Speakers
Speakers and their presentations are the heart and soul of each Warpstock Europe event—and one of the main reasons why people attend it. In order to streamline the process of becoming a speaker and to ease a speaker's life, we have put together the key facts, some frequently asked questions, and a 
download area providing official slide templates and a speaker manual that helps you getting started.
In case you are missing specific information or answers to your questions, get in contact with our 
Presentation Manager.
Key Facts at a Glance
- Presentations are held in English.
- Presentations are repeated at least once and on a different day.
There might be exceptions like workshops lasting half a day or more, or panel discussions. - Speakers are restricted to a maximum of 2 different presentations during the event.
Exceptions are possible in case of teamed presentations only. - You will have to submit the following along with your presentation suggestion:
- a description of yourself (or an update if a description already exists),
- a photograph (picture) of yourself,
- an abstract of the presentation content or topic, and
- a statement on which days you are able to do the presentation(s).
- You will have to submit the presentation material (slides, etc.) at least 1 week before the event starts.
The process
The following is a chronological description of the process of becoming a speaker. It includes duties, deliverables, and deadlines:
- Submit your suggestion to the Presentation Manager.
- Once accepted by the event team, the Presentation Manager will ask you
- to submit the following for our website:
- a summary/abstract of the presentation or its topic,
- a description of the speaker (you), and
- a photograph of you.
- how long the presentation(s) last in times of 45-minute chunks, and
- for your availability during the event days (for the schedule planning).
- to submit the following for our website:
- Inform the Presentation Manager about any special requirements you may have regarding the presentation room or facilities (e.g., internet connectivity, full darkening possible, a provided computer or flipchart, etc.).
- You may then start preparing your presentation material:
- Make an effort to use our official templates.
- Don't use font sizes below 14 points since they are too small to be readable from back rows.
- Note the other hints contained in the templates.
- Submit all your presentation material to the Presentation Manager no later than 1 week before the event starts.
- Take your presentation with you to Warpstock Europe, either
- in your preferred format and on your own machine, or
- as a PDF file on a removable device.
- Until the event starts, have a look for changes in the schedule and/or according notifications from the Presentation Manager.
- At the event, get in contact with the Presentation Manager so he knows you're there.
This is only a rough compilation of the basics and essential steps involved. For more information, please refer to the speaker FAQ and grab a copy of the speakers manual from the download area if desired: It pretty much covers everything in detail, ranging from where to get topic ideas up to best practices for doing presentations.
Note: The speakers manual is not available yet!
Downloadable files
In order to ensure a common layout across all sessions and speakers, we have prepared the following official templates for Warpstock Europe 2009. We appreciate your effort of using them for a consistent visitors experience.
The template packages also include a readme file with usage notices and tips on how to use the templates most efficiently.
Speakers FAQ
-
Why is there an evaluation of my presentation proposal?
-
First: All proposals for a presentation at Warpstock Europe are welcome. So in most cases you will get a positive answer to your proposal and you can start to prepare your presentations.
There are a few cases, though, where your presentation cannot be considered:
- We already have enough speakers and presentations. Then we will hand your proposal to the next year's event team.
- The presentation does not match with the congresses motto. Again, we will hand your proposal to the next year's event team.
- The presentation is purely commercial. Please apply as exhibitor, then, and organize a presentation at your booth
Categorie: Speaker -
Is there anything I need to know regarding video projectors?
-
The video projectors we provide at the event are not able to run widescreen (16:9 ratio) display formats. Also, resolutions higher than 1024 x 768 won't work with all models. Hence, to be on the safe side, keep in mind a resolution of 1024x768 pixels.
Categorie: Speaker -
Is there anything to consider regarding usage of graphics, illustrations, audio effects, music, and movies in presentations?
-
This depends on whether you use your own creations exclusively or also include works of others. In the first case, just be sure to avoid material that might be considered offensive. In the latter case additional restrictions apply.
In general, all kinds of graphics, illustrations, audio effects, music, and movies are subject to copyright law and a proper license is required for legal usage. Please do not take this lightly as violations may result in high claims for damages and criminal prosecution.
To be on the safe side, please consider the following.
