Overview
Thank you for speaking at the Zephyr Project Developer Summit 2022, taking place both in-person and virtually in Mountain View, CA, Wednesday, June 8 – Thursday, June 9, 2022, with Intro to Zephyr Day on Tuesday, June 7.
This is your official virtual 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, as they are available. If you have any questions, please contact the Zephyr Event Content Team.
Please click through the tabs on this page to access information.
Registration
You should have received registration information in your speaker notification email. If you need those details again, please contact the Zephyr Event Content Team.
Schedule + Uploading Bio / Photo
The schedule will be announced Wednesday, March 30, and will be 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 Zephyr Event Content Team.
PowerPoint Template + Presentation Requirements
Due by Friday, May 27
All speakers are required to submit their final presentation slides ahead of the event. Please note that your presentation slides should be uploaded in PDF format to Sched.com and must be formatted in 16:9.
If you would like to use the Zephyr Project Developer Summit PowerPoint template for your presentation, you can download it here. (Please note it is not required to use the presentation template.)
To upload slides:
- Log into your Zephyr Project Developer Summit 2022 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 or send to the Zephyr Event Content Team who will upload them on your behalf.
Livestream + Pre-recorded Videos
Due Date: Friday, May 27
VIRTUAL EVENT ACCESS
This is an interactive event through Zoom meetings. You will receive an email on Monday, June 6 with Zoom links and login instructions. Both virtual and in-person attendees will have access to the online platform.
VIRTUAL SESSIONS – IMPORTANT – PLEASE REVIEW
- Join the Zoom session 10 minutes before your scheduled session start time.
- Each Zoom session will have a Room Host who is moderating the track, ensuring both virtual and in-person attendees can participate.
- At the time of your presentation, share your screen, video, and audio, and begin presenting. The Room Host will pin your video and slides when your presentation begins.
- Presenting live virtually is now the preferred session delivery method. The pre-recorded video you uploaded will only be used as a backup If you prefer to use your pre-recorded video instead of presenting live virtually, please let me know as soon as possible and by Monday, June 6 at the latest.
- During your session, both in-person and virtual attendees will be able to ask text-based questions in the Discord chat. We encourage you to engage with attendees during your session by responding to the chats and questions.
PRE-RECORDED VIDEOS
All virtual speakers, both livestream and pre-recorded, are required to submit a pre-recorded video of their presentations by May 27.
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. Please feel free to reach out with any questions.
Uploading Instructions for Pre-recorded Sessions
We have multiple options for uploading your pre-recorded presentation:
- Add your recording directly into the Google folder
- File naming format: SessionTitle_YourFullName_Version#
- Example: My_Zephyr_Developer_Summit_Video_SandySmith_v1.mp4
- Share your file with the Zephyr Event Content Team
- Let us know if you have an alternate method (DropBox, file sharing service, etc.)
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.
From: 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 movements.
- 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 the Zephyr Project Developer Summit 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.
From: https://www.inxpo.com/assets/pdfs/litepapers/How-To-Be-An-Engaging-Speaker.pdf
Promote Your Talk
Once the schedule is announced on Wednesday, April 28, we appreciate you spreading the word about #ZephyrDevSummit and your session – please find some sample tweets below to share on your social channels!
- Proud to be chosen as a speaker for #ZephyrDevSummit – visit “link to your session” to add my talk to your schedule!
- Thrilled to announce I’ll be presenting at #ZephyrDevSummit! Visit Zephyr Project Dev Summit 2022 to see the full schedule 👍
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 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 can be found 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
Do you have a speaker or schedule-related question? Please contact the Zephyr Event Content Team.
