The Tableau Fringe Festival is already a well known institution. With three years of history and events in three different regions there is a bit of experience to draw from, so here we want to quickly bring you up to speed on what it is about and what might be important if you consider speaking at one of our events.
Why should I speak at TFF?
There are lots of reasons and everybody will find their own ones. Because you have something to share, teach, say. Because you like presenting. Because you don’t like presenting but want to practise...
If you are not convinced yet, you can find some more reasons here:
Or check out Eva Murrays TFFAPAC talk about building your own brand!
If you are not convinced yet, you can find some more reasons here:
Or check out Eva Murrays TFFAPAC talk about building your own brand!
What hoops do I have to jump through to speak?
You just need to fill out the application form and prepare your talk!
We usually open the call for speakers with the announcement of the next event, ~2 months before the event. The application period might vary and will be announced with the call for speakers.
After the application phase, we will go through the suggested talks, may come back to you with questions and confirm whether you will be speaking or not.
Usually you will hear back from us within two weeks after the application phase closes and we will check back with you to see which time slot fits best for you.
We usually open the call for speakers with the announcement of the next event, ~2 months before the event. The application period might vary and will be announced with the call for speakers.
After the application phase, we will go through the suggested talks, may come back to you with questions and confirm whether you will be speaking or not.
Usually you will hear back from us within two weeks after the application phase closes and we will check back with you to see which time slot fits best for you.
Why wasn’t I selected?
It happens that we get more applications than we have slots, in this case we will have to take a decision which presentations to pick. If you want to increase your chances, read through the next questions and make sure you have an awesome application.
In case you weren’t selected, we may have other opportunities for you to talk in front of an audience.
In case you weren’t selected, we may have other opportunities for you to talk in front of an audience.
Can I apply as a speaker?
YES!
There are no hard rules about who can or cannot talk at a Tableau Fringe Festival so if you have a good idea, we hope you will apply! We prefer that speakers be members of the Tableau community. In certain cases, individuals outside of the community may speak if their message is so valuable that it benefits the community.
There are no hard rules about who can or cannot talk at a Tableau Fringe Festival so if you have a good idea, we hope you will apply! We prefer that speakers be members of the Tableau community. In certain cases, individuals outside of the community may speak if their message is so valuable that it benefits the community.
But I am not a Zen Master!
Even better! If we do have too many applications, we will favour less known presenters over, for example, Zen Masters and well known people in the community! That's not because we don't value what they have to say but because the Fringe Festival is a community event and well known speakers usually get to speak at other events anyway. That means better chances for you!
Do I have to be based in the TFF region to speak?
No (but we do prefer that speakers speak at their home region...gotta represent)! The region indicates the audience we want to reach and determines the timezone we use for start and end. If you are based somewhere else, we will try to give you a spot which works for you and doesn’t make you get up at 3am.
How do I make my application stand out?
Please give us enough detail to understand who you are and what your talk is about!
A few tips:
A few tips:
- For your bio, describe yourself in a few sentences in the 3rd person (Jane Doe is an experienced analyst with 20 years of experience using Tableau...).
- Chose a catchy title which tell people what you talk about.
- "Analysing data with Tableau" is very generic.
- "How to use sweets to predict Credit Card fraud - Pie & Lollipop charts in Risk Reporting" makes it a bit more fun
- Give us a short summary of your talk in a few sentences. Don't give away your main message but make people curious so that they tune in when you are talking
What topics are you interested in?
All things Tableau! As long as it is remotely related to Tableau you can talk about whatever you like.
For inspiration, head over to our blogpost or check out the application form, where we wrote down broad categories for you to choose.
For inspiration, head over to our blogpost or check out the application form, where we wrote down broad categories for you to choose.
How should I present?
However you are comfortable presenting! Use Tableau, Powerpoint, Google Sheets, Apple Keynote, Prezi ... as long as you can share it on your screen. Use your camera or turn it off! We even had talks without any presentation at all and just the speaker on the screen.
Can I test the platform to see if it works?
Yes, we will have a tech check around a week before the actual event. This is for you to be confident you know which buttons to press and for us to test-run everything.
What do I need to do during the event?
On the day you should dial in 5-10 min before your time slot. This gives you time enough to set everything up and we can see that you are ready to go.
What’s happening after the event?
It’s time to be proud of yourself! Welcome to the TFF Alumni! We are recording the whole conference, including your talk and will work hard to upload the videos to Youtube as quickly as possible! We do aim to have them available within a week but please don't get nervous if it takes a bit longer!
I have a question which you didn’t answer yet!
Great! Hit us up and ask us! Either via Twitter or via the contact form here, or write to one of the volunteers directly, we are happy to answer your questions, help with the selection of your topic or give tips on how to structure your talk
You said it would be one way but it was the other way!
Isn’t that exciting? So many surprises!
All of the info, the timelines and dates we publish are for your reference. The events are organised by volunteers in their spare time, so sometimes it might take a few days longer if we have a busy schedule or we might need to change something.
All of the info, the timelines and dates we publish are for your reference. The events are organised by volunteers in their spare time, so sometimes it might take a few days longer if we have a busy schedule or we might need to change something.