WSTA West Sound Technology Association

Introduction

Thank you for your desire to submit a proposal for a WSTA event. Our speakers/presenters are very important to us and we are honored that you are interested in becoming part of this valued group. There are many benefits of presenting at a WSTA event, which include:

• Networking with other business and technology professionals.
• Coverage of the event may be included in relevant industry and trade publications.
• Marketing of Speakers’/Presenters’ name(s) and event information will be listed in relevant promotional advertisements for the event and distributed to our membership.
• Also your presentation may be listed in any marketing media distributed electronically to the WSTA mailing lists
• Information on your presentation may be posted on our web site before, during and after the event.
• Speakers/Presenters can also display any promotional materials on a table in the back of the event room and can make reference to these materials following the event.

Who presents to WSTA

Speakers are invited to present to WSTA if they fall in the following categories:

Business/Technology Leaders - Outstanding individuals from the public, private and non-profit sectors that serve as change agents or decision-makers for their respective communities; Those who can influence business/technology agenda/policies at local, national, regional and global levels; and may have contributed to, or participated in, WSTA activities or WSTA lead-up events.

Business/Technology Practitioners - Key individuals from the public, private and non-profit sectors who are responsible for implementing business/technology programs, projects and activities, particularly in Washington state; Those who have experiences to relate about lessons learned and practical problems of implementation; and may have contributed to, or participated in, WSTA activities or WSTA lead-up events.

To be considered for any of our educational events, we must have a completed Proposal for Educational Presentation, which consists of three parts:

1. Presenter’s Information tells us about the speaker/presenter;
2. Explanation/Description of Presentation tells us about the presentation(s). [NOTE: You may submit up to five different presentations.]

The information we receive about you and your presentation is considered confidential and will not be shared outside of WSTA’s Board of Directors or its respective committees.

How Proposals Are Evaluated

We use the following criteria to evaluate proposal

• Expertise – the ability and skills of the speaker to cover the designated topic and to attract an audience of at least 50 participants
• Educational design/identified learning objectives – how the session is structured and what it intends to accomplish.
• Quality – based on the references given in the Presenter’s Information form as well as past evaluations from other WSTA events (if available).
• Corresponds to the topic of Technology as a Tool. Other topics may include (1) Technology; (2) Business Management; (3) Professional Development; and (4) Sales & Marketing, but 2-4 will be given lower preference given its tangential nature from the mission of WSTA as a technology-focused association.
• Use/level of adult education methodology – hands on interactive, roundtable discussions, case studies, panels, etc.
• Relevance – the ability to communicate useful and applicable information to a specific and diverse audience (OUR members) is essential.
• Balanced for a variety of knowledge/skill levels.
• Presentation Length – the length of time it will take you to present. (Most presentations are 45-60 minutes in length)
• Versatility – we are looking for a variety of event types: workshops, seminars, panel discussions, as well as Keynote Speakers and Professional Seminar Presenters.
• We give preference to WSTA members and sponsors to give presentations, but we also welcome outside speakers and encourage then to join in our mission.

Important Presenter Guidelines

• Unless specifically designated, WSTA events are educational, non-commercial forums. Presenters are asked to temper overt product and service endorsements in order to preserve this environment.as such, direct promotion efforts are discouraged (defined as: making sales transactions, using your session to develop a mailing list, handing out price lists or discussing fees, or discounting others’ views, models, or products in a presentation)
• Presenters should refrain from statements or comments which can be deemed offensive, or anything less than professional.
• Presenters should fully disclose all intellectual property utilized within handout materials and during any event. This is to protect intellectual property rights such as copyright, ownership, and utilization of revenue derived from creation, production, and use for educational courses.