Whatever your intranet or speaking experience, we want you to be involved. Or we did. Our agenda is now full to bursting – thank you for all the recommendations.

There were four ways to be involved as an ‘official’ speaker.

Update: we are full. Our ‘call for speakers’ is over.

We want speakers’ presentations to fit well within our ‘Intranet Now’ themes, so we’ve drafted the following manfesto:

A conference / unconference about intranets and the digital workplace that is:

  • about the Intranet NOW – practical case studies, real experts, and advice;
  • serious about how the intranet serves its business;
  • concerned with engagement, collaboration, and communication;
  • not dominated by any one technology but illuminated by examples of good practice from many;
  • a place to learn from others (sharing mistakes as well as successes);
  • curious and open to new ideas with room for experimental and left field ideas.

We’d really appreciate seeing speakers’ draft presentations beforehand. We’ve been told that this is a reasonably normal and über sensible request.

Update: Just to say, we’re very grateful for all the volunteer speakers and recommendations that have come in. Our agenda is beginning to look full. We have to hold some empty slots for speakers we may find late in this process, so please don’t be offended if Wedge just can’t fit you in this year.

 

Give a 20 – 30 minute presentation – with slides and everything

If you have a story about intranets to tell, get up and present. We’re looking to secure five or six speakers to build our agenda around.

We’re especially looking for real-life examples of good and bad intranet practice. Maybe you’ve launched a brand new intranet system, or revamped an ageing one. Have you brought ‘content strategy’ to your internal comms? Or perhaps you’ve got some tips on how to optimise a home page to increase engagement.

Yes, we’ll have vendors and sponsors speak, but we’re really keen to get intranet managers and internal comms people on stage.

Contact Wedge@kilobox.net to discuss your idea and book your slot.

 

Be interviewed for 20 minutes – no slides required

If you have a strong story to tell about your organisatio’ns reliance upon the home page, or perhaps the roll-out of your ESN or some new intranet apps, then bring some screenshots and sit on stage with our friendly compère and just be interviewed.

You could even choose to be interviewed by a friend or colleague.

Contact Wedge@kilobox.net if you have permission to show some screenshots and would like to informally tell your intranet story.

 

Give a five minute lightning talk – with three or four slides

Everyone should do this! You (yes you) are specifically invited to present one idea that you’ve implemented on your intranet  – just one comms or intranet improvement.

In just five minutes with only a handful of slides (if any) you’ll want to:

  1. set out the challenge / problem;
  2. explain the impact of the problem (to the org and to people);
  3. showcase the approach you took to find / plan the solution (metrics, team members, processes);
  4. reveal the solution;
  5. discuss the implementation;
  6. express the impact and success;
  7. review any concerns, failures, or things you’d do differently.

All with humour and concise aplomb. Or at least concise humour.

Contact Wedge@kilobox.net to book your slot – do it now.

 

Lead a group discussion – bring an idea, not slides

This is the unconference part of our mixed conference. Every attendee is welcome and actively invited to lead a group discussion.

We’ll have several spaces available and people will coalesce into groups of ten to twenty to sit together and just talk around the proposed subject. Discussion leaders don’t have to stand up and speak, they can simply start the discussion and maybe make notes and report back.

It’s all about self-organising – we’ll put a framework in place so you don’t feel lost, and you’ll be able to pick from dozens of discussions. You vote with your feet – if a conversation peters out you’re welcome to leave the group and join another one. Heck, even the group leader might decide that everything’s been said, and then you can all head for more coffee and tea!

Don’t contact Wedge – simply have a think about an intranet or digital comms idea and propose it on the day.


Diversity

Not only must we be grass-roots, but we must be inclusive when it comes to diversity. It is too easy to exclude people (study the line-up of any tech conference). We must be aware of institutionalised undercurrents that can automatically, yet subtlety, exclude people.

We will actively avoid excluding people based on sex, gender, race, age, disability, belief system, mental health, or LGBT+ identity.

The word ‘actively’ means that we must be seen to care, rather than just silently agreeing we care. We can do this by not filling up our line-up of speakers ASAP – we should hold empty spots so we can attract new speakers a little later in our process.

Social Share