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If you haven't written a conference proposal before, here's my opinion on what makes a great proposal:

1. The topic is relevant to the conference and its particular audience.

2. It's clear what you're going to say. A proposal like "five thoughts on leadership" is way too vague. What are they? Are they obvious? Are they just... wrong? Say what you're going to say.

3. It's readable. If the proposal is boring or confusing, reviewers will wonder if the talk will be boring or confusing too.

@whereistanya Huh, I wish this advice were in the proposal form. The only field where you say what the talk is about instructs you to write it as if it were the blurb on the website, which actively pushes against doing your #2.

@flooey I mean, this is my advice for any proposal ever, not this one in particular. I don't think the second one prevents being blurby. Instead of saying "five leadership topics", you can do something like "We'll look at leadership techniques like making space, stepping in when there's conflict, and buying everyone donuts." It's not giving up your whole plan, but it shows that you have *something*.

(Though I like it when people do tell their whole plan too.)

@flooey That said, you make an excellent point that a CFP is a good place to tell people how to write proposals.

@sudarkoff I'm always interested in case studies, esp things that happened over 3 years or more where you can describe the *actual* outcomes and what you learned. I love people talking about failure and letting others learn from their mistakes. I'm interested in how orgs deploy staff+ people. Also tech strategy/vision and how to make it "real" and make it happen. Measuring impact (so difficult!). Endorsing other people's good ideas. Learning and doing scary/uncomfortable stuff.

@sudarkoff That's just top of my head stuff that I personally would enjoy hearing about. All very subjective!

@samhogy \o/ Good luck! I hope reviewers love it.