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Mind the Product

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Martin Eriksson has 25+ years experience building world-class online products in both corporate and start-up environments for global brands such as Monster, Financial Times, Huddle, and Covestor. He is the Founder of ProductTank, the Co-Founder and Curator of Mind the Product, and a Product Partner at leading venture capital fund EQT Ventures. He is also the author of the best-seller <em>Product Leadership, How Top Product Leaders Launch Great Products and Build Successful Teams</em> (O'Reilly, 2017).

Martin Eriksson

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As the curator of 4 in-person </span><a href="http://mtpcon.com/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">product conferences</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and a number of digital </span><a href="http://mtpcon.com/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">product conferences</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, my team and I are approached all the time with the same question&#8221; &#8216;how do I get on the #mtpcon stage?&#8217;.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Of course, we only have so many #mtpcon speaking slots each year, and we review hundreds  — if not thousands  — of talks in the course of making our selections. In the interest of transparency, I want to give you some insight on what it takes to speak at a Mind the Product and let you know that there are other speaker slots to be had too! </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Read on to discover:</span></p>
<ul>
<li><a href="#conference">How to speak at a Mind the Product conference</a></li>
<li><a href="#apply">How to apply to speak for Mind the Product</a></li>
<li><a href="#other">Other speaking opportunities to consider</a></li>
</ul>
<h2 id="conference">How to speak at a Mind the Product conference</h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">There is one very important rule — no pay to play. No one gets on the #mtpcon stage by paying for their slot and any attempt to link commercials with stage presence falls on deaf ears. We&#8217;ve even walked away from sponsors for making this request. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Our regulars know that we sometimes feature speakers who happen to work for sponsors but they always get on stage on merit alone. It would be foolish for us to discount some of the industry’s best thinkers and speakers because their firms care enough about product management to sponsor the conference.</span></p>
<h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">Exceptional speakers</span></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Fundamentally, a Mind the Product conference is all about the speakers and their talks. This is the <a href="https://www.ted.com/talks" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">TED</a> of product conferences after all! This means we have to know that they will not just have an interesting story or insight to share, but that they can comfortably deliver it to a really large audience in a keynote-style talk. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">One of our favourite speakers, Des Traynor, has a really good post on </span><a href="https://medium.com/swlh/intercoms-des-traynor-on-how-to-get-started-at-conference-speaking-fe656c4955cb"><span style="font-weight: 400;">how to get started at conference speaking</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> at this level, and Product leadership coach, Petra Wille, also shares some valuable advice on <a href="https://mtpdevwpe.wpengine.com/give-public-speaking-a-try-and-get-ready-for-a-bigger-stage/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">getting ready for a bigger stage</a>. For even more advice and insights, check out our <a href="https://mtpdevwpe.wpengine.com/tag/public-speaking/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Public Speaking content.</a></span></p>
<figure id="attachment_18063" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-18063" style="width: 1024px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://mtpdevwpe.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Kate-Leto-talks-at-Mind-the-Product.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-18063 size-large" src="https://mtpdevwpe.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Kate-Leto-talks-at-Mind-the-Product-1024x683.jpg" alt="Kate Leto speaking at Mind the Product London 2019" width="1024" height="683" srcset="/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Kate-Leto-talks-at-Mind-the-Product-1024x683.jpg 1024w, /wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Kate-Leto-talks-at-Mind-the-Product-300x200.jpg 300w, /wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Kate-Leto-talks-at-Mind-the-Product-768x512.jpg 768w, /wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Kate-Leto-talks-at-Mind-the-Product.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-18063" class="wp-caption-text">Kate Leto speaking at #mtpcon London in 2019</figcaption></figure>
<h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">Diversity</span></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Our speaker line-up is a n-dimensional puzzle. It’s not just about getting big names on stage, it’s about ensuring a breadth of insight from different companies, industries, company sizes, geographies, and contexts. And yes, it’s also about showcasing as much of the amazing diversity in product management as possible too.</span></p>
<h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">Provide context</span></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Finally, it’s important to remember that a Mind the Product conference attracts some of the most passionate product people in the world. Our audience already knows all the buzzwords, frameworks, and toolsets and is looking for context, inspiration, and new stories. If your speaking style only references your current product or forgets the bigger picture, it&#8217;s unlikely to be a good fit.</span></p>
<h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">Quick tips</span></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Want to speak for us? Here are some simple dos and don&#8217;ts:</span></p>
