So straight after PEX it is time to start thinking of sessions that people would like to see at VMworld 2013. Today the VMworld call for papers opened.
I will be submitting four this year, hopefully one or two of them will get accepted, but the competition is tough, and looking at the guidelines for what to submit it will be even tougher this year.
- Be Original –Attendees do not want to see the same presentations as last year and are looking for the latest innovation in technology. Spend time developing your title, abstract, outline, and session takeaways. These will be key factors in determining whether your session is selected and can affect session attendance.
- Be Educational – Attendees do not like being sold on your company. Be neutral and focus on the educational value of your presentation. All sales pitches and commercially focused submissions will be rejected.
- Be Timely – Make sure your topic is relevant to the audience you’re targeting. Review the content topics before submitting a session.
- Well thought out Title and Abstract
Titles – Many attendees select sessions by looking at titles only so a strong title will already get you on the content committee’s good side when they’re scoring sessions. Here is a link to some great tips on creating titles:Presentation titles that get people flocking to your session
Abstracts should be no more than 300 words and should include a high level overview of what you hope to accomplish in the session. Here are some tips to think about when writing your abstract.
- Abstract should generate enthusiasm
- What invaluable information will be shared during the session?
- Clarify technical level of session – who is the target audience?
- What are the measurable benefits the attendee will be able to walk away with after the session?
- Speakers – Sessions will be selected based on the content and speaker(s). Speakers should have extensive experience presenting at conferences of a similar nature. If a speaker has presented at VMworld in the past, we will look at speaker scores and take them into consideration during selection.
- Quality over Quantity – Take time reviewing your proposal before submission. Submitting multiple session proposals will not increase your chances of having a session selected for VMworld 2013.
To submit your sessions for VMworld click here
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