CALL FOR SPEAKERS IS NOW CLOSED.
Thank you all for your time and consideration in submitting your sessions! Please keep an eye on your inbox for acceptance/declination notices.
Deadlines at a Glance:
- CALL FOR SPEAKERS OPENS: November 29, 2023
- Draft Submission Deadline: December 22, 2023
- Final Submission Deadline: January 19, 2024
- Acceptance/Declination Emails to Selected Speakers by end of February 2024
- Speaker Orientation: SAVE THE DATE - April 3, 2024
- Draft Presentation Deadline: April 19, 2024
- Final Presentation Deadline: May 3, 2024
When is Avaya ENGAGE® 2024?
Avaya ENGAGE® 2024 will take place May 13-15, 2024 in Denver, Colorado at the Colorado Convention Center.
Do I have to make updates or resubmit my session if I already submitted it or received feedback?
No! If you choose to not resubmit or make updates that is fine - just please remember that no more feedback or reviews will be provided until the new deadlines come around.
You can leave whatever you have already submitted in the submission portal for the final submission deadline & reviews without touching it.
How many speaking slots are available?
As we are aiming for a more strategized and curated agenda this year, as well as decreasing the number of days in the event, we will be selecting less speaking slots compared to the amount we have selected in the past. We highly encourage you to select other opportunities upon submitting that you may be interested in sharing your content with if you are not selected (i.e. Lightning talks, panel discussions, webcasts, blogs, IAUG Wired etc.)
Will Avaya ENGAGE® 2024 be a hybrid event?
Yes! Avaya ENGAGE® 2024 will have both an on-site and a virtual component. If you are interested in being considered in the virtual aspect of Avaya ENGAGE® 2024, please be sure to select that box on your submission form.
What are the tracks or topic themes for this year’s event?
*Please make sure to review this Speaker FAQ for more information regarding topic themes and areas of focus for your submission*
For Avaya ENGAGE® 2024, we have shifted what our tracks look like to topic themes to better appeal to our audience. Our goal is to streamline topic themes and more strategically use topics to better tailor the attendee experience. Our topic themes are intended to drive attendees to content based on high-level interest/needs.
- Your Professional Journey
“Empowering Your Professional Growth to Excel Your Organization”
This track will equip participants with comprehensive Customer Experience (CX) know-how, AI technology, and cloud computing essentials. Seeking proposals that share innovative CX strategies and success stories. Demonstrate how technological fluency and strategic foresight can lead to leadership breakthroughs and competitive advantage in the tech ecosystem.
“Transforming Customer Interactions into Growth Opportunities”
This track will teach participants to harness AI and analytics for superior service, optimize support operations, and craft impactful customer journeys. We invite insights on transforming customer engagement with cutting-edge solutions. Show us how you leverage omnichannel strategies and data-driven decisions to revolutionize the customer journey.
“Crafting a Culture of Excellence in the Workplace”
This track will provide participants with strategies to optimize operations while elevating the employee experience, leveraging digital tools for enhanced engagement and management. Share your strategies and tools for building a vibrant workplace culture. Proposals should highlight how to engage teams, enhance digital fluency, and inspire continuous innovation.
- The Public Sector Journey
“Driving Efficiency and Impact in Public Service”
This track will provide a deep dive into leveraging technology for efficient governance, improved resource allocation, and enhanced public engagement. Here we are looking for content that demonstrates impactful tech and policy initiatives in the public sector. Present your success stories and methodologies for driving efficiency and impactful public engagement.
Under the topic themes is where the sub-topics to address fall. These are intended to drive attendees to content based on more specific applications and/or focus areas for each topic theme.
- Artificial Intelligence (AI)
- Contact Center
- Integration
- Migration to Cloud
- Professional Development
- Security
- Services
- Unified Communications
Please review this document to better understand what we are looking for from your Topic Themes and Sub-Themes
How do I determine what the Technical Level of my content is?
Please use this scale below:
100 – Survey of the topic for an attendee who knows nothing about the subject, or is just interested in getting a high-level overview
200 – Topic is for people who are familiar with the subject, but don’t have in-depth knowledge. These would be beginner sessions, but can include some technical content
300 – Topic is for people who already have a good understanding of the subject. These would be more in-depth sessions and would usually include live-demos, technical slides and configuration examples.
400 – Topic is deeply technical and targeted to people who have a solid understanding of the subject. This would be in-depth, and typically narrower topic, and should include technical content, configuration examples, live demos and technical take-aways.
What are the different session formats that we can select from?
- Breakout Session
- Case Study
- Demos
- Fireside Chat/Panel Discussion
- Master Class
- Ask the Experts
- Workshop
- Business Case
- Get Inspired (TED Talk Style)
- Hands-On Lab
Please review our Avaya ENGAGE 2024 resource document for further description of each session format.
Will sessions be live streamed or pre-recorded for virtual attendees to experience?
Avaya ENGAGE’s virtual component will be a mixed experience of pre-recorded and live streamed content.
