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Expand Up @@ -63,108 +63,106 @@ Now, it’s time to write! Rather than starting with a slide deck, open up a bla

Don’t get too hung up on a title at this stage — we’re happy to work with you on that later in the process.

### The basic structure
## The basic structure
Below, we’ve outlined a common structure used for meetup talks — if this is your first talk, this is a great way to get started (in fact, even experienced speakers often use a structure like this). Use this as a starting point, rather than an exact formula!

###### 1. What is the business problem?
1. What is the business problem?
Relating to a business problem helps audience members understand why you undertook a project. For example:
- The finance team didn’t trust our numbers
- We were never sure what led to an increase in customer conversion
- The data team couldn’t find a balance between ad hoc requests and roadmap work
- Our tracking across mobile and web was completely inconsistent

Relating to a business problem helps audience members understand why you undertook a project. For example:
- The finance team didn’t trust our numbers
- We were never sure what led to an increase in customer conversion
- The data team couldn’t find a balance between ad hoc requests and roadmap work
- Our tracking across mobile and web was completely inconsistent
2. How did this manifest?
Include evidence that this is a genuine problem — this helps create buy-in from the audience. Slack screenshots, quotes, charts, etc. are all good here!

###### 2. How did this manifest?
Include evidence that this is a genuine problem — this helps create buy-in from the audience. Slack screenshots, quotes, charts, etc. are all good here!
3. What tactics were used to solve the problem?
Three feels like a good number here. Make sure to emphasize people and process solutions as well as technology solutions.

###### 3. What tactics were used to solve the problem?
Three feels like a good number here. Make sure to emphasize people and process solutions as well as technology solutions.
4. What was the impact on the business problem?
Since you set out a problem to be solved, it’s worth revisiting it. It’s okay if you found that your project didn’t go as planned — there’s a valuable lesson in there. Again, including evidence of improvement feels valuable.

###### 4. What was the impact on the business problem?
Since you set out a problem to be solved, it’s worth revisiting it. It’s okay if you found that your project didn’t go as planned — there’s a valuable lesson in there. Again, including evidence of improvement feels valuable.

###### 5. What other things were learned, and/or what next steps are you taking?
Summarize high level lessons that others can take-away, and potentially talk about what you’d do differently, or what you plan on doing next.
5. What other things were learned, and/or what next steps are you taking?
Summarize high level lessons that others can take-away, and potentially talk about what you’d do differently, or what you plan on doing next.

### Why does this structure work?

The above structure might seem formulaic, but we’ve seen it work a number of times. In our opinion, this structure works because:
The previous structure might seem formulaic, but we’ve seen it work a number of times. In our opinion, this structure works because:

- **Your presentation has the structure of a story** — problem, journey, solution. Human beings love stories, and so the flow feels natural and easy for your audience to follow.
- **It increases the target audience**. Sharing a few different tactics means that it’s more likely there will be something in your talk for different audience members. Compare that to narrowly scoping a talk on “[Writing packages when a source table may or may not exist](https://discourse.getdbt.com/t/writing-packages-when-a-source-table-may-or-may-not-exist/1487)”— it’s not going to feel relevant to most people in the room.
- **It covers both theory and application.** Too much theory and you’re giving a TedTalk, too much application and you’re just giving a product demo. The best Meetup talks help people understand how you thought through a problem and why you made certain decisions so they can apply your knowledge within their unique context.

### Examples that follow this structure
## Examples that follow this structure

Here's a few of our favorite talks mapped to the structure — trust us, it works!

#### Improving data reliability — Andrea Kopitz, Envoy
### Improving data reliability — Andrea Kopitz, Envoy

*[Video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_cNspn2XsE), [slides](https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1gHChax5aM3tqKkhepX7Mghmg0DTDbY5yoDBCfUR23lg/).*

###### 1. What is the business problem?
1. What is the business problem?
Envoy’s financial data appeared inconsistent.

###### 2. How did this manifest?
2. How did this manifest?
Respondents to the team’s data survey said they no longer trusted the data.

###### 3. What tactics were used to solve the problem?
1. Determine responsibility
2. Build more specific dbt tests
3. Track progress
3. What tactics were used to solve the problem?
1. Determine responsibility
2. Build more specific dbt tests
3. Track progress

###### 4. What was the impact on the business problem?
4. What was the impact on the business problem?
In their next data survey, satisfaction rating increased, and no mention of financial data accuracy.

###### 5. What other things were learned, and/or what next steps are you taking?
5. What other things were learned, and/or what next steps are you taking?
Lesson: Send out a data survey to your company to inform your roadmap.

#### Predicting customer conversions with dbt + machine learning — Kenny Ning, Better.com

### Predicting customer conversions with dbt + machine learning — Kenny Ning, Better.com

*[Video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BF7HH8JDUS0), [slides](https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1iqVjzxxRggMnRoI40ku88miDKw795djpKV_v4bbLpPE/).*

###### 1. What is the business problem?
No one knew why conversion rates for better.com customers would improve or worsen, making it difficult to know the value of different parts of the business.
1. What is the business problem?
No one knew why conversion rates for better.com customers would improve or worsen, making it difficult to know the value of different parts of the business.

