Speaker Guidelines

If you’re interested in speaking at Druid Summit, that’s awesome! We can’t wait to hear your story. That said, here are some guidelines to ensure your presentation is a success and if well-received by your audience:

Skip the Sales Pitch: No one likes a bait-and-switch or a hard sell. Keep it unbiased and educational. It’s okay to mention commercial products you’re using, but only if they are a key part of your data architecture and Apache Druid.

Share Triumphs and Challenges: Working in application development does not involve all rainbows and sunshine. Feel good about sharing roadblocks you hit and how you worked around them – or ones you might still be struggling with – there may be a community member in the audience who can help you out! Engineering always involves trade-offs, so being realistic about them helps establish you as a credible advisor.

Take the Plunge and Deep Dive: This is the time for scuba diving, not snorkeling. This audience understands and has built data architectures – if you get it, they’ll get it. Of course, start with the basics of who you are, what you built, and why, and then go all-in on the technical insights, examples, and demos.

Show and Tell: Who doesn’t love a good demo? If you can, prepare a short demo to accompany your presentation to showcase your work. This will help put everything in context for your fellow developers and the more visual learners in the audience.

Watch the Clock: Think of each speaking slot like dominos – if you run over, then the next will, and so on, until we’re either completely off schedule or someone else’s talk gets cut short! As a former colleague once said, “Not cool, Robert Frost.” Practice your presentation ahead of time to make sure you stay within your allotted time.

Need help with your talk or just want to run it by someone else? Hit us up at community@imply.io.

Additionally, we’ll have office hours to help you deliver an awesome presentation that lets you and your Druid expertise shine.