If you are someone that has thought about presenting in the past but was not sure you were ready to speak in front of a large audience or for an extended period of time, a peer demo or a campfire chat might be the right session type for you. We listened to feedback given by our attendees and researched what types of sessions other conferences were offering their attendees to create these two new session types. We hope they will provide both attendees and presenters with an enhanced conference experience.
Peer Demos are limited to 15 minutes of content directed toward a small audience of around 15-20 people. These are held in a more informal setting which allows for follow up questions. Once you present to one group, a fresh audience rotates to your presentation and you repeat your session. A review team will pair you with 2 other presenters to create an overall theme for the particular peer demo session. These other presenters will be sharing their take on the theme at a different station. This is a great way to showcase some tips and tricks you have used that could be helpful to attendees. For Example, demo how you incorporated the use of a freeware product into your daily business. Below are a couple of the peer demos examples from last year to help get your ideas flowing:
Campfire Chats are a larger version of a Stop n Share with informal seating for around 30 people. They will be located where people passing by can stop and join in as the campfire is progressing. The primary presenter acts as a facilitator for an hour-long discussion around a topic of interest to attendees. As a presenter, you would need to prepare some discussion points to get things started but there will not be a PowerPoint presentation. If you have a topic you think may be of interest across functional lines or a topic you just want to talk in-depth about with a larger group of colleagues, a campfire chat might be the right forum for you. Topics are only as limited as your imagination.
Looking forward to seeing your creative submissions!
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