presentation, include notes in your presentation file and have a printout of your script or talking points.
Practice Makes Perfect: Speakers should practice their content delivery in the environment in which they will deliver it, such as in front of a computer. Presenting alone to a computer can be awkward at first. To make speakers more comfortable, ask colleagues, roommates, or family to sit in front so they can present to familiar faces.
Understand the Tools: Speakers should understand and utilize the content options available to them, to maximize the effectiveness of the presentation technology. It’s important to know the basic functions of the software, e.g. how to advance slides, manage Q&A or chats, before the presentation.
Speak Up: Check audio levels before presenting, but also make sure to breathe at regular intervals to speak audibly and clearly. Maintaining a clear, even tone throughout the presentation will allow the audience to hear it without adjusting their volume settings.
Look at Your Camera: If presenting via video, remember, the webcam is your link to your audience. Make eye contact with the camera so it appears to the audience that you are speaking directly to them.
Don’t Fear Mistakes: Humans make mistakes, even during presentations. Realize that flubs happen and they won’t derail your presentation – unless you let them. Just keep going in your planned presentation and remember, the audience is forgiving.
Be Prepared: During the presentation, have a glass of water nearby to sip as needed. Also, keep a printout of your slides or notes nearby in case you need to refer to them.

Dress Code

There is no dress code for presentations, and we encourage you to be comfortable. That said, be aware that the Code of Conduct applies to this space, both in terms of what you show on camera and what you say. We ask that you be tasteful and considerate in choosing your clothing and surroundings. Keep in mind that we are a global community. Please refrain from wearing shirts with global brand logos that are not your own. Solid colors (not white) also work best instead of prints.

Technical Requirements + Tips

Audio – As counterintuitive as it may sound, the single most important factor in a good video, is the audio quality.
Eliminate ambient noise – Close the doors and windows. You’d be surprised how much environmental noise gets picked up.
Lighting – Do not put lights overhead and don’t put any lights or windows behind you as they will alter the light levels in your videos and create shadows.
Background – Don’t be afraid to show your natural environment – bookcases, plants, paintings – as long as they are not too distracting or inappropriate.
Framing – Place yourself slightly off-center to the left or right rather than directly in the middle of the frame.
Camera Height – The lens should either be directly level or pointing ever so slightly downwards towards your face.
Stand – We recommend you stand during your presentation to help project your voice and improve your posture. However, if you’re more comfortable sitting, then please do.
Timer – Have a clock to keep track of the time you have remaining.

Speaker PowerPoint Presentation Template

We designed an optional PowerPoint template specific to each co-located event. Use of this template is not required but we do welcome you to use it for your convenience.

Cloud Native Wasm Day
Cloud Native Security Day
Crossplane Community Day
FluentCon
Kubernetes AI Day
Kubernetes on Edge Day
ServiceMeshCon

Helpful Notes on Presentation Design

Obsolete, low-res (i.e., pixelated), and malformatted logos are an epidemic among conference presentations. High-res logos of over 1000 cloud native projects, products, and companies are available in the cloud native landscape and the serverless and member landscapes. All logos are in the card mode and can be found with Cmd-F or Cntl-F from your browser. Note that all of these logos are stacked, not horizontal, and include the name. The logos are all the most current (or you can open a pull request if they’re not). Also note that the text below the logo shows the proper capitalization of projects like gRPC and containerd.
Please see the CNCF style guide which covers things like abbreviating Kubernetes as K8s not K8 or K8S.

Uploading Presentation to Sched.com

All speakers are required to upload their final presentation slides to Sched.com by Wednesday, April 7. We find that adding the presentations before the event helps to drive interest in attending the session. Note: If you are on a panel, email your presentation slides in PDF-format to your event lead and we will upload for you.

Please note that your presentation slides should be uploaded in PDF-format and must be formatted in 16:9.

To upload slides:

Log into your co-located event-specific speaker profile through Sched.com
After logging in, go to the event listing
Go to your session and click on “Speaker Tools” to the right of the session title
On the next page, click “Add Presentation”
Then, click on the “Select a File” box and add the PDF document (note: there is a 50MB size limit)
Click “Upload” and your slides will automatically be saved

Additional Resources

19 Video Presentation Tips to help you give a great presentation (even if you hate the way you look on camera)

PACE Acronym for Virtual Presentations

Checklist for Speakers – this article provides checklists applicable for speakers that are live streaming.

Promote Your Talk

Once the schedule is announced on March 15, we’d appreciate you spreading the word. Below are some sample tweets to share on your social channels! Note: The short link to your session can be found on your session’s Sched.com page, just below the title, to the left of the “Tweet” and “Share” buttons.

I just found out that my talk about [TOPIC] was accepted for [EVENT HASHTAG] at #KubeCon + #CloudNativeCon Europe 2021 – Virtual! 🎉 Come see me on [DATE] [SESSION LINK]
Attending [EVENT HASHTAG] at #KubeCon + #CloudNativeCon Europe 2021 – Virtual in May? Come check out my session [SESSION TITLE] on [DATE]. Hope to see you there! [SESSION LINK]
My first talk on [TOPIC] was just accepted for [EVENT HASHTAG] at #KubeCon + #CloudNativeCon Europe 2021 – Virtual – visit [SESSION LINK] to add my talk to your schedule⚡️!
Can’t wait for [EVENT HASHTAG] at #KubeCon #CloudNativeCon! 👍 I will be speaking on [DATE] – Come see my session [SESSION TITLE] – Hope to see you there! [SESSION LINK]

Inclusive Speaker Orientation Online Course

The Linux Foundation, in collaboration with the National Center for Women in Technology (NCWIT), has created an online course designed to teach the viewer about inclusion, diversity and unconscious bias. We highly recommend all of our speakers watch the course to learn tips/tools to use when speaking to encourage inclusivity in presentations and messaging.

Schedule and Speaker Point of Contact

For any speaker or schedule-related questions, please contact your event lead.

This event has passed. Please visit the upcoming KubeCon + CloudNativeCon Europe.

Co-located Event Speaker Guide – MeetingPlay Platform