/ JOURNAL

Writing an exciting CFP

A couple of months ago, I was selected for my company’s Varsity Speaker Program. The description for what that actually is is still quite nebulous, but I’ve taken it upon myself to apply to as many conferences as possible. Which means… I’ve been writing quite a few Call For Proposals or CFPs.

I’ve already submitted a Ruby-based talk to DevConf in Warsaw, Poland. Next up is NEJS Conf. I have a limited amount of time to finish the CFP, because it’s due in four days, but I’m having major surgery tomorrow. So today I’m feeling a bit frenzied to get it done, because pain-killer-Beth is only capable of drooling, not writing a detailed technical description of an application.

One of my favorite CFP resources is an article by Sarah Mei. She takes a real-life, just-okay CFP and spins it into an exciting version of itself.

I’ve found that it really helps to myself in the shoes of the CFP judges. They have to ensure that the talk will draw an audience, and once that audience is present, the talk needs to be engaging.