###### 2. How did this manifest?
Different parts of the business took responsibility when it improved, no one took responsibility when it worsened.
2. How did this manifest?
Different parts of the business took responsibility when it improved, no one took responsibility when it worsened.

###### 3. What tactics were used to solve the problem?
1. Use a different approach to conversion rates — kaplan-meier conversion rates
2. Sketch out an ideal ML solution and see if it theoretically solves the problem
3. Build it! (ft. demonstration of solution)
3. What tactics were used to solve the problem?
1. Use a different approach to conversion rates — kaplan-meier conversion rates
2. Sketch out an ideal ML solution and see if it theoretically solves the problem
3. Build it! (ft. demonstration of solution)

###### 4. What was the impact on the business problem?
In the end — not as valuable as originally hoped (and that’s ok!). Editor note: [this article](https://better.engineering/2020-06-24-wizard-part-ii/) was a great follow up on the initial project.
4. What was the impact on the business problem?
In the end — not as valuable as originally hoped (and that’s ok!). Editor note: [this article](https://better.engineering/2020-06-24-wizard-part-ii/) was a great follow up on the initial project.

###### 5. What other things were learned, and/or what next steps are you taking?
- Focus on end-to-end solutions
- Materialize your clean dataset to improve collaboration
- Sell to the business
5. What other things were learned, and/or what next steps are you taking?
- Focus on end-to-end solutions
- Materialize your clean dataset to improve collaboration
- Sell to the business

#### Migrating 387 models from Redshift to Snowflake — Bowery Farming Data Team
### Migrating 387 models from Redshift to Snowflake — Bowery Farming Data Team

*[Video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhH614WVufM), [slides](https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1wE8NSkFPLFKGQ8fvFUUKoZFVoUhws_FhFip-9mDhoPU/).*

###### 1. What is the business problem?
A new Bowery Farming site had increased the amount of data the team were dealing with, which put a strain on their data stack.
1. What is the business problem?
A new Bowery Farming site had increased the amount of data the team were dealing with, which put a strain on their data stack.

###### 2. How did this manifest?
Charts show increased dbt run times, and increased Redshift costs.
3. How did this manifest?
Charts show increased dbt run times, and increased Redshift costs.

###### 3. What tactics were used to solve the problem?
1. Push Redshift to its limit: Leverage Athena, Redshift configurations, separate clusters, python pre-processing
2. Trial Snowflake for cost and performance
3. Commit to a migration with strong project management
3. What tactics were used to solve the problem?
1. Push Redshift to its limit: Leverage Athena, Redshift configurations, separate clusters, python pre-processing
2. Trial Snowflake for cost and performance
3. Commit to a migration with strong project management

###### 4. What was the impact on the business problem?
Yet to be determined (at the time, they had just finished the project). But the team showed evidence that the project has been successfully completed!
4. What was the impact on the business problem?
Yet to be determined (at the time, they had just finished the project). But the team showed evidence that the project has been successfully completed!

###### 5. What other things were learned, and/or what next steps are you taking?
Other things learned:
- Differences between Redshift and Snowflake SQL syntax
- Teamwork and coordination are key to completing a migration
5. What other things were learned, and/or what next steps are you taking?
Other things learned:
- Differences between Redshift and Snowflake SQL syntax
- Teamwork and coordination are key to completing a migration

## Turn it into a presentation
Now, it's time to take your idea and turn it into a presentation.
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -210,7 +208,7 @@ For virtual events: is there a poll you can launch, or a question you can throw

## Pair it with a blog post

The hardest part of nailing a great talk is the content, so if you’ve made it this far, you’ve already done most of the work. Turning your content into a blog post is a great way to solidify your thinking, and get some extra exposure. If you’d like to be features on the [dbt Blog](https://blog.getdbt.com/), reach out to us (@Claire and @Janessa) on Slack.
The hardest part of nailing a great talk is the content, so if you’ve made it this far, you’ve already done most of the work. Turning your content into a blog post is a great way to solidify your thinking, and get some extra exposure. If you’d like to be featured on the [dbt Blog](https://blog.getdbt.com/), reach out to us on Slack.

We’ll also be adding more resources on how to write about your work soon!

Expand Down Expand Up @@ -246,4 +244,4 @@ Do any audience members use a communication device? Can you share your slides ah

### Responding to a conference Call for Speakers

If you’re submitting a response for a Call for Speakers, and talking about dbt, we’re happy to work with you on this. Reach out to us (@Claire and @Janessa) in Slack to let us know!
If you’re submitting a response for a Call for Speakers, and talking about dbt, we’re happy to work with you on this. Reach out to us in Slack to let us know!

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