Backstage of a Tech Talk - How Great Speakers Prepare With (and Without) AI
Join us for a special meetup where we put the spotlight (pun intended) on what ACTUALLY happens before a tech speaker reaches the stage: the drafts, the doubts, and the iterations no one sees.
4 senior tech leaders. 4 highly experienced tech speakers. 4 honest takes on how they really prepare behind the scenes - from finding the idea to stepping on stage.
You’ll hear about the workflows that work best, where AI genuinely helps speed things up, and where you absolutely shouldn’t use it.
This joint event is hosted by Women on Stage, bit.cloud, and outside-the-box.dev. It will take place at the Intuit office, Ofer East park, Building B, 10th floor, Ha’psagot 7, Petah Tikva.
** Note: The event will be conducted in Hebrew. All genders are welcome!
Agenda:
17:30-18:15 Gathering and Networking
18:15-18:30 Start With Why: Public Speaking as a Massively Transformative Project - Racheli Ebner, Israel Site Architect, Distinguished Engineer @ Intuit
18:30-18:45 From Blank Page to “Accepted”: Reverse Engineering Talk Proposals - Gilad Shoham, VP of Engineering @ bit.cloud
18:45-19:00 You Wouldn’t Ship Untested Code. Why Ship Untested Talks? - Moran Weber, Founder of Women on Stage & GetOnStage | Software Engineer (Ex-Wix) | Social Psychologist (M.A)
19:00-19:15 Build Every Talk Backwards - Shahar Polak, Head of Engineering @ imagen | קו-הוסט של הפודקאסט מפתחים מחוץ לקופסה
19:15-19:45 Ask Me Anything - Panel with all speakers
Start With Why: Public Speaking as a Massively Transformative Project (Racheli Ebner)
In this session, we will move past the "how" (slides, clickers, microphones) and focus entirely on the "why." Inspired by Simon Sinek and Salim Ismail, we’ll explore why public speaking is the ultimate "Massively Transformative Project" for your career. We will demonstrate that uncovering your intrinsic motivation is not just a "nice to have", it is a critical factor in overcoming resistance. By defining your purpose, you unlock the momentum needed to finally begin your journey as a speaker.
From Blank Page to “Accepted”: Reverse Engineering Talk Proposals (Gilad Shoham)
Getting a "Yes" from a committee isn't luck, it's engineering. Most developers fail at the CFP stage because they focus on the talk, not the pitch. Drawing from my experience on dozens of global stages, I’ll reverse-engineer my workflow: from ideation and research to knowing exactly where to use (and avoid) AI. You’ll leave with a proven framework to turn a blank page into a winning proposal for the world’s biggest stages.
You Wouldn’t Ship Untested Code. Why Ship Untested Talks? (Moran Weber)
Most developers would never ship a piece of code to production without testing it first.
So why, when it comes to public speaking, which is one of the most common human fears, do most of us skip any real preparation workflow?
Over the past 7 years, as a tech speaker, event organizer, and speaker trainer who has personally mentored hundreds of tech speakers, I kept seeing the same mistakes repeated again and again. The software engineer in me realized that most problems aren’t caused by a lack of confidence or talent, but by the lack of a structured, standardized preparation workflow.
In this talk, I’ll show how bringing engineering workflows into presentation prep changes everything. I’ll cover what a practical workflow should include, how to debug yourself, and why iteration and external feedback matter far more than “naturally born” charisma.
I’ll also share where AI genuinely helps, and where it can actually kill a great idea.
Great speakers aren’t born. They’re engineered.
Build Every Talk Backwards (Shahar Polak)
Most speakers start with slide #1. I start with the ending - the one message that matters.
After 200+ talks, here's what I've learned: build backwards. One sentence. Empty slides with one line each. Visuals only at the end. Then record your audio and check if it works without slides at all.
15 minutes. One framework. You'll walk away ready to build your next talk the right way - from the end.