UXinsight Festival 2024 – practical info for speakers

This page contains information for speakers and workshop facilitators. It contains practical details on the following topics:

👉 General Festival info
👉 Deadlines and input
👉 Travel and hotel
👉 Reimbursement
👉 Guidelines and tips

General Festival info

This year’s edition is our 8th UXR conference and our 3rd time in the hybrid format.

  • April 15: in-person workshops only (max 30 participants per workshop, max 4 workshops)
  • April 16 and 17: hybrid conference days with talks, live Q&As, networking sessions, break activities, sponsor activities and more.

All talks and Q&As will be live broadcasted and recorded during the Festival. Recordings will be available for the entire year to all Festival ticket holders. Workshops will not be recorded.

General links

Festival 2024 website
Code of Conduct
LinkedIn

Audience Festival 2023

🎟️ 500+ participants (250+ in-person & 250+ online)
🌍 From 40 countries across 5 continents, with many centred in Europe
💼 63% UX researcher, 19% Manager/ Lead/ Director, 14% UX designer, 4% Other

Time zone

Central European Summer Time (CEST) – the live program will likely occur between 10:00 and 17:30 CEST

Venue

Chassé Theatre
Claudius Prinsenlaan 8
4811 DK Breda
The Netherlands

It is easily accessible by car and train. The nearest train station is Breda. Several (paid) parking options are close to the theatre if you plan to drive. More information about the venue, including how to get there, is available on our website. And of course, we’ll send you all the details you need closer to the Festival.

Deadlines and input

✏️ Forms to fill out

Speaker details – deadline January 15, preferably sooner
Travel details – deadline February 15
Reimbursement details – deadline March 1 or May 1
Free online tickets – deadline April 1
Talk/presentation details [talks only] – deadline April 1
Workshop details [workshops only] – deadline April 1

🎤 Your contribution

1. First draft/outline – deadline January 15
Create and send in a draft version/outline of your talk/workshop.

  • What is your main message?
  • How would you like to structure the story?
  • What is your high-level supported evidence?
  • What would you like to discuss (e.g. what (not) to include)?

You can create slides or use any other format/tool for this outline. Please note that we use slides for the final presentation (see point 5). Send your draft to debbie@uxinsight.org.

2. Coaching session 1 – between January 17 – February 7
During a video call, we can get to know each other and discuss the draft outline of your talk/workshop and provide feedback and tips.

Schedule your coaching session before January 10:
For talks – 45 min
For workshops – 1 hour

3. Pilot version – deadline March 1
Prepare your talk/workshop in more detail, create the presentation and complete your story.

4. Coaching session 2 – between March 1- 15
You’ll present your talk/workshop during a video call. We discuss final adjustments or tips, if applicable.

Schedule your coaching session before February 15:
For talks – 45 min
For workshops – 1 hour

5. Final presentation – deadline April 1
Finalize your slides (including notes, if you wish to have them) and send in the final slides. In case of a talk, we’ll use these slides (and notes) to create a new master file for the event. Changes after this deadline will not be processed.

In the section Guidelines and tips, you’ll find more on, e.g. the format and set-up.

Travel and hotel

Travel
We ask you to book your flights/train to travel to the Netherlands yourself. How costs are compensated, you’ll find under the section Reimbursement. If you’re travelling by plane, we can arrange train tickets from the airport to Breda train station and vice versa according to your travel itinerary.

Please provide us with your travel details as soon as possible, but not later than February 15.

Hotel
We will make hotel reservations for two nights* in a comfortable hotel in Breda. By default, this will be the night before and after your talk/workshop. If you prefer other nights, please let us know as soon as possible. Changes are always subject to availability.

*When living in the Netherlands, 1 night on Tuesday, April 16.

Hotel Nassau Breda
Nieuwstraat 23  |  4811 WV Breda  |  Netherlands

Check-in: from 15:00 CEST
Check out: until 12:00 CEST (noon)
Breakfast included: every day between 06.30 – 11.00 CET

From Hotel Nassau, it is a 10-minute walk to the venue.

Train tickets
We can arrange a train ticket from the airport to Breda and vice versa. Please indicate this in the Travel details form. We’ll order these tickets the week before the Festival and send you the digital tickets, including instructions, by e-mail. These digital tickets are valid all day on the relevant date, so no worries if your flight is delayed.

Reimbursement

In return for your contribution, we offer you the following*:

  • A fixed overall reimbursement for compensation of travel expenses, time investment and materials:
    – € 550 for speakers living in the Netherlands and Belgium
    – € 700 for speakers living in other countries in Europe
    – € 1600 for speakers living outside of Europe
  • Two nights** in Hotel Nassau Breda
  • Free access to the in-person conference on April 16 & 17
  • Invitation to dinner activity on Tuesday, April 16
  • 2 free online tickets to give away
  • 1:1 coaching sessions

*Assuming your contribution is in person at the Festival
** 1 night (April 16) for speakers living in the Netherlands and Belgium

Preferably we handle reimbursements after the Festival to ensure that all charges are correct and complete.

