KubeCon + CloudNativeCon North America

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CNCF-hosted Co-located Events Virtual Speaker Guide

Overview

We are excited to welcome you as a speaker for a CNCF-hosted co-located event taking place prior to KubeCon + CloudNativeCon North America 2021 on Monday, October 11, or Tuesday, Oct 12. This event is happening both in person at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, California, and virtually via the MeetingPlay virtual platform.

This is the official event speaker guide for co-located event speakers presenting virtually. Please bookmark this page for easy reference and continue to check back as the event gets closer as we will be adding additional speaker details. If you have any questions, please email the CNCF Co-located Events Team.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Timing of sessions is subject to change through Monday, September 13 due to schedule changes that will be made as speakers finalize whether speaking in person or virtually.

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

Important Dates + Deadlines

  • Upload/Update Bio + Headshot to Sched.com Deadline: Friday, September 3
  • Speaker Registration Deadline: Friday, September 3
    You will find registration information in your speaker notification email. Please email the CNCF Co-located Events Team if you need this information sent to you again.
  • Pre-recorded Video File Submission Due Date: Friday, Sept 10 by 11:59 PM PDT
  • Presentation Slides Upload Deadline: Friday, October 1 by 11:59 PM PDT
  • Event Dates: Monday, October 11 OR Tuesday, October 12 | Event Timezone: Pacific Daylight Time (PDT), UTC-7

Event Content Leads

  • Nicolette Oliaro 
    • Cloud Native DevX Day North America hosted by CNCF
    • Cloud Native eBPF Day North America hosted by CNCF
    • Cloud Native Security Conference North America hosted by CNCF
    • FluentCon North America hosted by CNCF
    • ServiceMeshCon North America hosted by CNCF
  • Rachel Braun
    • GitOpsCon North America hosted by CNCF
    • Production Identity Day: SPIFFE + SPIRE North America hosted by CNCF
    • SupplyChainSecurityCon hosted by CNCF + CDF
  • Sheri Twambly
    • Cloud Native Wasm Day North America hosted by CNCF
    • EnvoyCon North America hosted by CNCF
    • Kubernetes AI Day North America hosted by CNCF + LFAI & Data
    • PromCon North America hosted by CNCF

Code of Conduct

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

Registration

*All co-located event speakers need to register for KubeCon+CloudNativeCon North America

Your registration serves as confirmation that you will be speaking and you will need to register as either an in-person OR virtual speaker by Friday, September 3, 2021.  Please register based on if you plan to attend the event in person OR virtually.

If you have a co-speaker or a panelist that will be virtual – the presentation MUST be pre-recorded and submitted by September 10.  You cannot present in person with a virtual co-speaker or panelist or vice versa.

NOTE: Once you register as an in-person speaker or virtual speaker, this will be final and you will not be able to switch.

You should have received registration details in your acceptance email. If you need this information sent to you again, please contact the CNCF Co-located Events Team. If you are not registered by September 3, there is a possibility that your speaking slot will be replaced by someone on our waiting list so please register promptly. 

Any co-speakers or panelists that are part of the accepted CFP submission will receive complimentary registration for the specific co-located event. Please contact the CNCF Co-located Events Team for details.

Schedule, Timing, + Speaker Profiles

The schedule will be announced the week of August 23 and will be posted on our website using Sched.com.

  • IMPORTANT NOTE: Timing of sessions are subject to change through Monday, September 13 due to schedule changes that will be made as speakers finalize whether speaking in person or virtually.
  • If you have a conflict with the timing of your talk, find that it conflicts with the content of another talk, or are having problems uploading your bio and photo, please contact the CNCF Co-located Events Team.
  • Please update your speaker profile on Sched.com (biography, headshot, title) by Friday, September 3, so they can be integrated with the virtual platform.

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)
  • Panel Discussions are 40-minutes in duration (including 10-15-min Live Q&A)
  • Workshops/Tutorials are 75 – 120 minutes in duration (including 15-min Live Q&A)

Presentation Details

All speakers are required to submit their final presentation slides ahead of the event. We find that adding the presentations before the event helps drive interest in attending the session. The deadline for presentations is Friday, October 1. Please contact the CNCF Co-located Events Team if you need assistance uploading your presentation.

