Have you ever wondered why your talk wasn't accepted, yet you chose to speak about this technology that you so much adore? Well, that sucks if you ask me. Can be a lil annoying too. You end up asking yourself questions like: "Wasn't this a hot topic? Don't they want to learn from the badass? Did I not qualify..?" So many questions so to speak.

Not to worry though, we all have been rejected at some point. But we wouldn't know the reason unless we were at the reviewers point of view. I got a chance to review some technical sessions for big tech events in my region and here are some pointers I think one should consider before applying to speak or share knowledge to other devs:

1. Do a background of the event you wish to speak at

• This is more of know your audience, this will help you know what level of developers to target e.g beginners, intermediate or advanced.
• Choose a topic that aligns to the event and one that resonates with the audience too.

2. Pick a topic that's not too common

• Well there's something about speaking on a topic that you have full knowledge of, but if it's been in the airwaves for long then it becomes too monotonous.
• Again, in tech, things change a lot... talk of frequent updates and all. (Flutter devs will always argue on what state management to choose )

3. Write a detailed abstract

• Avoid one liner abstract. No matter how intriguing your session is, try and give more context on it. You do this by:

  i). Giving an introduction to your session
  ii). Point our stacks you'd speak about and your point of view on them
  iii). Give a conclusion and what your audience's take home will be  
  

4. Be a little personal

• Although you could speak more on this than write it down on your abstract, you could briefly point out your experience this this selected topic.

5.Review your abstract

• Besides checking for any grammatical errors, would you accept your session if you were the reviewer? Well, if not check number 6. However, if not... still check point number 6 :)

6. Ask for feedback on your abstract

• Share your abstract with a friend or someone in your field of interest to get a different point of view.
• Feedback gives a different perspective and a bit more of improvement on areas you might have missed.