Pajama Talks

Lightning talks online!

Structure

• Start ~10 minutes after posted time, for technical difficulties
• Organizer/MC introduces each speaker
• Speaker has 5 minutes to talk, 5 minutes of Q/A
• 5-8 speakers = ~1-1.5 hours

Topic Guidelines

Any topic goes! Try to choose something you can cover lightly in the time allowed. Don't worry about going in depth; lightning talks are meant to give an overview of the topic. Sharing a slide of resources at the end is a great way to help folks who were interested learn more!

Roles

Organizer

• Picks date
• Signs up Speakers
• Promotes
• Hosts practice room to make sure everyone knows how to screen share, etc.
• Hosts online/sets up chatrooms
• Sets up place to share slides
• Send out link to speakers and audience beforehand

Time Keeper

• Can also be organizer
• Gives signal at...
  • 1 minute left
  • No time (5-7 min)
  • Cut off alarm (~7-10 min)

Speakers

• Prep a short talk
• Do a timed practice run
• Practice screen sharing beforehand
• Give their awesome talk!

Audience

• Watch for the link
• Comment/ask questions
• Share with your friends/community!

Platform

Google Hangouts:

• Allows 10 active participants (first in)
• Says <150 watchers, it lies. Livestream.
• Can be live-streamed on YouTube
• Allows screen sharing for slides
• Free!

Things Learned / Troubleshooting

• Don't rely on just Hangouts; definitely set up livestream on YouTube even if attendance may be low.
• Got a weird echo? If speakers wear headphones it reduces audio feedback.
• Use a big font on slides! Screensharing isn't perfect and small type is hard to see on YouTube.