Graphics, illustrations, and audio effects
- Graphics, illustrations, and audio effects coming with presentation software are licenced for usage with that particular software. If the software has been released as open source or under GPL, you are also free to use the included material with other software in most cases.
- There are many collections of such material available under licences ranging from allowing free non-commercial use to even placing the material in the public domain and thereby giving up the copyright.
- Citing of small exerpts of a larger work is allowed sometimes.
Music
- Using a piece of music to support your presentation or demonstrate the features of a program constitutes public reproduction and performance.
- Public reproduction of music, either by playing a piece of music only or as part of a movie/video, is usually possible without problems but liable to charges raised by a collecting society, e.g., the GEMA in Germany.
- In general, public reproduction has to be registered with the collecting society before it actually takes place.
- Pieces of music that are available free of charge, e.g., for download on the Internet, usually are not exempt from the above rule.
- A number of musicians has chosen not to be represented by above collecting societies and to allow public reproduction of their material.
- Some event locations have all-inclusive contracts with the collecting societies, so you neither would have to register your presentation nor pay anything.
Movies
- Using a movie to support your presentation or demonstrate the features of a program constitutes public performance.
- Public performance of movies that you have obtained on DVD or similar media is generally prohibited by the movie industry.
- Licenses for public performance of movies can be obtained from the distributor. To keep costs at a minimum, you might want to go for material that has been produced for the DVD market only.
- Public broadcasting services, e.g., the ARD in Germany or the BBC in the UK, make parts of their program available for public performance free of charge.
- Ripping material from a copy-protected medium might constitute contravention.
Please contact the organisers for detailed information about which rules apply to the current event.
Categorie: Speaker -
Is there a deadline for submitting my material?
-
Certainly: You should have your material ready 2 weeks prior the events start date - in the latest! Reason being the possible creation of a handout CD/DVD to the visitors which needs time to collect, prepare, and manufacture. Exceptions to that rule will be made public by the Presentation Manager if needed.
Categorie: Speaker -
Can I use other slide templates than the official ones?
-
Yes. If you already have your presentation slides or PDF ready, there is no need to copy/paste the content into our templates. However, if you are starting merely from scratch, it's a nice move to use our templates. This will ensure a consistent user experience to our visitors throughout the event.
In addition, there are instructions available on how to adapt your existing slides to use the provided templates - without the need to copy/paste contents.
Categorie: Speaker -
How can I change existing slides to your templates with little effort?
-
Basically, what you would do is change the "background" of your slides to use the background of the templates we provided. We have prepared a set of how-to documents which cover the required steps in detail, depending on the software used.
These documents are available as PDF files in the
speaker support download area.Categorie: Speaker -
Must I do my presentation in English?
-
Generally speaking: Yes. Warpstock Europe is an international congress and English is considered to be understood by most of the people.
There will be the option to explicitly mark a session as being held in a language different than English. But its finally up to the Presentation Manager and the Event Team to decide about if this option can be applied to your presentation.
If your presentation is not marked as language specific: There is one exception, though, where you still can switch to another language: If you discover during your session that all your audience is able to speak and understand a different common language, you are free to shift to that language if everyone agrees.
Note, however, that this has no impact on the fact that your presentation material (slides, PDF, etc.) needs to be done in English. If you need any help for translating your material to English, please contact the Presentation Manager.
Categorie: Speaker -
Must I be a good English speaker to do a presentation?
-
Well, you should be able to say what you have to say using your presentation material and perhaps answer a couple of questions asked by the audience. Keep in mind that the majority of visitors and participants of Warpstock Europe events are not native speakers either and English is nothing but the most common denominator.
If you are still not sure if you can understand and/or answer all questions: Normally, there will be some people in the audience being able to translate the questions and answers.
Categorie: Speaker -
Do I have to bring my own computer?
-
It depends. Generally, a certain number of machines with a basic configuration will be available for speakers to use. If you need one, be sure to contact the Presentation Manager prior to the event.
If you need one or more machines with a non-standard configuration, e.g., with special software installed, a specific networking setup, or a very powerful CPU, you will most likely have to provide them yourselves.
Categorie: Speaker