Speaker Guide

We look forward to having you present at gRPCon North America 2025, taking place in Sunnyvale, CA!

Below are all the logistical details you need to prepare as a speaker:

Presentation Logistics

• Speakers must bring their own laptops for presentations (except for speakers in Valley Oak; check the agenda for your meeting room). An HDMI cable will be available at the lectern; please bring an adapter if your laptop lacks an HDMI port.
• There will be no hardline at the podium. Speakers must use wifi to access the internet.
• IMPORTANT: Ensure you are presenting in Light Mode. Presentations in Dark Mode may darken and remove blue light to create a warmer, yellowish or orange tone that may not be desired.
• An AV tech will be present during your presentation. Please visit the AV table 10 minutes before your session to review microphone options and get help with connecting your laptop if needed. All speakers should review the Connecting Your Laptop To Present section below.
• Each room will have a screen, projector, and a wired microphone at the podium.
• Please note: sessions will be recorded from a stationary camera, so we ask that speakers remain close to the podium to ensure they remain in the shot.

Questions+Answers (Q+A)

• We encourage you to reserve time for audience Q+A after concluding your presentation, but this must stay within your allocated time and cannot exceed it. If you wish to continue answering questions after your time slot ends, please move the discussion outside the room so we can prepare for the next speaker.
• If an attendee without a microphone asks a question, please repeat it into your microphone before answering to ensure it is captured in the YouTube recording for viewers at a later date.
• Q+A is only available for full session presentations.

Share Slide Deck

• Please ensure you have uploaded a PDF copy of your slides to Sched.com by Wednesday, August 20.
• Sessions with PDF copies of presentations attached tend to have better attendance. These PDFs allow attendees to preview your presentation and optionally follow along during your talk. Note that you will present using the PowerPoint version directly from your laptop and not this PDF version.
• Please review these Sched.com instructions, which includes steps and screenshots to upload your presentation PDF.
• If you are not presenting slides, you do not need to complete this step.

Badge Pick-up

• Before coming onsite, please review the times and location for Registration + Badge Pick-Up.
• Be prepared to have your ID ready for the registration desk if needed.
• Name badges must be worn at all times and cannot be shared with other attendees.
• The event’s Wi-Fi password can be found on the back of your badge.

Confirm Speaking Time Slot and Location

• Please review your presentation time(s) on the schedule.
• Notify the CNCF Content Team immediately if there are any conflicts.

Onsite Assistance

• For onsite assistance, please contact the AV tech in your breakout room, an event staff member, or visit our Registration Desk.

Please don’t hesitate to reach out to the CNCF Content Team if you have any other questions or concerns.

We’ll see you in Sunnyvale soon!

If you plan to use speaker notes, please follow the steps below to ensure your laptop is set up correctly. This will allow you to view your notes while the audience sees only your slides.

Use “Extended Display” mode (not Mirrored)

We are excited to welcome you as a speaker for gRPConf 2025, taking place August 26 at the Google Campus in Sunnyvale, California!

Please bookmark this page for easy reference. If you have any questions, please email the CNCF Content Team.

• Travel Fund Request Deadline: Monday, June 30
• Upload Bio + Headshot to Sched.com: Tuesday, July 8
• Registration deadline: Wednesday, July 16
• Submit additional AV Requests: Tuesday, August 12
• Upload presentation slides to Sched.com: Wednesday, August 20

Your Speaker Registration serves as confirmation that you will be speaking. Please register using the voucher code in your Acceptance Letter no later than Wednesday, July 16.

Anyone coming on site, please review our Health + Safety page. We ask that you please check back for updates as we get closer to the event.

You should have received registration details in your acceptance email. If you need this information sent to you again, please contact the CNCF Content Team. If you are not registered by July 17, there is a possibility that your speaking slot will be replaced by one on our waiting list so please do so promptly. 

Any co-speakers or panelists that are part of the original CFP submission will also receive complimentary registration. Please contact the CNCF Content Team for details.

Visa Letter Requests

If you require a visa letter, please register for the event, and then complete the visa letter request form.

Speaker Travel Funding

We place an emphasis on funding applicants who are from historically underrepresented or untapped groups and/or those of lower socioeconomic status.

If you work for a company that has the ability to fund your travel, we ask that you not apply, to save funds for those in need.

We receive thousands of requests for funding each year. CNCF is trying to use funds to assist as many people as possible. As such:

• We are often unable to fund one person across multiple events in a year.
• Lower cost travel funding requests are more likely to get approved.
• We typically do not fund the same person two years in a row.

If you are not being assisted or sponsored by a company or organization, and would be otherwise unable to attend for financial reasons, you may apply for travel funding. The deadline for travel funding applications is Monday, June 30.

Note: Talk acceptance does not guarantee travel funding.

This year’s event will take place at at the Google Campus in Sunnyvale, California:

Google MP7
1160 Bordeaux Drive, Building 7
Sunnyvale, CA 94089

The schedule will be announced Wednesday, June 18, and 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.

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 contact the CNCF Content Team.

Please note the following technical requirements:

• All speakers must supply their computers and HDMI adapters to use during their talk.
• Presentation slides should be formatted in 16:9. 
• The room will include a screen, projector, and (2) microphones. 
• If you require any additional AV, please email the CNCF Content Team with those needs by Tuesday, August 12. The Linux Foundation will make every effort to accommodate other AV needs; however, final approval for additional AV requests will be made on a case-by-case basis.

All speakers are required to submit a PDF-format version of their final presentation slides ahead of the event to Sched.com. We find that adding the presentations before the event helps to drive interest in attending the session. The deadline to upload presentations is Wednesday, August 20.

Please log into Sched.com and follow these steps to upload your slides.

Branded Powerpoint

For speakers, an optional PowerPoint Template is available to download, but please note it is not required.

IMPORTANT: This is NOT pre-loaded for your presentation. Please bring your laptop with your presentation. See AV Details + Requirements for more details.

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. 

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 be inclusive in the words and images used during their presentations.

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