<h4><span style="font-weight: 400;">Don&#8217;t have your PR team email us</span></h4>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Approaching us through your PR team or agency isn’t impressive – it shows us you don’t value this opportunity enough to pursue it yourself.</span></p>
<h4><span style="font-weight: 400;">Don’t email our safety address</span></h4>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Our safety@ email address is reserved for emergencies and code of conduct breaches at our conferences. Speaker inquiries sent to this address won&#8217;t be considered.</span></p>
<h4><span style="font-weight: 400;">Do share a video of you speaking</span></h4>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">We need to know that you can speak comfortably on a large stage in a keynote style. If we haven’t seen you speak in person we need to see you on video in a similar setting (even if it’s a smaller audience). Don’t have one? No problem&#8230;</span></p>
<h4><span style="font-weight: 400;">Do speak at a ProductTank</span></h4>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The best way to gain experience for the big stage is to start smaller with one of our 200+ local </span><a href="http://www.producttank.com/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">ProductTank meetups.</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> This is also a great way to give back to the community.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Every year so far one of our speakers has been plucked from relative obscurity and put on the Mind the Product stage thanks to a stellar performance at a ProductTank. This is something we’re very proud of. It’s a commitment to the community that we’ll feature not just the usual professional speakers, but fresh voices from the community itself too.</span></p>
<h2 id="apply">How to apply to speak for Mind the Product</h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If all of the information above has you feeling inspired, </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">use our quick and easy form </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">to</span><a href="https://mindtheproduct.typeform.com/to/agyz1c"><span style="font-weight: 400;"> apply to speak at #mtpcon. </span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">If your application is successful, a member of our curation team will get in touch.</span></p>
<h2 id="other">Explore other speaking opportunities</h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Speaking on the #mtpcon stage isn&#8217;t the only way to share your ideas with the community. We are always on the lookout for ProductTank speakers and podcasts guests.</span></p>
<h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">Speak at a ProductTank</span></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As mentioned above, speaking at a ProductTank is a great way to gain stage experience (and get on our radar!). ProductTanks feature local and global speakers with varying levels of experience. Our organisers are always looking for new and exciting product people to speak at digital ProductTank events. </span><a href="https://mindtheproduct.typeform.com/to/Yw12dPGW"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Join our ProductTank speaker directory</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> so that organisers can find you for future events. </span></p>
<figure id="attachment_18336" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-18336" style="width: 1024px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://mtpdevwpe.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Marty-Cagan-speaking-at-ProductTank-London.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-18336 size-large" src="https://mtpdevwpe.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Marty-Cagan-speaking-at-ProductTank-London-1024x683.jpg" alt="Marty Cagan speaking at ProductTank London" width="1024" height="683" srcset="/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Marty-Cagan-speaking-at-ProductTank-London-1024x683.jpg 1024w, /wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Marty-Cagan-speaking-at-ProductTank-London-300x200.jpg 300w, /wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Marty-Cagan-speaking-at-ProductTank-London-768x512.jpg 768w, /wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Marty-Cagan-speaking-at-ProductTank-London.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-18336" class="wp-caption-text">Marty Cagan speaking at ProductTank London</figcaption></figure>
<h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">Be a guest on our podcast, The Product Experience</span></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Every week our hosts Lily and Randy chat to people in the know and cover the topics that matter to you. They cover solving real problems, developing awesome products, building successful teams, and developing careers. We’re always on the hunt for exciting new guests. If you know the perfect podcast guest (maybe you&#8217;re it!) you can </span><a href="https://mindtheproduct.typeform.com/to/oi0UyX"><span style="font-weight: 400;">make a suggestion here.</span></a></p>
<h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">Speak at a member event</span></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Mind the Product members benefit from regular AMAs, panels and fireside chats. If you think you&#8217;d make a great guest for one of these exclusive sessions, let us know! In the #mtpcon application form you can let us know if you&#8217;d be interested in speaking at one of these events — <a href="https://mindtheproduct.typeform.com/to/agyz1c" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">apply now.</a></span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">See you at the next </span><a href="http://mtpcon.com/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Mind the Product Conference</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> — I’ll be the one having my mind blown by the speakers!</span></p>
<div class="g g-21"><div class="g-single a-93"><a class="gofollow" data-track="OTMsMjEsMSw2MA==" href="https://mtpdevwpe.wpengine.com/product-management-training/public-workshops/communication-alignment-workshop/"><img decoding="async" src="https://mtpdevwpe.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Training-CA-layer-of-strategy-FOOTER-scaled.jpg" /></a></div></div>

What it takes to speak at Mind the Product

Martin Eriksson

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