empowerED26 Call for Speakers
We are excited to announce our Call for Speakers for empowerED26 in Austin next March! We are seeking high-value, practical, and data-driven proposals for three distinct speaking sessions.
Workshop Format
Workshops are 60-minute, highly interactive sessions designed to help attendees build practical skills and leave with something tangible in hand. Please allow time for questions at the conclusion.
What We're Looking For
A great workshop proposal should center on active learning and implementable takeaways:
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Active Engagement: Engage participants actively for at least 25% of the time. This must use techniques beyond simple Q&A, such as peer discussions, small group exercises, live polling, or time to explore templates/frameworks you’ve created.
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Teaching & Doing Balance: Present a framework or model, and then immediately get participants applying it.
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Tangible Takeaways: Attendees must walk away with an artifact they can adapt to their organization, such as a completed worksheet, template, or framework.
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Clear Outcomes: Include two to three clear, concise learning outcomes.
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Diverse Contexts: Ensure flexibility, including scenarios relevant to multiple organization/industry/team sizes.
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Avoid Product Pitches: Tools can be demonstrated, but the session must not be a sales pitch.
Use Case Deep Dive Format
Use Case Deep Dives are 30-minute, focused sessions designed to showcase and analyze a specific business problem (Use Case) and present the solution framework that was applied to solve it. Please allow time for questions at the conclusion.
What We're Looking For
A great Deep Dive proposal focuses on a high-priority business problem and a structured, repeatable solution:
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Specific Problem Focus: The title and abstract must clearly define a specific, timely challenge being addressed (the "Use Case").
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Solution Framework: The session must center on a clear, structured, and repeatable model or methodology for solving the problem.
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Implementable Artifact: Attendees should walk away with a tool (template, checklist, decision tree) that directly helps them apply the framework to their organization's challenge.
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Real-World Context: Demonstrate the framework's effectiveness with detailed examples or (ideally) data.
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Context & Applicability: Demonstrate how the solution framework can adapt and apply to diverse contexts, such as small and large organizations or different team maturities.
Research Results Presentation Format
Research Results Presentations are 30-minute sessions dedicated to presenting original, data-driven research, studies, or comprehensive surveys that uncover new trends or validate best practices in Customer Education. Please allow time for questions at the conclusion.
What We're Looking For
A great research proposal is rigorous, objective, and focuses on industry-wide strategic implications:
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Original Data: The core of the session must be a robust, original dataset, survey results, or a detailed case study involving quantitative or qualitative analysis conducted by the speaker(s).
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Methodology & Rigor: Briefly explain the research design (sample size, participant demographics, methodology) to establish credibility.
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Strategic Implications: Clearly articulate the practical implications of the findings ("The So What?") for Customer Education strategy, structure, or impact.
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Objectivity & Neutrality: The research must be vendor-neutral, with the focus remaining on the results and industry-wide implications, not a product.
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Clear Flow: Present a clear flow from the Research Question to the Findings to the Strategic Implications.