In case you missed it: the first lot of FOSS.IN speakers has been announced. This is a raw list, and will change as some speakers drop out, while others get added once their talks are fine tuned.

The important thing will be when emails are sent out to the speakers this week, asking them to reconfirm their talk, as well as that they will be able to travel to Bangalore for the event if they are outstation speakers. Failure to confirm will cause the talk to be dropped.

The next thing you need to do is to prepare and practice your talk. If you are a seasoned public speaker you already know this, but if you are a first-time speaker, you may get over-confident, and think that you can do it at the last moment.

Let me assure you that you cannot.

I am an experienced public speaker, and am well-known for my perceived ability to deliver an interesting, entertaining talk at the drop of a hat.

But appearances are misleading. I prepare all my talks, practice the delivery, etc. If you have ever seen me give a dull, boring talk, you will know that I didn’t prepare for it. Shame on me, because that is disrespectful to the audience.

Don’t be that guy.

Prepare your talk now. You have less than two months. And don’t prepare in isolation – run concepts past friends, and practice your talk before critical test audiences. Snotty kid sisters/brothers are ideal, because they won’t hesitate to tear you down from your perceived “greatest orator in the universe” castle in the air.

Unless you are a “proven speaker”, we are going to ask you for your slides by the end of this month. If you cannot give us the slides (and we mean actual slides, not “place holders”), you can expect your talk to be dropped.

Sorry about the tough rules – at FOSS.IN, the audience matters more than the speaker, and we will do everything to ensure that they have a fantastic experience.

Finally, be aware of the fact that FOSS.IN is not just about the talks, but is an interactive, multi-day experience, and that speakers are expected to be present on all days to interact with the audiences.

You may find this set of speaker guidelines useful while preparing your talk.

I will be posting more information over the days leading up to the event, so stay tuned.

See you at FOSS.IN!