Content will be limited compared to the on-site agenda.
If I am a selected speaker, will my session need to be pre-recorded?
If your session is selected for the virtual component, it will need to be pre-recorded. This will allow for our virtual attendees to have access to the great content delivered at Avaya ENGAGE® 2024.
Please note that your presentation will need to be on the Avaya ENGAGE® 2024 PowerPoint template and your MP4 file of your session will need to be recorded on the platform provided. All this will be in your speaker portal for further details.
How are sessions selected?
A first-level review by the Content Committee, compiled of Avaya product experts and customers, occurs for all submissions. There will be a draft submission deadline (December 17, 2023) where you can submit your presentation to be reviewed by the Conference Planning Committee for feedback PRIOR to the final submission deadline date, January 12, 2024. This will allow submitters the opportunity to make edits to their submissions and resubmit for a better chance at being chosen.
The draft submission review process will be the same as the final submission review process. Round 1 reviewer’s, compiled of Avaya Product Experts and IAUG’s Content Committee, will review your submissions and will be able to provide you feedback. You will submit your draft submission through your speaker portal and the reviewers will review and provide feedback to you, through your speaker portal. All submission submitted by December 17th will be considered a draft submission. Anything submitted December 18th and beyond will not be considered for draft submission feedback.
The final review process will be as normal – you will submit your final submission through your speaker portal as well. The submissions will go through another round of review (or 2) on all final submissions. You will be notified if your submission has been accepted or declined by the end of February 2024.
We are tasked with creating a program filled with content that will be compelling, interesting, fresh, and actionable for attendees of Avaya ENGAGE®. We look for innovative formats, complete submissions, and unique perspectives. Submissions should not be repeats of presentations made elsewhere and anything that even smells a little bit like a sales pitch will not make it through the review process.
How do I increase my odds of getting selected?
Each year we receive more submissions than we can accept. While there are some repeat presenters, we do seek to ensure that the content is always relevant, compelling, and educational.
This year, we are trying to help you increase your odds of being selected by offering a draft submission deadline (December 17, 2023). Take advantage of the opportunity to submit your presentation before the final submissions are due, to receive feedback from the Conference Planning Committee and make edits to your submission before the final submission deadline.
Submission content should be well- thought out, complete, and unique. Tell your story – have you gone through an upgrade recently? What was your experience? Have a case study you want to share? We want to hear about it! Do not shy away from lively discussion—this is a forum for industry collaboration, and debates and out-of-the-box thinking are appreciated. Challenge the audience with unconventional thinking.
If you are a business partner submitting, consider including an Avaya Customer in your presentation if it makes sense.
Please note that we are planning conference for a smaller footprint and because of that, we will be selecting fewer sessions than we have in past years.
What are the main reasons sessions don’t get selected?
Believe it or not, the #1 reason is incomplete submissions—the session detail portion of the submission is the most important piece of the entire submission. Sales pitches are also extremely easy to spot, and we are quick to eliminate them from consideration.
We also get a lot of very similar submissions, with a limited number of sessions we can select we try to select the sessions and the presenters that we think best address the topic. And remember: Incomplete session submissions typically do not make the cut – make sure your submission has a well-thought-out title, abstract/description so that our reviewing team can have as much insight and detail as possible into your submission.
As a reminder, we are selecting less submissions this year due to a limited amount of space in the agenda. This plays a role is why some submissions do not get selected.
What resources does Avaya ENGAGE® offer to speakers?
We take great pride in creating a solid peer-to-peer educational offering. Our conferences provide you with the opportunity to network, connect, and collaborate with your peers in a setting unlike any other. Use this opportunity not only to share your own stories of success and challenges you’ve faced and overcome but also to inspire others who are currently in your same position.
Only PRIMARY speakers will be provided with a full conference pass.
How are session details determined?
Session details are determined by our Content Committee + Avaya Champions who spend an entire day strategically choosing and placing sessions where they will be best received by the conference audience. Our committee does their best to make sure tracks are not competing with other tracks (EX: 1-2 Government sessions against 5 Customer Experience Sessions and 5 Unified Communication Sessions). They also try to make sure there are not multiple of the same topic in each track.
Session details such as the date, time and room number of your session are subject to change leading up to the event. Please make sure to regularly check your speaker portal to view ALL of your session details.
How do I submit my proposal to become a speaker?
To begin your conference submission, click here. Please note this is a separate website from iaug.org thus your IAUG member information will not work. If you submitted for Avaya ENGAGE® before, you will have to still create a new login as we are using a new speaker management platform this year. Every submitter will be required to create a new account. Please reach out to speakers@iaug.org with any questions.
If you haven’t yet submitted your session abstract for review, please keep in mind these helpful tips:
- Focus on 1-2 key product components you would like to highlight
- Describe what product gap exists and how your presentation fills the gap. Ask yourself “how will I verbalize to the audience how to fill the gap”.
- Remember to set the stage.