Please note that your final presentation slides should be uploaded in PDF format and must be formatted in 16:9 and can be a max of 50MB.

To upload your final presentation slides:

  • Log into your speaker profile through Sched.com or via the mobile site
  • On the top of the page click “Manage and Promote Your Session”
  • Click “Add Presentation”
  • Click in 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 

PowerPoint Presentation Templates

We designed an optional PowerPoint template for our speakers. Use of this template is not required but we welcome you to use it for your convenience. Please note that your presentation slides should be uploaded in PDF format to Sched.com and must be formatted in 16:9. Additionally, slides 4-6 in each template can be used to market + promote your talk!

Please see the CNCF style guide which covers things like abbreviating Kubernetes as K8s, not K8 or K8S.

Platform + Specifications

We will be using the virtual event platform MeetingPlay that will allow speakers to deliver content by pre-recorded talk and join live for text & video Q+A at the end of the session. The platform is web-based and will be easy for everyone to access and use. MeetingPlay has multiple interactive areas that allow attendees to move in and out of rooms just like an in-person event, enjoy speaker content, and make personal connections. 

Pre-Recording Information

Virtual speakers are required to pre-record their talks, which will be played through the event platform, and will then join live Q+A via text and/or video with attendees.

  • Some suggested tools to use for recording are Quicktime, Google Hangouts, Zoom, a screen recorder, or something similar. The recording should show your slides/screen as well as you presenting using a picture-in-picture style format. 
  • If you need assistance with your pre-recorded talk, please contact the CNCF Co-located Events Team for additional information.
  • Ensure you have stable internet access. A hardwired connection is preferable for your recording. If a hardwired connection is not available, turn devices off that could affect your connectivity during your presentation and make sure that anyone else in the house is not on devices and/or consuming bandwidth.

The video 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) 
  • Audio File Format: MP3 (MUST) 
  • Size Limit for final output?  1.5GB per 60 min (MAXIMUM)
  • Files must be no larger than 1.5gb per 1hr of video.  If we receive larger files, we will compress them to the size specs we require.

Uploading + Submitting Your Talk

We have multiple options for uploading your pre-recorded presentation:

Before sharing, please save your presentation file in the following format:

  • Naming Format: SessionTitle_YourFullName_Dateofsession_version#
  • Example: How_to_share_video_files_JohnSmith_50621_v1.mp4

In order to mitigate technical risks, we are not allowing speakers to present their talk live.

You must upload the recording by Friday, September 10. This is a hard deadline. If you cannot meet this deadline we may have to cancel your session.

Virtual Presentation Best Practices

Please take a moment to review these tips for enhancing the quality of your presentation, whether pre-recorded or live. 

In order to give the attendees/viewers the best experience, we strongly encourage you to use our various tips and gear recommendations.

Dress Code

  • There is no dress code for presentations, and we encourage you to be comfortable. That said, you must 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. 

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 that the audience is forgiving.
  • Be Prepared: During the presentation, have a glass of water nearby to sip as needed. Also, keep handy a printout of your slides or notes in case you need to refer to them.

Source: https://www.inxpo.com/assets/pdfs/litepapers/How-To-Be-An-Engaging-Speaker.pdf 

Additional Resources

Helpful Zoom Documents and How-to’s:

Promote Your Talk

Once the schedule is announced the week of Aug 23, 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 North America 2021! 🎉 Come see me on [DATE] [SESSION LINK]
  • Attending [EVENT HASHTAG] at #KubeCon + #CloudNativeCon North America 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 North America 2021 –  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. It is strongly encouraged by the Cloud Native Computing Foundation that all of our speakers watch the course to learn tips/tools to use when speaking to encourage inclusivity in presentations and messaging.

Contact Us

If you have any other platform, speaker, or schedule-related questions, please contact the CNCF Co-located Events Team.

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