Welcome!
Thank you for speaking at the Open Source Days 2022, hosted by the Academy Software Foundation taking place both in-person and virtually in Vancouver, Canada, Monday, August 8 – Tuesday, August 9, 2022.
This is your official 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 additional speaker information, such as on-site details, as they are available. If you have any questions, please email the ASWF Event Content Team.
Please click through the tabs on this page to access information.
Important Dates & Deadlines
- Schedule Announcement: Thursday, July 21, 2022
- Speaker Registration Deadline: Tuesday, July 26
- Upload Bio + Headshot to Sched.com Deadline: Tuesday, July 26
- AV Requests Due (In-person): Friday, July 29
- Last Day to Request Speaker Additions or Changes: Friday, July 29
- All Speaker Slides Due Date: Wednesday, August 3
- Presentation Slides Upload to Sched Deadline: Wednesday, August 3
- Event Dates: Monday, August 8 – Tuesday, August 9, 2022.
PLATFORM & SPECIFICATIONS
This is an interactive hybrid event happening in-person and virtually through Zoom. Both in-person and virtual attendees and speakers are encouraged to interact by turning on webcams and asking questions during session Q&A.
You will receive an email on Sunday, August 7 with Zoom links and login instructions.
IN PERSON AV DETAILS
The physical room will include a screen that will display slides, a projector, monitors to display Zoom attendees, and 5 microphones (1 podium microphone, 2 wireless clip-on microphones, and 2 wireless handheld microphones).
Schedule, Timing & Speaker Profiles
The schedule is posted on our website using sched.com. You will receive an email directly from sched.com asking you to create your account; please make sure to upload your bio and photo.
Please note that Project and Working Group Updates are typically 40 minutes in length.
If you have a conflict with the timing of your talk or find that it conflicts with the content of another talk or are having problems uploading your bio and photo, please email the ASWF Event Content Team.
POWERPOINT TEMPLATE + Presentation Details
Due by Wednesday, August 3
Virtual sessions only (no in-person speaker during your session) will run your presentation from your laptop. The Open Source Days PowerPoint template is mandatory; you can download it here.
In addition to providing a hard copy for accessibility purposes, we find that adding the presentations before the event helps to drive interest in attending the session. Please note that your presentation slides should be uploaded in PDF format to Sched.com and must be formatted in 16:9.
To upload slides:
- Log into your speaker profile through Sched.com
- 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
Technical Tips for Virtual Presentations
- 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.
- 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.
Source: https://www.greatspeech.co/video-presentations/
Lighting, Webcam and Microphone Best Practices
Best Practices for Lighting
- For best results, use natural light and supplement with additional light as needed.
- Keep natural light in front of you to avoid shadows. A bright window behind you can make you appear as a dark silhouette.
- Interior rooms with no natural light source may require additional targeted lighting, such as a ring light, to brighten the speaker’s face.
Best Practices for Webcams
- To ensure the speaker is looking directly at the audience, place the webcam at eye level.
- Avoid distracting backgrounds by checking the surroundings behind you to make sure there are no distracting colors or movement.
- Presenters should use chairs that are adjustable for height but do not swivel. Swiveling on camera creates a poor attendee experience and can be distracting.
Best Practices for Microphones
- Use external microphones whenever available, as microphones built into computers and cameras often have lower quality.
- An external microphone allows the speaker to place it in the optimal location for sound.
- Place the microphone close to the speaker’s mouth, but not in the camera view.
- Test audio levels in advance.
- Manage noise by turning off fans, phones, or speakers and keep ambient noise to a minimum.
- Do not touch the microphone while unmuted.
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, 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
- Web Presenting: Gear Tips + Enhancing Your Remote Studio
- 19 Video Presentation Tips to help you give a great presentation (even if you hate the way you look on camera)
- 9 Tips for Giving Engaging Virtual Presentations | This article gives 9 tips and within each tip has folks from the tech world giving their advice in a fun/relatable way.
- PACE Acronym for Virtual Presentations
Checklist for Speakers| This article provides checklists applicable for speakers that are live streaming.
Inclusive Speaker Orientation Online Course
In collaboration with the National Center for Women in Technology (NCWIT), the Linux Foundation 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.
Code of Conduct
Please read, and abide, by our code of conduct, which you can find here. 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 presentations.
Contact Us
If you have any other event, speaker, or schedule-related questions, please contact us at events@aswf.io.