Before you write your proposal, think about the audience. Each conference will serve a different sector of the industry. When you write your proposal, write it with that audience in mind.
Conferences/workshops will often have their own template, but in general this is what a good speaking proposal should include:
Title
(100-150 characters, including spaces)
Make it catchy, be provocative. ie “The Top 10 Ways to Kill Your Tree,” “Are Your Planting Specifications Killing Your Trees?” “Why Your Employees Hate You”
Summary
(500-600 characters, including spaces)
High level summary of your presentation. ie “Many businesses today struggle to hire and keep employees. That struggle often leads them to make policies that reduce employee satisfaction and increase the likelihood that employees will seek employment with another company. This presentation lists some of the traps and how to avoid them.”
Learning Objectives
(500-600 characters)
What do you want attendees to take away from your presentation? A great resource on writing objectives, with a list of action verbs is here.
Full Presentation Description
(1250-175o characters)
Clearly describe your presentation. Build on your summary and elaborate on the learning objectives.
Bio
Create a catchy bio for yourself - your credentials and a fun fact about yourself: “I’m never caught without my trusty pruning saw” “I wear a really long lanyard on my climbing harness because I never want to be limited for work positioning” etc.
