I always found speaking virtually a little less stressful - you likely can’t see the people watching, and you will be able to make yourself as comfortable as possible, including moral support pets, plenty of speaker notes and the opportunity to scream into a pillow beforehand. That being said, at least for me, it was also a little less rewarding. Online confs and virtual talks are great, it’s amazing how accessible it is for folks who can’t travel, but nothing beats the energy in a room full of people who are curious about a similar thing.
Pre-recording vs. Virtual Live Talks
In some cases, the event organizers leave it up to you whether you’d like to give your talk live or would prefer to pre-record. Both have their perks, and of course, it’s tempting to have as many chances to re-record if something doesn’t go the way you planned. BUT. If you are a nervous little perfectionist like me, this might be your downfall. Even for short talks, the amount of time it takes to set things up properly, test them, deliver your talks (and limit yourself not to do it 37 times) and then edit it, is exponentially longer than jumping on a call with the conf team to record. Usually, most of the technical setup will be done on their side, so you don’t have to worry about it, they might even edit it and if you go terribly wrong, they will for sure give you a second go.
Man typing madly on his keyboard, the caption reads 'delete, delete, delete'
Other Conferences & Events
Since you are reading this on Dev.to, chances are you’d like to speak at a dev conference, which is a perfectly good option. Once in a while, it might be worth expanding ones own horizon and thinking outside the box: there are for example Design and UX conferences which are interested in also hosting dev speakers. Sometimes marketing events are super keen on getting a more technical perspective - you see where I’m going.
One last thing to consider:
Code of Conduct
You might want to check if an event has a code of conduct before considering speaking there. Codes of Conduct define basic rules of interactions and the content of the talks to create a welcoming, supportive atmosphere at the event. If you’d like to see an example of what this could look like, check out Smashing Confs CoC.
Where did you start speaking? What kind of event do you like the most? I'm so curious; let me know in the comments ⬇️