What should you expect from speaking sessions at Coveo Impact 2019? We sat down with our VP, Customer Experience Jennifer MacIntosh to demystify the speaking session process.
Q: What makes a good speaking session at Impact?
Jennifer: I think there is a couple of things that make a compelling session. First off, insights – people love to hear other people’s stories. Any story they have on how they’re leveraging Coveo within their organization is going to be incredibly helpful. People want to hear from people like them. What are you doing, how are you doing it differently, maybe some of it is the same, but one little thing could be different, and that difference could spark a brilliant new idea within their organization.
Q: What kinds of “Coveo stories” should attendees expect to hear?
Jennifer: Best practices, lessons learned. In Consortium For Service Innovation speak, we talk about the “ditch” or “driving into the ditch” because driving off the road leads to accidents and collisions. We need to talk about the ditch: how you got there, how to avoid it, how to get out of it. People are always looking to learn from other people’s mistakes. If you’re open enough to be sharing not only the things that worked that well, but the things that didn’t – those always make for great presentations. I would also add innovation to this list. Are you doing something that someone hasn’t even thought of it? What are you doing in your company that may be different from the software company down the road, the healthcare company across the street, or the manufacturing company three countries away?
I think there is an opportunity for people who have the same interests to connect. Coveo Impact brings together a big group of like-minded people who are willing to share and support each other. Sharing the good, bad and the ugly can only make our whole community stronger.
Q: What are the benefits to speaking at Impact?
Jennifer: First of all, you get more visibility for your project. The opportunity to share your innovation, share the work you’re doing, and create a spotlight on the work that isn’t as visible within your organization. A speaking session creates a bigger opportunity to showcase your work., You can even apply for a Coveo Award at Impact 2019. If you’re doing something super cool and innovative with fantastic outcomes – this is the chance to showcase that work in front of a community of like-minded people.
Q: What should speakers know?
Jennifer: The process is a good thing to know before submission. Once you submit, it goes through our review process internally. From that, someone from Coveo will contact you and go over the idea with you, perhaps flesh it out a little bit more. They will help you build out the presentation. Then you need to start practicing it. Put time in your calendar to have meetings with Coveo, and time to build out slides and story. Practice is just going to make for a better experience for everyone.
Keep in mind, this will be shared within the community beyond Impact. We want to show off the cool work you’re organization is doing within our customer and partner community.
Q: What are you looking forward to the most?
Jennifer: Meeting with customers is my most favorite part. Seeing folks I haven’t seen in a year is great. Finding out where they are in their journey, what they’ve been able to accomplish – that’s the most exciting part.
Interested in attending Coveo Impact? Get your tickets today (before prices go up on March 1)!