Submitting conference abstracts that get accepted

How to create solid conference talk abstracts that just might get accepted

I often get asked by coworkers and folks in the community “How do I get to speak at a conference”, “How do I write a good talk abstract?”, “How come I keep getting rejected?” or “What does the conference submission process even look like?”. Because this is a complex topic and a recurring one, I thought I’d share some of my insights into this common question in writing.

The simple answer is that you must write an abstract that is relevant to the conference and its attendees, is easy to understand, and is more interesting or more relevant than other good abstracts. But the details get a bit muddy, so let’s dive into it.

What does the conference review process look like?

First of all, it’s helpful to understand the conference review process. I think I’ve now reviewed session proposals from 12 total distinct events and all of them work in a similar way: the conference has a public call for proposals — or call for papers or call for presentations or call for speakers — the
terminology varies but they’re typically called CFPs for short.