How to write a conference talk

My thoughts and notes for my talk

Last week I took the stage at LaraconEU to speak to a crowd of professional developers about feelings and the ever-lasting industry pressure of high performance.

My talk was titled Stop Listening to the Internet*. Throughout it I discussed how to break through these messages and pressures of how to become more successful and valuable in your industry, and focus instead on your unique skillset and qualities.

As a designer I’d be pleased if even just five developers showed up for my talk. Almost all of the talks at the conference had been technical, and as there were two tracks I was pretty confident people would chose that over a ‘feelings talk’.

Thankfully, more than five developers showed up.

At the end more than five developers approached me afterwards either to thank me or ask for my advice.

Rewind 24 hours earlier I was pacing my living room as I practiced in front of my cat. I was changing my slides, trying my best to memorise my talking points and feeling complete imposter syndrome as I tried to remind myself that I had something good to say.

Writing a new talk isn’t easy — there’s a lot of uncertainty. On top of that, it takes time, research and practice. It’s impossible to know what the audience reaction will be. Will they laugh at your jokes? Will they raise their hands when you ask them to? Will they stay the entire 30, 40 or 50 minutes?

It seems like a lot to ask from a room of people.

In light of my recent talk preparation I thought I’d share some advice on creating a talk:

Some of my talk slides

Decide on your message

Having one clear takeaway or message makes for an impactful talk. The best talks I’ve seen are the ones where I leave with that one message that inspires me to make a change.

What is the message you want people to walk away with?

How is your talk going to provide value in people’s lives?