Keynote Speaker Guide

Keynote Speaker guide for PyLadies Conference 2025

Congratulations on speaking at the PyLadies Conference! We are excited about your keynote. To make your session successful, we have put together this guide so you will know what to expect and the technical requirements to deliver your talk.

Check back to this page often as we will be updating it with more information.

If you have any questions, contact us at [email protected]

Important Dates to Remember

  • Ensure your photo and bio are up to date on Pretalx by November 7, 2025.

  • Review the talk schedule once we publish it.

  • Schedule a Tech Check session by November 7, 2025 .

  • Register your conference ticket and platform by TBD

Session Length

Your keynote session is scheduled for 30 minutes, including the talk and the Q&A session. We recommend that you plan your talk to be 20 minutes, so that there is enough time for the Q&A session.

Your Keynote Session

You will be presenting live at your scheduled presentation. Please be ready at approximately 10 minutes before your schedule so that we can do final checks. You will be joining your session using Riverside.

Tech Check session

Please schedule a tech check session with Mariatta as soon as possible. During the tech check session, we will check if your equipment is adequate for live-presentation, and we will also go through the streaming process using Riverside.

If you could not find a good time to meet using the booking link, write an email and share your availability to mariatta at pyladies dot com.

Equipment Recommendation

We recommend several equipments to make you feel confident in your presentation:

Webcam

A camera with a resolution of at least 1080p.

Examples:

Microphone

Do not use the built-in microphone that comes with your laptop/webcam/phone.

The built-in audio quality is really poor, and it will affect the overall quality of your presentation.

Instead, please use one of the following options:

  • An external USB microphone, or
  • A headset with microphone, or
  • A lavalier microphone

Examples:

Ring light or light panel

  • Proper lighting can improve video quality

Instructions on how to use your Smartphone for video recording/streaming

If you have smartphones (from within the last 3-4 years), it would likely have a really good camera for recording/streaming videos. If you do not have a good webcam, we highly recommend this option.

Android phone with PC

  • Use the DroidCam app: you’ll need to install the app on your phone and on your PC

  • Read more at https://droidcam.app/

Android phone with MacOS

Android phone with PC

iPhone with macbook

Speaker Equipment Support

If you don’t have adequate equipment to deliver your talk, or if you need to purchase a new mic or camera, we can help! Submit your request for our Speaker Equipment Grant by through this form.

We may be able to recommend some equipment to purchase and reimburse you the cost of the equipment.

This will be approved on a case-by-case basis.

Talk Tips and Tricks

If you’re new to video presentation, here are a few tips below.

How to give a successful talk

Here are some tips to help you to deliver a successful talk.

Slides

Avoid putting too much text on a slide, try to use point forms, diagrams, or pictures. Consider that your audience may be watching on a small screen or even a phone.

Opening slide

This slide should include your presentation title and speaker’s names. This is one of the 2 slides that you can include your company logo if you want to.

Learning Objectives Outline

If you’re explaining a new tool or a how-to, it is always nice to provide a slide stating clear and actionable learning objectives. Learning objectives are statements that provide a context for what will be shared during the presentation.

What you are saying is the key and the slide is only there to supplement what you are talking about.

Social media handles

Adding your social media handles helps people who are inspired by your talk reach out to you if they have more questions regarding your talk.

Accessibility

Also, check out the accessibility session below to make the slides more accessible to audiences.

Self introduction

Many speakers prefer to have one slide to introduce themselves, you can use this opportunity to explain why you are the best person to give this talk, or make yourself relatable to the audience.

Telling a story

Giving a talk is like telling a story, try to think of what is your “story” that you are going to tell? Usually a story will have a beginning, middle and the end. The beginning can be, for example, I have a problem that I want to solve, or this is how I discover this library. The middle can be the technical part that you want to explain something, for example, how to solve the problem, how you learn something, what library to use etc. For the end, it could be a summary of the points that you made in your talk, and/or it could be a call for an action item.

Unbiased and Non-Promotional Content

Presentation content must be unbiased and not disparage, promote, or market any individual’s or company’s products or services. Program materials may not include any proprietary information, must be educational and generic in nature, and must reinforce the learning objectives.

Please keep in mind that we do not encourage you to include your company logo or name on all slides of the template except on the first and the last slide of the presentation.

Rehearse your talk

Some speakers prefer to rehearse their talk so they know if the timing for the talk is right. You can either practice by yourself or find a friend to help. If you would like help from any of the PyLadiesCon volunteers, please do not hesitate and let us know, and we will get you set up. We’re here to make you feel confident about your talk.

We do find new and first-time speakers would benefit from rehearsal. Other speakers may rehearse but not too much, so the talk can be more organic. This all depends on the talk and your own presentation style.

Speaker Notes / Script

Giving a presentation can be nerve-wracking, and you might feel worried about forgetting your speech. You can write speaker notes or talk scripts to help you feel more confident about giving your presentation. Some speakers use a talk script, some people don’t. This is totally optional, and you can decide whether this will be useful to you.

Recording Demo

If you would like to record a demo for your talk, there are free screen capture software available: if you are using macOS you can use Quicktime Player (comes with your macOS by default), if your demo is less than 5 mins, loom.com is free to use if your recording is under 5 mins.

Remember to remain hydrated

No matter the length of your talk, it is smart to keep a glass of water with you during your talk. So if you need a few seconds to take a break, or just to gather some thoughts, or something got stuck in the throat, a glass of water is your best friend.

Making it accessible

Here are a few points that can help to make your talk more accessible

  • Slides would be high contrast and have large enough font size. Light background and dark text work the best.

  • You can check on the contrast using this link: https://colourcontrast.cc/ or other

  • similar sites that help you with color contrast check.

  • Use accessible fonts if possible

  • Extra information about accessible designs: https://accessibility.uncg.edu/getting-started-with-accessibility/accessible-design/

  • No flashing animation

  • Not all attendees are native English (or any other language) speakers, so try to speak clearly and slowly

  • If there are images or videos on your slides, add the description to it, and mention it as you present the image.

  • This way, those who are blind can read the description, and those who are deaf can hear the description from you.

Consider using good contrasting colors so that they are friendly for people with visual disabilities.

Speaker Cancellation

If you have to withdraw your keynote session for any reason, please do so by November 6, 2025 at the latest and contact [email protected]

If you have to withdraw after the deadline, kindly include a brief remark on the reason you have to withdraw your presentation. Your remark will be considered when the decision about the no-show status is made.

Speaker Mentors

If you are new to public speaking and would love to get a friendly mentor to help you prepare your presentation, please contact us at [email protected]. We will do our best to support you.

Currently, we have the following mentors:

  • Mariatta (English speaking)
  • Denny Perez (English and Spanish speaking)
  • Lorena Mesa (English and Spanish speaking)
  • Maria Jose Molina-Contreras (English and Spanish speaking)

Thank you

THANK YOU FOR MAKING PYLADIESCON HAPPEN!

PyLadiesCon reserves the right at all times to make changes in the time schedule, dates, format, concept of the event.