Please fill out the reimbursement form for all necessary details. If you would like to receive the refund before the festival, do this before March 1. For refunds after the Festival, the deadline is May 1.

Guidelines and tips

TALKS – PREPARATIONS

The final presentation needs to be a slide deck in PowerPoint or Google Slides (16:9).

There is no default template for you to use; you can use your own layout for the slides. We ask you to keep the right bottom corner of your slides empty to create space for the technicians to create a view as below for our online audience.

You don’t need an introduction slide: UXinsight creates one for each talk. Below is an example of 2023:

    Preferably use a standard font. If you prefer to use a non-standard font, ensure we have the downloadable version before April 1, and indicate this via the Talk/presentation details form. We, as well as the technicians at the venue, need this to make sure your slides look the way you want them to look.

    It’s possible to add some speaker notes; however, keep in mind that:

    • It’s not possible to scroll through during your talk, so only the first lines are visible
    • The notes will be shown on the screen before you, but that is 1,5m away. We advise keywords, not to small
    • If you would like to bring notes, there will be a standing table. Some speakers will use their mobile phones.

    If you want to add questions to the audience, let us know. We will incorporate this in the (online) poll as well. Also, if you want to show the poll results to the audience, we need to know upfront. Please also indicate via the Talk/presentation details form.

    Set-up You’ll be standing on a large stage with a large screen behind you where your presentation is shown.

    The image is from UXinsight Festival 2023, so this might be slightly different in 2024 (eg. the couch setting), also depending on the theme we decide on. There will be two screens at the bottom of the stage, one to see your presentation and one for the speaker notes (more to the centre of the stage in 2024).

    The slides will be presented from a central laptop, but you’ll have a clicker to control the slides.

    TALKS – DAY OF THE CONFERENCE

    Presenting:

    • On the day of your presentation, you will be invited backstage during the break before your speaking slot.
    • You will meet the hosts and will be able to check the stage and set-up.
    • The tech crew provides a clip-on microphone; the battery will be attached with a clip on the back. There is also one clicker to click through the presentation.
    • There’s a standing table with water and one for keeping your notes or anything else
    • In front of you, there’s a screen showing your presentation and the time.
    • The host will introduce you and invite you to the stage.
    • You have about 20 minutes for the presentation, and the rest of the time is for Q&A. (So the 30-minute slot is for introduction, presentation, and Q&A.)

    Clothing:

    • We don’t have a specific dress code; wear what makes you comfortable. Generally, we advise against wearing stripes or busy patterns. Striped clothing may create a weird optical effect called a moire pattern.
    • Mind that the microphone battery will be clipped to your back: e.g. on your belt or pocket.

    After the talk:

    • We invite you to the speaker’s corner in the break area during the first break after the presentation.
    • There’s a table. We’ll make sure there’s coffee/tea/snacks, and participants can approach you with questions.
    • Let us know if you want to bring something additional to the speaker’s corner (e.g. books, handouts, posters)

    TIPS – Characteristics of a good talk (based on UXinsight Festival attendee feedback)

    • Focused on UX research
    • Practical
      – Offers actionable learnings & takeaways
      – Provides a concrete case study/example(s)/framework & its application
      – Bonus: material to take away (e.g. template)
    • Brings a new perspective
    • Relatable
    • Good presentation skills and storytelling

    Resources for inspiration on storytelling:
    👉 How To Tell Stories Like TED Speakers
    👉 Two Tips for UX Storytelling
    👉 9 Classic storytelling techniques for engaging presentations

    🎤 Speaker tips for presenting

    Top 2 talks selected as most inspiring at UXinsight Festival 2023:
    💡 Let’s talk biases – by Marijke van Moll and Misha Kelso
    💡 Accessibility in UX for Neurodiverse UX Professionals Part II – by Penninah Jones

    WORKSHOPS – The format and font are free of choice since we’ll ask you to bring your own laptop for the workshop. However, preferably the presentation is in a format, we can export to a PDF to share with the participants afterwards.

    There are several unique workshop rooms available at the Chassé Theatre. We’ll inform you about the room at a later stage and ask for your preferred setup via the Workshop details form.

    TIPS – Characteristics of a good workshop (based on UXinsight Festival attendee feedback)

    • Practical
      – Clear application to UX research job
      – Bonus: room to apply to one’s own context
      – Bonus: material to take away (e.g., template, framework)
    • Interactive
      – Bonus: the opportunity to engage with others
    • Tailored to UX research
    • Personal (smaller group, enough personal attention)
    • Good facilitation skills, expert on the topic with practical experience in it

    Contact

    For all practical or organisational questions or remarks, contact Debbie at debbie@uxinsight.org or via +31 (0)648334517.

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