BoS Lightning Talks | Now Accepting Applications for USA and Europe

15 Slides. 30 seconds each. Your Subject. Our Stage. Haven’t worried you yet? Great! Let’s see what you have to say.

Lightning Talks are always one of the highlights of BoS and this year will be no different. We are pleased to say the BoS Lightning Talks are open for public application now.

If you want an opportunity to talk at BoS about a topic that interests you, send us an application. Lightning Talks follow a simple format – every speaker gets 15 slides and 30 seconds per slide to talk about a subject of their choice. The slides advance automatically. Warning, they are a challenge! But one worth taking: Lightning Talkers have a special place in the hearts of the BoS audience and many people have made the jump to more speaking gigs at BoS and other events.

But the fun does not stop there. Oh no! Lighting Talk Competition entrants receive a free pass to the Business of Software Conference where they will speak, the chance to share an idea they care about with a live audience of 400, and the respect of their peers. Don’t underestimate the last one.

If you would like to submit a Lightning Talk, here is what to do before Midnight PST July 30th for USA:

Send an email to Joe at joe@thebln.com and enclose:

• Your name
• The title and description of the talk you propose
• A link to a video of you speaking – ideally about what you want to do a Lightning Talk about.

We will review all of the submissions, and pick what we feel will be the most appropriate ones, to talk live at BoS 2015.

Remember to submit by May 8th for Europe, July 30th for USA.

(Please note submissions from third parties including marketing departments, speaking agents etc will be ignored – we don’t have the time – please see below).We only want submissions from people that care enough to do their own stuff. This is a chance to stand up in front of a bunch of people and share an idea you love.

To get your creative juices flowing, here are some previous talks:

• Des Traynor, Product development is about saying, ‘No’. NB, In a maelstrom of controversy, Des was barred from the Lightning Talk competition a couple of years His talk was OUTSTANDING but his slides contain hundreds of transitions. As a result, he was invited back the following year to do a full talk.
• Claire Lew, How to Get Honest Feedback from your Employees
• Robert J Moore, RJMetrics, Keyboards are for Coders
• Dom Read, ‘The second most disturbing thing I have ever had in my hand and other stories

• All of the Business of Software Lightning Talks from 2012.
• Business of Software 2011. Justin Goeres, ‘Getting to Nowhere‘ (You can also see all last year’s talks here too).
• Business of Software 2010. Patrick McKenzie, ‘Hello Ladies’
• Business of Software 2009. Mark Stephens, ‘Are you a large lizard or small and furry?’
• Business of Software 2008. Alex Ohanian, ‘Keeping it Real’

Even if you don’t submit an idea, why not think about what you would talk about in 7.5 minutes? Strange as this might sound, lots of our attendees do, even if they have no interest in standing on stage. Thinking about the essence of what you are passionate about can be a very good way of helping you work out what is important to you.

Remember to submit your application to Joe by July 30th for USA:

• Your name
• The title and description of the talk you propose
• A link to a video of you speaking – ideally about what you want to do a Lightning Talk about.

Good luck!