Panels guide for PyLadiesCon 2026

Thank you for joining a panel at PyLadiesCon! This guide covers what to expect and how to prepare, since panels are being pre-recorded this year instead of running live.

For the full story on why we’re pre-recording panels this year, see our announcement blog post. For details on signing in, accepting your invitation, and using the portal itself, see our post on the PyLadiesCon speaker portal.

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

What’s changing this year

Panels will now be pre-recorded ahead of the conference instead of running live. This gives our team time to add captions and translations, and to edit the panel so it fits its scheduled time slot.

Your panel will still air during its scheduled slot, and we’d love for you to join us live in Discord when it broadcasts, so you can chat with the audience in real time, just as if the panel were happening live.

How panels work, step by step

1. You’re invited. Look out for an email invitation from our speaker portal. You’ll be able to provide your bio, headshot, and edit the details about your session.
2. We schedule your recording. You’ll hear from our team to confirm your availability and panel details.
3. We record together on Riverside. Our team runs a joint recording session with all panelists on the panel. You just need to join the session at the scheduled time, we handle the studio setup on our end.
4. Recording happens before the deadline. All panel recordings will be completed before 21 November 2026.
5. We edit and caption it. Our post-production team adds captions and translations, and edits the panel to fit its scheduled time.
6. Broadcast. Your panel airs during its scheduled slot in the conference programme.

Important dates to remember

• Our team will reach out to schedule your recording session, keep an eye on portal.pyladies.com and your email.
• All panel recordings will be completed before 21 November 2026.

Preparing for your recording session

Since our team runs the studio for you, you don’t need any special recording software, just join the Riverside session at the scheduled time from your browser. You will, however, still need a decent microphone and camera, since you’ll be seen and heard directly on the recording. The built-in mic and camera on a laptop are usually the weakest link in a video call, so if you have access to an external microphone or webcam, please use it.

For detailed equipment recommendations (webcams, microphones, lighting), see the Equipment Recommendation section of our Speaker Guide. If you don’t have adequate equipment, we may be able to help, see the Video Recording Support section for our Speaker Equipment Grant.

A few other things help the session go smoothly:

• Join from a quiet space with minimal background noise.
• Use a stable internet connection, wired is best if you have the option.
• Position your camera at eye level, with some light in front of you rather than behind you.
• Use headphones if possible, it helps prevent echo for everyone on the call.
• Do a quick check of your camera and microphone before the session starts.
• Join a few minutes early so we have time to sort out any last-minute technical issues.

Code of Conduct

As with everything at PyLadiesCon, your participation in the panel must follow the PyLadiesCon Code of Conduct.

Join us when your panel is broadcast

Although your panel is pre-recorded, we’d love you to be around when it goes live. Our main conference community space is on Discord. If you can, hop into the main Discord chat when your panel is being broadcast, you can see people’s reactions, join the conversation, and answer questions from attendees. If your schedule doesn’t allow you to join us live, that’s completely fine too.

Thank you

Thank you for being part of PyLadiesCon’s panels programme! If you have any questions along the way, reach out to us at [email protected].