So You Want to Give A Talk: How to Write a CFP

Phil Young opens by explaining why he built this session: first-time speakers often struggle to turn an idea into a conference submission, and the advice available online is plentiful but contradictory. Drawing on his years of reviewing submissions for BSides, DEF CON and Black Hat, he covers the reasons people choose to speak, from sharing research to enjoying the stage. He then describes the usual call-for-papers process, noting that most reviewers are volunteers, that submission windows typically open months ahead, and that a panel of several reviewers scores each proposal before track chairs rank them.

The middle of the talk walks through the parts of a submission. A title should be descriptive without being cryptic, and the abstract works as marketing that hints at the content without giving it away. The bio should be written in the third person and explain why this speaker is the right one for the topic. Young calls the outline the most important section, because reviewers use it to judge whether the speaker knows what they will cover, and the same outline can later become the structure of the slides. He also warns against using generative AI for the written sections, submitting one talk unchanged to many conferences, and co-presenting a first talk.

He closes with practical habits: keep a copy of every submission, spell check, ask peers to review drafts, and remember that a rejection often reflects heavy competition rather than poor quality. Listeners come away with a clearer picture of what a submission needs and what a first-time speaker can expect.