10 years of Speaking + Conferences

In this episode of Syntax, Wes and Scott talk about their experiences speaking at conferences, why they’ve done it, how they prepare talks, and tips for anyone interested in wanting to give talks.

Linode - Sponsor

Whether you’re working on a personal project or managing enterprise infrastructure, you deserve simple, affordable, and accessible cloud computing solutions that allow you to take your project to the next level. Simplify your cloud infrastructure with Linode’s Linux virtual machines and develop, deploy, and scale your modern applications faster and easier. Get started on Linode today with a $100 in free credit for listeners of Syntax. You can find all the details at linode.com/syntax. Linode has 11 global data centers and provides 24/7/365 human support with no tiers or hand-offs regardless of your plan size. In addition to shared and dedicated compute instances, you can use your $100 in credit on S3-compatible object storage, Managed Kubernetes, and more. Visit linode.com/syntax and click on the “Create Free Account” button to get started.

Sentry - Sponsor

If you want to know what’s happening with your code, track errors and monitor performance with Sentry. Sentry’s Application Monitoring platform helps developers see performance issues, fix errors faster, and optimize their code health. Cut your time on error resolution from hours to minutes. It works with any language and integrates with dozens of other services. Syntax listeners new to Sentry can get two months for free by visiting Sentry.io and using the coupon code TASTYTREAT during sign up.

Freshbooks - Sponsor

Get a 30 day free trial of Freshbooks at freshbooks.com/syntax

Show Notes

• 00:02 Welcome
• 01:38 Stanley Cup update
• 03:13 Legoland update
• 04:09 Topic introduction
• Nicole Sullivan
• Tweet looking for questions
• 05:03 Why speak at conferences?
• 08:56 Travelling for free
• 09:50 Getting paid to speak at conferences
• 12:23 Doing in person workshops
• 14:55 How do you get into speaking?
• 19:25 Meetups
• 20:30 Sponsor: Linode
• 21:15 What should you speak about?
• 26:27 Something you did a deep dive on
• 29:21 Sponsor: Freshbooks
• 30:04 Flight protection and travel insurance
• 32:59 Idea: update to a library
• 33:28 How to get conferences to invite you to speak?
• 36:03 How do you prepare for a talk?
• 42:40 How to find conferences looking for speakers
• 44:09 How to create a topic that will get picked
• 46:59 Sponsor: Sentry
• 48:06 Software for your slides
• Slides.js
• Slides.com
• MDX Deck
• Notion
• Figma
• Google Slides
• Lydia Hallie
• Keynote
• 56:28 ××× SIIIIICK ××× PIIIICKS ×××

××× SIIIIICK ××× PIIIICKS ×××

• Scott: Risk for iOS
• Wes: Barrina LED T5 Integrated Single Fixture

Shameless Plugs

• Scott: LevelUp Tutorials
• Wes: Wes Bos Tutorials

Tweet us your tasty treats

• Scott’s Instagram
• LevelUpTutorials Instagram
• Wes’ Instagram
• Wes’ Twitter
• Wes’ Facebook
• Scott’s Twitter
• Make sure to include @SyntaxFM in your tweets