Proving Ground Call for Presenters

Proving Ground Speaker Development Program Call For Presenters is FULL! Please try again next year.

Roles & Responsibilities

Conflict Resolution

Proving Ground was created in order to give speakers who have never presented at a national conference (ISACA, InfraGuard, OWASP meetings, etc. and regional BSides events not included) a means to give a talk during one of the biggest weeks for the hacker and information security industry. We pair all accepted speakers with a mentor, who will assist them with everything from talking points, slide layout and design, and delivery before giving your talk in Las Vegas. The goal is to help new speakers get comfortable with delivering talks in hopes that they will continue sharing their ideas and unique perspectives with the rest of the industry.

NOTE: No group talks will be accepted in this track as the mentor/mentee arrangement is proven to work better as a one-on-one relationship

The process:

• Acknowledge both “Roles & Responsibilities” and “Conflict Resolution” policies, linked above.
• Speaker candidates will submit an abstract for a 20 minute talk that they would like help preparing for presentation.
  • The PG directors will perform due diligence to verify that the candidates have not previously spoken at an industry conference
  • The talk is reviewed and will be accepted or rejected by the PG CFP committee
• Mentor/Speaker Matching – Accepted candidates will be passed on to the Mentor List, where the accepted mentors will be able to choose which talks they want to help with, based on area(s) of expertise and experience.
  • Mentor / Speaker teams will be introduced to one another by the PG directors, via email
• Talk preparation – The mentor will work with their Proving Ground candidate, answering questions and otherwise collaborating as needed.
  • The mentor will assist with translating data into talking points and assuring their candidate’s talk will be understood by the audience
  • Once the candidate’s slide deck is ready, the Mentor will coach them through their full presentation, working on
    • timing, inflection and body language
• The day of the presentation, the mentor will attend their candidate’s talk, to boost morale and assist with Q&A, if needed.

Each accepted mentor and speaker will be provided with:

• All speaker amenities at BSidesLV
• Breakfast and lunch, both days
• A BSidesLV Mentorship Program t-shirt
• A badge that will identify them as a part of the Proving Ground program
• An extra conference badge for a friend

Proving Ground is augmented by a Scholarship program. Should you need or want it, and your talk is accepted, BSidesLV will provide you with a Scholarship of up to $500, to help you offset the costs of coming to Vegas to present. Scholarships will be paid out after you have successfully completed your presentation, when you turn in your program evaluation form. If you’re interested in taking advantage of this program, please indicate so, where requested, on the CFP submission form. Good Luck!