“People are going to change the world and accelerate change by spreading their knowledge.” Tim O’Reilly

I can’t think of anything else that gives me more delight than sharing my knowledge and exchanging ideas. Because of this reason I do presentations at conferences, write a blog and try to tweet or retweet:-) good links and ideas almost everyday.

I regretfully notice that most of my colleagues are reluctant to share their knowledge, ideas and experiences although they do great and inspiring things in their classrooms.

In this series of articles, I am going to share some tips and ideas to encourage teachers to spread their knowledge and take the opportunities to inspire other teachers.

DO A PRESENTATION AT A CONFERENCE THIS YEAR!

Well, I know that public speaking is the most common fear but believe me that after a few presentations you are going to get used to it and even start liking it! Here are some links that might help you overcome your public speak anxiety.

Twenty tips for better conference speaking

Presentation tips for public speaking

18 public speaking tips

10 Biggest Public Speaking Mistakes

Now, I assume that you want to give it a try and have your materials ready:-) I suggest you to do your presentation at a number of local conferences first. After that you can refine and improve it and submit it to an international conference. Sounds crazy? Speaking at an international conference! Please do not underestimate yourself. If you get positive feedback from the people who attend your sessions and feel confident enough, you should definitely experience talking at an international conference.

Here are the procedures I followed before I was accepted as a speaker at IATEFL, Cardiff.

* I went to the web site of IATEFL and learned that there is an upcoming conference.
* I found the email address of the conference organiser (See ‘Who is who at IATEFL‘) and sent her an email telling that I want to do a presentation at the next conference. I also asked about the scholarship opportunities. (It was June, 2008 when I decided to do it. So the details of the Cardiff conference and scholarship opportunities weren’t published on their web site yet.) She replied to me very quickly and sent some information. Even getting that first reply encouraged me a lot!
* The most painful part for me was writing an abstract and summary of my presentation because I wanted it to be really good and reflect the content of my session well. At that time, I would feel better if I saw an example. That’s why I want to share the abstract and summary of my presentation as an example. abstract-and-summary

* Because I needed some financial support, I took the scholarship applications very seriously. I created a folder for each scholarship that I was going to apply. Since each scholarship has different requirements, you have to be very organised. Here is my application letter for ‘Learning Technologies Special Interest Group Travel Grant’. lt-sig-travel-grant-application (Note: In order to apply most of the scholarships, you have to be a member of IATEFL. For membership details, click here.)
*Then I filled out the speaker proposal form carefully. (The abstract and summary of your session will be in this form.)
* Finally, I emailed all the required documents and started to wait:-)

In November, I was thrilled to learn that my proposal was accepted and I was also awarded a scholarship (LT SIG Travel Grant)!

The greatest part of the story starts here! You can read my impressions and thoughts about the conference and see some photos in the previous entries.

I think every English teacher should experience an international conference either as a speaker or a participant.

The 43rd IATEFL Annual Conference was a truly memorable experience for me. I returned from the conference more excited about teaching and more enthusiastic about sharing and inspiring people. I’m looking forward to the 44th IATEFL Annual Conference in Harrogate!

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