Classic form

Call for speakers form

A conference programme committee is choosing between two hundred proposals in a fortnight. This form is built for the reading, not the writing: everything the committee scores on is asked in the same shape every time, and the things that get a talk declined are printed where a speaker sees them first. It is a classic form, so a speaker can see the whole proposal at once and balance the outline against the description.

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Southbank Product Forum 2027

Two days, four tracks, 11 and 12 May at the Southbank Exchange. Proposals close 5pm AEDT on 30 January and every one gets an answer by 27 February. One proposal per form, three per person.

Your session

Write the description in the third person and in complete sentences, not bullet points, and read it once for typos. It is published exactly as you send it if the talk is accepted, and it is the only thing most attendees will read before deciding whether to walk into the room.

Optional. Images and PDF only, up to three files, 10 MB each.

You

One photograph, at least 800 pixels wide. It is printed in the programme and used on the session page if the talk is accepted.

If this is a panel, name every speaker now. A panel proposal with names to be confirmed is not reviewed, and a panel of three or more speakers who all work at the same organisation is declined.

Practical

The next answer is separated from the proposal before review, so the committee never sees it. It goes to the organisers after decisions are made. Needing help to get here has never counted against a talk and it is not going to start now.

Every field, and what it collects

The complete field list, in the order respondents meet it.

Your session

What format is this?Single choiceRequired
Options: Talk, 30 minutes including questions, one or two speakers · Panel, 45 minutes, three to five speakers · Lightning talk, 5 minutes, one speaker · Workshop, 90 minutes, hands on, up to three facilitators
Session title, in title caseShort textRequired
TrackDropdownRequired
Options: Discovery and research · Design systems and craft · Platform and delivery · Leading product teams
Who is it for?Single choiceRequired
Options: Just starting out · Some experience · Deep experience in this area
Description, up to 900 charactersLong textRequired
What does somebody take away, up to 1,500 charactersLong textRequired
Outline, with rough timingsLong textRequired
Is this a case study of work you did yourself?Single choiceRequired
Options: Yes · No, it is a broader argument
A link to you speaking, if there is oneShort text
Have you given a version of this talk in the past year? Where, and what is different this time?Long text
Slides, a recording, or anything else that helpsFile upload
Optional. Images and PDF only, up to three files, 10 MB each.

You

Speaker nameNameRequired
Job titleShort textRequired
OrganisationShort textRequired
EmailShort textRequired
Bio, up to 500 characters, in the third personLong textRequired
HeadshotPhoto upload
One photograph, at least 800 pixels wide. It is printed in the programme and used on the session page if the talk is accepted.
Co-speakers, one per line, with job title and organisationLong text

Practical

Do you need travel support to be able to attend?Single choice
Asked separately from review. The committee never sees this answer.
Options: No · Yes, a contribution towards travel · Yes, travel and one night of accommodation
Before you submitMultiple choiceRequired
Options: This is not a product pitch, and I understand a sales talk is declined without review · I have read and accept the Forum code of conduct · I can attend on 11 and 12 May if this is accepted
Anything the programme committee should know?Long text

Question banks built on this form

What makes this form work

The description rules sit above the description

Third person, complete sentences, no bullets, read once for typos, published exactly as sent. Five instructions in a paragraph the speaker cannot scroll past, at the exact moment they start typing. It raises the quality of two hundred submissions for the cost of two lines.

The outline asks for timings, not headings

A five line outline with minute markers tells a committee whether a talk fits in its slot, which is the most common reason a good idea becomes a bad session. It also shows the speaker their own pacing problem before anybody else has to.

Travel support is asked, and separated from review

A speaker who needs help getting there will not ask unless the form asks first. The question sits in the Practical section, apart from the proposal, and the organiser keeps that column out of the committee's copy of the responses. That removes the fear that needing support counts against the proposal, which is the whole reason the question usually goes unanswered.

Questions people ask

What should a call for speakers form ask?

Format and track, because they decide which committee member reads it. The description as it will be published. A separate answer on what the audience takes away, written to the committee rather than to the room. A timed outline, which is the single best predictor of a talk that finishes on time.

Why put a character limit on the description?

Because it is published as written, and a programme page has a fixed shape. Nine hundred characters is about a hundred and fifty words, which is enough for an argument and not enough for a preamble. The limit is set on the field, so nobody writes twice as much and has it cut by an editor.

Should the headshot be collected at proposal time?

It costs a speaker ten seconds and saves the programme team a week of chasing in March. The photo field takes exactly one image, which is what a programme page needs, and the note about the minimum width prevents the thumbnail that has to be asked for again.

How do you keep sales pitches out?

Say it on the form, in the tick box, where somebody has to actively agree. "This is not a product pitch, and I understand a sales talk is declined without review" turns a vendor submission into a decision rather than an accident, and it removes the awkward email later.

Should a call for speakers ask for an outline with timings?

Yes, and this form asks for one. A description says what the talk is about, an outline says whether it fits the slot. Most rejected proposals are good ideas with sixty minutes of material in a thirty minute session, and the timings are where a committee sees that before the speaker discovers it on stage.

Why ask whether the talk has been given before?

Because a repeat is not disqualifying, it is a question of what is new. This form asks where it was given in the past year and what is different this time. A talk that has been road tested is often the safer booking, and the answer tells the committee whether a recording already exists.

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Sources

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