presenter-terms

Christian Heilmann speaking terms

Hello I am Chris and I am happy that you are interested in me speaking at your event. I have defined presenter terms and here is an overview. In addition to the ones here, please refer to the So you want me to talk? article on my blog. I am a professional presenter with lots of experience. Therefore I want to make sure that there is no misconception about what I expect and deliver.

Personal information

Name: Christian Heilmann
Company: WeAreDevelopers
Job Title: VP of DevRel
Twitter: @codepo8
Blog/Homepage: https://christianheilmann.com
Location: Berlin, Germany

Videos of note

In case you are interested in seeing me in action, here are some talks I liked:

Presenter Bio

Chris Heilmann dedicated the last 25 years of his life to make the web work and thrive. As a lead developer on some of the largest web products he learned that knowledge is not enough without teamwork and good handover. He worked at Yahoo, Mozilla and Microsoft, building the web platform, browsers and developer tools. He strives to make code and coders work efficiently. He is the author of several JavaScript books and the Developer Advocacy handbook (http://developer-advocacy.com). He is currently director of developer relations at WeAreDevelopers and spends a lot of time pondering how machine learning and AI can aid humans and replace jobs we arre too important to do.

I am available for…

Keynotes
Talks
Workshops
Panels
Moderation / MC Duties
Video series

Subjects I cover…

JavaScript/CSS/HTML - Web development
Progressive Web Apps
Development practices and culture
Developer Relations
Accessibility
Machine Learning / Artificial Intelligence
Community building
Careers in Tech
Development tools
Future of computing

Show stoppers

I know it is hard to organise events, so I want to make sure that we are on the same level. Here is a list of things that I will not do.

:x: I will not present at a panel or a conference line-up with an obvious lack of diversity. Our audience comes in all shapes and sizes, so should the experts on stage
:x: I expect the conference to have an enforced code of conduct
:x: I don’t “pay to play”. As a presenter, I expect full access to the event.
:x: I don’t deal with sponsorships of the event and I am not interested in sponsored speaking slots.
:x: I have a list of people I will not present alongside and I refuse to present at events that have certain sponsors. I will flag that up to you when that is the case. I am sorry, that this is the case, but it helps.

My deliveries at your event

Here’s what I will do when invited as a presenter at your event.

Deliver a fitting talk for the intended audience. I tend to deliver a unique talk every time I can and it will be an up-to-date talk.
Deliver the talk on time and sticking to the defined format and duration. I need to know what time frame you expect and what format you want it to be in. I will show up at the times you need me to be there and set up on stage with enough time for AV people to wire up microphones and other equipment.
Be available for conference attendees. Conferences to me are more about the people than about the content. Therefore I will try to be there for questions and feedback.
Be available for other promotional parts of the event. I am happy to do interviews or give you feedback to use in conference wrap-ups
Promote my presence at your event. I will tweet and blog before, during and after the event about what I will do at your event and interesting things I encounter.
Publish my slides and screen recording after my talk. If there is a good enough connection, this normally happens right after the presentation. Everything I create at your event will be licensed Creative Commons unless otherwise agreed.

My setup

I am pretty open to different ways of presenting, but here is my perfect setup

I like to use my own computer as I have them set up the way I need and there may be coding examples.
I either use a Surface Book or a Macbook Pro. Both come with Mini Display Ports but I also carry a dongle to connect to HDMI.
I only send slides in advance when there is live translation or signing. Then I will also have a list of terms to translate and put some time aside with the translators to go through the deck.

If I need to use a central computer instead of mine, please consider the following:

My slides are in PowerPoint and 16:9 format. I will have them on a memory stick with the needed fonts.
I don’t use any audio or video in my slides, but some GIF animations.
I normally don’t need notes, but I want to have a remote clicker and a “nanny screen” where I can see my slides instead of having to refer to the screen behind me.

My expectations

I am a professional presenter, and will do a lot to ensure that the event will be a success. As such, I have a few expections I want met:

Provide me with a prime speaking slot. I’ve proven to be a good keynote speaker and find interesting topics to open or close conferences.
Deliver a professional stage setup. I bring my own laptop and connectors, but I expect at least a power plug and a microphone. I am very good with audio engineers (having been one myself) but I am not there to fix audio issues or set up projectors. I expect this to work and be available. I normally don’t need an internet connection, but would love to have one.
Record and publish my talk. Recordings are a great advertisement for your conference and I make sure my presentations make sense without being in the room.
Keep me out of sponsorship discussions. I am at your event as Chris and to present. I will not “pay to play” and I won’t speak at sponsored speaking slots. I am happy to provide you with contacts of who to invite instead. I am also happy to introduce you to company colleagues dealing with sponsorships, but this is not - at all - what I do. If you are looking for a corporate sponsoring to sell speaking slots, please don’t contact me.

Cost and payments/expenses

I am in the lucky position that I have a job that allows me to present. That doesn’t mean though that I want to be a “cheaper” option and stand in the way of people who live off presenting.

I don’t expect to be paid for my presentations if your conference helps me in my work. However, to ensure I don’t under-bid peers, I’d like conferences to offer free diversity tickets for the value of a speaker fee instead.
If possible, I’d like you to cover my travel and hotel. I am on stage and need to be able to concentrate on that. I can not do so if I need to find lodgings and organise travel to your event in addition to presenting. I don’t expect first class or business class flights, but I do expect to arrive a day before the event and leave the day after with lodging organised in between. I do not want to book and pay myself and get reimbursed. International payments are a mess and I don’t have time to deal with paper work in between events seeing that I am presenting almost every two weeks. I am sorry if that sounds harsh, but I want to concentrate on my talks, not try to explain to the tax department what all these invoices are about.

There are always options to haggle about these things. I’m a reasonable person and if you spend your time creating a great event where money isn’t your main goal, we’ll find a way.

Things can go wrong…

Even with the best intentions, there may be trouble and I might not be available for your event. You may also change your mind. If that happens, here’s what I want to happen.

When I can not attend for some reason or another, I will make very much sure to find a replacement presenter to fill in for me. I have a vast network of peers, mentees and friends who can help out.
When for some reason you decide to slash my speaking slot, I expect you to cover the cost involved for me. Often I can book my own flights as I book other appointments around events. Many of them aren’t refundable.

Presenter Headshots

Photo licenses and information:

Bin and black Fred Perry sweater photo by Wil Lee-Wright Photography
Tie and Internet photo: https://www.flickr.com/photos/stiftelsen/31116017256/
Dotted shirt and headset: https://www.flickr.com/photos/marcthiele/31398799070/
Black shirt and clicker: https://www.flickr.com/photos/124087764@N06/25684379484/
White shirt open gesture: https://www.flickr.com/photos/tedxthess/14306326115/in/photostream/
White shirt thumbs: https://www.flickr.com/photos/tedxthess/14304426622
Mozilla shirt smile: https://www.flickr.com/photos/hasgeek/9928238174/
Black polo: https://www.flickr.com/photos/szene/8900138988/

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