Must-have criteria for speaker EOIs in 2024!

Thinking of submitting an Expression of Interest (EOI) to speak at AgileAus24? These are some criteria to be mindful of when crafting your submission.

Substance

Is there content in the submission that people can sink their teeth into and learn from?

E.g. Instead of ‘I will talk about approaches to improve team culture, so just trust me on this’ you share something like: ‘Below are 3 approaches that worked (as well as some things that did not work) to improve our team culture – in these measurable ways.’

Is the content in the submission clear?

Your ability to get your message across clearly is a great help to those reading and reviewing your EOI. A focus on using plain and direct language – less heavy on the jargon, buzzwords and lengthy theoretical explanations is always appreciated.

Relevance & balance

Is the content in your EOI appropriate for the audience? Will your message resonate with those attending AgileAus24?

You can view what the Conference chairs are looking for on the AgileAus24 streams page.

A good way to consider whether your talk could hit the mark is to ask yourself if you can think of 3 people in your network (think colleagues or contemporaries) that would benefit from the learnings in your talk. Can you visualise the audience that might get something out of what you have to share? That’s a great start!

For your reference, most AgileAus attendees hail from areas such as telcos, finance, insurance, nimble startups and non-profits to digital businesses and government – representing all the way from clients to consultants.

Is there overlap in your EOI?

It’s not uncommon for a number of people to propose a few different takes on the same topic. It is up to reviewers to take on the unenviable challenge of filtering out the strongest EOIs from the bunch, and weighing up the pros and cons of similar submissions.

Submitted EOIs are visible to everyone so it’s often useful to have a read through EOIs that might be similar to yours. This gives you a chance to find a point of difference for your EOI and update your submission accordingly.

Ultimately, building a final Conference program is more art than science, and decisions are made to reflect the depth and breadth of the communities AgileAus serves. For instance, special care is taken to ensure no single demographic, way of working or flavour of Agile is overrepresented. It’s all about balance

Would your talk fit the vibe of the Conference?

The AgileAus Conference is curious, warm, collegial, forward thinking and fresh. The audience is welcoming, full of good will and eager to learn. Sound like sentiments that are second nature to you? We’d love to hear from you.

Responsiveness

How willing are you to interact with reviewers regarding your EOI?

While you aren’t obligated to take on every single bit of advice, being open to feedback and willing to consider other perspectives on your EOI is always a green flag.

Impact

Are the learning outcomes/takeaways in your EOI crystal clear? Is there something tangible that the audience will leave with?

This is a big one. We want to hear talks that equip the audience with takeaways that they can start applying to their work and thinking straight away. We encourage you to write your EOI with this as front of mind – and make sure your takeaways shine through as a priority.

Does your EOI have the potential to advance knowledge?

The Conference theme is Building Value Together – and we want to do just that! Talks that grace the AgileAus24 stage need to have the potential to deliver value – whether that value is in the form of entertainment, inspiration or most importantly education (or a blend of all 3!).

Credibility/originality/novelty

Is the content based on real experience?

Nothing beats hearing something right from the source. Audiences tend to resonate best with personal, lived experiences – not so much talks that are bogged down in theory or second hand observations.

Your unique perspective could be worth its weight in gold – and we’d love nothing more than to hear it directly from you!

Does the content represent something new?

We don’t mean that you cannot share on anything that has been covered before at the Conference in the past 15 years – this would be impossible. What we do want, however, is to hear a new take, and a fresh perspective to add to the conversation – preferably not a talk that you have done at 8 other Conferences this year.

Intention

No sales pitches please

Why do you want to share your story? Is it to help your peers get better at what they do? Is it to inspire those around you to try new approaches? Or are you trying to sell something?

Reviewers will sniff out the latter in no time so proceed with caution 🙂