Before you submit:

1. Review the Call for Proposals details in this guide

There's tons of useful information in this document (i.e. what makes a good proposal, how we will be accepting proposals, etc.). Make sure you browse through it before submitting your proposal.

2. Consider nominating someone else as a speaker

Before you volunteer yourself, consider whether anyone in your network from an underrepresented group would be a great fit for this conference. If you'd like to nominate a speaker, contact us and we'll encourage them to submit a proposal.

3. Register for the event

What makes a good proposal?

First and foremost, have a specific problem or closely related set of problems in mind. You should investigate or even propose a solution to these problems in a way that confers value to the audience. You should be able to tell us about a problem, propose a solution or new way of viewing the problem, and then explain concretely how you will argue for your ideas. Everything from a deeply technical talk on snapshots to a diversity-empowered data team talk is welcome at Coalesce.

Generally speaking, successful proposals come from folks who have already come up with a problem and a solution, with a narrative roadmap from start to finish. That said, be empowered to get creative with your narrative format. How you choose to tell the story is up to you! Don't get hung up on needing to be a superstar speaker—we'll work with you on delivery. Being a strong presenter who brings enthusiasm to their talk is a plus, but given the choice between great ideas and great entertainment, we'll take the former.

The talk proposal you submit should demonstrate ample forethought. The more concrete you can be, the more chance your talk will make an impression on us (and audiences at Coalesce!).

Finally, last year we shared a blog post that highlighted themes from some of the best proposals we received.