FirstTimeSpeakers

EMF Speaker Guide

Congratulations on being accepted to give a talk or workshop at EMF Camp.

This guide gives a few notes to help make your experience as smooth as possible.

We're aware that some speakers at EMF are seasoned pros at public speaking, and for others this may be a first time giving a talk. In either case EMF is a friendly crowd and if your talk has been selected that means that you're sure of an interested and engaged audience.

In Preperation:

You'll have prepared and practiced your talk. You've got your tickets for EMF, What next?

If you have materials to support your talk such as slides, then we suggest that you bring these with you on your laptop & USB stick, and perhaps also upload to the cloud (Dropbox / Google drive etc.) in case your laptop gets left on the train / breaks down etc. Don't forget to pack your laptop charger!

NB - if you are playing music as part of your presentation - please make sure that this is copyright free, otherwise it can cause problems for streamed / uploaded talks.

Speaker Ops people and what they (we) do:

The Speaker Ops crew are here to help you - if you need anything please ask and we'll do what we can to help. We're also here to help make sure you're in the right place at the right time and to introduce you / prompt questions after your talk etc.

Facilities available:

Each stage has an AV system with:

- A lecturn and connection for your laptop to plug to the projector and sound system. The Stage teams run the AV and make sure levels are good etc.
- Microphones for yourself and so that audience questions can be heard.

In order to project please make sure that your laptop has an HDMI output or suitable adapter to support a standard HDMI lead. Standard projector resolution is HD - 1920x1080 (which matches most HD screens now). Audio is normally run through a 3.5mm jack connection (headphone connector cable).

There is a supply of water at the stage and we'll make sure you have a bottle.

Note that there should be good Internet available around site and from the stages on Wi-Fi - but just in case of Murphy's law and the chance that the Internet connection might be offline: if you have any videos or other media etc. that are part of your talk then it is a good idea to make sure that these are available offline.

On the Day:

Where you need to be and when:

The Green Room is to be found on the EMF Camp next to the Info Tent and First Aid. The Green room serves a number of purposes:
1) as the center of meeting and co-ordination for talks and speakers / SpeakerOps peeps, and
2) as a space where you can prepare as a speaker, practice your talk, get into your best mental state etc. We have plenty of water for you also.
3) We'll have mains in case you need to charge your batteries (though your tent will too as long as you pack an extension reel!),

Unless you've made any other arrangements already, please do report to the Green Room half an hour before your talk and we'll be able to make sure you are ready, and we can take you down to the stage you'll be talking on. Note that mobile phone signals onsite are not great, so coming to the speaker Ops room seems a good idea.

NB - you'd be welcome at the Green Room any time and please do stop in to say hello in advance if you like / have any questions. We'll aim to have the Green Room staffed with a co-ordinator for the majority of the event.

Many of the talks are recorded and / or streamed to the net. You should already have been asked about this at the RFP stage, but we normally confirm preferences to make sure everyone is clear and happy.

In the tent at your talk:

We'll help make sure you are connected up and when the time comes we'll introduce you and your talk to the audience so that you can begin.

After your main talk is finished, there may be time for a few questions and SpeakerOps will take the mic around so that the questioner can be heard. If there are more questions than time allows, then you might like to take further questions outside or in the bar afterwards.

FAQ:

Q) Who do I ask if I have any quetions?
A) Please feel free to get in touch with the SpeakerOps / Content team members.

Q) Is there a Speaker Party @ EMF?
A) Yes - it's Called EMF! (ie at EMF everyone is a volunteer so the whole event counts as a Speaker Party)

Q) Can I request a bowl of M&Ms with the blue ones taken out?
A) You can request this. Realistically we'll likely suggest that if you bring along a big bag of M&Ms then we'll be happy to help you seperate out any you don't like and find a suitable home for them!

Q) What if there are any technical hitches on stage during my talk?
A) EMF is a live event and generally runs quite smoothly but occasionally there might be the odd hitch. If it's a technical problem then the Stage / AV teams will take care of it - ie it's our problem and not yours. It can be a good idea to think of a useful time filler in case tihs happens - ie make the best of the opportunity this affords during any brief technical hiatus - such as 'While the technical issue is sorted out it looks like I might have a couple of minutes to tell you about X which did not quite fit into the talk...' etc.

Thanks once again in advance for sharing your time, talk and energy to help make EMF the facinating festival that it is!