Speaking at a Security Conference can be intimidating at first and seems like something only experts in the field do. However, I gave my first talk in 2019 titled "3D printed picks: the next step in lock picking." At the time, I didn't even have a job in security. This talk was at the premier Chicago security conference Thotcon. I want to share my experience in hopes you will be able to give your first talk.
To give a talk at a conference, you have to look for the Call for Papers, aka CFP, on the conference website. The CFP usually happens several months before the conference and lays out how to submit your presentation. You must meet these deadlines because conferences often get many speeches submitted and can be pretty competitive.
Obviously, to give a talk, you must decide what you want to present. Find an area in security that you are passionate about and have knowledge beyond that of a standard IT professional. For me personally, I had been lock picking for years and also had been 3D printing for some time. Both of these are common interests of people in IT. I decided to do a speech on lockpicking and conduct some research into using 3D-printed lockpicks. I had not seen much information about the subject and knew it could be possible, so I decided to start there.
Once you pick a topic, you must decide on a title for your speech. You aren't just looking to get approved by the committees but also trying to catch the attendee's eye as they look through the schedule. As a personal opinion, I went with a title that said exactly what I was talking about "3D printed picks: the next step in lock picking." I have been to a few conferences with titles that give me no idea what it's about. When it's 10 minutes before a talk, and I'm not sure what to talk to attend, a nondescript title usually gets looked over.
Now that you have your topic and title, you will likely have to give a synopsis of the talk. This is usually a few sentences explaining what the presentation will be about. Try to keep it high level as it's a summary of the talk and not an article about it. Add a catchy first sentence and leave some questions making the reader wanting to learn more. The is what the committees approving the talks will be reading, so be sure to proofread it.
To give you an idea, below is the synopsis I wrote for my talk.
Abstract: The majority of lock picks that are used by your average lock picker enthusiast are flat pieces of metal with various shapes to manipulate the pins. 3D printers allow for high precision with a wide variety of filaments with various strengths and durability. Because of this, we will explore the possibility of using 3D printers to create our tools for lock picking. We will be looking at three major areas during this talk. Comparing the stability and durability of picks that are 3D printed. Look at what limitations we have from 3D printed picks and if they are a viable alternative to expensive picks. Creating custom tools for picking high-security locks. The first thing we realize when we 3D print picks is that they are made of filaments and not metal. We can begin by looking at the different filament's strengths and the effects of them while picking. Is ABS strong enough to withstand the bending and grinding of a standard metal pick? We will venture out to alternative filament types such as nylon and Amphora 3D Printer Filament, some of the strongest materials on the market. The real power of the 3D printers is in creativity. We will try and create some tools that can be customized for our specific locks. This includes picking high-security locks such as an Abloy Classic that require precision that we will see if our 3D printer will be able to handle. Outside of the locks themselves, we will explore useful items that may also be printed to make your life easier when picking locks, such as key decoders, pinning trays and vice lock holders for easier picking. This talk will be done using a consumer-level 3D printer, specifically the Ender 3.
Several drafts later and a little luck, you hopefully got accepted for your talk at a conference. Congratulations, you have completed step one; now, how to present. When you get accepted, the conference staff will tell you how long you can talk. You will want to make a rough draft based on your synopsis and how much time you want to spend on each topic. Be sure to add time for the introduction of yourself as well, if the time allows, a section for questions.
Once you have your rough draft of a schedule for yourself, you can make the visuals. For the 95% of talks I have seen, that usually means a PowerPoint. Nothing is wrong with using a PowerPoint, but it's easy to rely on them too much. Keep the amount of text per slide short, make an excellent background, and don't read from the slides. You can see an example of this in the featured photo.
If you have the opportunity to have a WOW moment in your talk, do it. During my talk, I used a 3D-printed lock pick that I made and opened a lock live on stage. There was a slight risk here, so I had a backup video just in case, but thankfully I didn't need to use it. Your WOW moment could be a live demo, showing off hardware, or a big reveal.
Now that your Powerpoint is completed and you have the attention-grabbing moment, you can work on the talk itself. Some people work better writing out a whole speech, while others work through bullet points. If you're comfortable with the subject, bullet points will help you not speak like you're reading off a script. Practice your talk first by yourself and time it. After you do that practice in front of someone, time that. Because everyone gets somewhat nervous, you'll talk faster on stage so give yourself that extra content.
We are just about ready for the big day. Get yourself a backup of your PowerPoint on your computer and a copy on google drive. Print off two copies of your speech and store them in separate places. Finally, have a backup plan if you have any live demos. Have an idea of when you will arrive and list what you need from the event staff. Once you have done all that, you're ready.
All the planning has come down to this. I know I was pretty nervous as my talk was just after lunch. But I knew I had everything planned and showed up early to talk to the AV staff. During my presentation, I reminded myself to slow down and pace myself. Before I realized the time was up and I had a few minutes to answer questions.
After the talk, anyone at the conference will see you as the expert on that subject. People will approach you, discuss things further, and seek your advice on the issue. As it may have seemed intimidating to start, you are a security conference speaker now. Add it to your resume, publish it online, and maybe start thinking about your next conference talk.
Comments