WEBCAST
HOW TO FOSTER SUCCESSFUL DEVELOPER RELATIONS AT EVENTS?
WITH TALKS BY FLOOR DREES AND WESLEY FAULKNER
TL;DR
HOW TO FOSTER SUCCESSFUL DEVELOPER RELATIONS AT EVENTS? CAN YOU PLAN FOR THIS? HOW TO OVERCOME THE AWKWARDNESS OF NETWORKING?
In this webcast, Floor Drees, Wesley Faulkner, and the Devrellers community explore how to plan for, initiate, and nurture successful (developer) relations at events.
Floor shares strategies for setting yourself up for DevRel success through effective preparation, while Wesley offers insights on overcoming the awkwardness of networking. After their talks, Floor and Wesley answer questions and engage in discussions with the Devrellers community.
WATCH
HOW TO INITIATE AND NURTURE SUCCESSFUL DEVELOPER RELATIONS AT EVENTS?
This webcast was produced by the devrellers meetup and recorded in November 2023.
TRANSCRIPT
DEVRELLERS MEETUP EXPLORING HOW TO INITIATE AND NURTURE SUCCESSFUL DEVELOPER RELATIONS AT EVENTS.
TALK SUMMARIES
TALK 1: KBYG: SETTING UP DEVREL FOR SUCCESS, BY FLOOR DREES
Earlier this year, I transitioned from the DevRel team at Aiven to the Community team. While my reporting line, responsibilities (or OKRs), and day-to-day tasks have changed somewhat, my approach to event engagement has not. In fact, my current role is ideal for influencing others to be more intentional about their conference visits.
I'd like to share how I (help my colleagues) prepare for events, the know-before-you-go (schedule building, scheduling appointments), how to stick to the plan of attack, and how to complete the activity with a trip report and follow ups. I'll share slides and templates so that you can try for yourself, but be aware that my level of planning is not for the faint of heart.
TALK 2: GETTING THROUGH THE AWKWARDNESS OF NETWORKING, BY WESLEY FAULKNER
There's a lot about modern networking that we all should un-learn. Showing off your knowledge and targeting the "important" connections is the wrong approach. If you genuinely want to be an effective networker, you have to shift away from looking at these interactions as transactional. That said, it's still hard to find people to talk to, and even harder to know how to start up a conversation. I'll give you tips that will help you work through those issues and ultimately make you more comfortable in new spaces with new people. You'll come away from this presentation with advice you can put to use immediately.
SPEAKERS & CONTRIBUTORS
TALKS BY FLOOR DREES AND WESLEY FAULKNER, FACILITATED BY SARAH GRUNEISEN AND WENDY DEVOLDER
Floor is an art school graduate who stumbled into tech face-first. Currently Head of Education at Tembo, she previously worked in DevRel and Developer Community roles at Aiven, Grafana Labs, and Microsoft. Floor is a Devopsdays Core member and organizes the Devopsdays Amsterdam and Eindhoven conferences. She also knows way too much about dinosaurs and chickens.
Wesley is a podcaster, public speaker, and advocate for social change with a background in technology, having worked at companies like AMD, Atlassian, Dell, IBM, and MongoDB. He co-hosts two podcasts: Community Pulse, exploring the challenges of community building in Developer Relations, and Radical Respect on creating inclusive and equitable workplaces. Wesley is passionate about racial justice, workplace equity, and neurodiversity.
Sarah Gruneisen is a leadership coach and catalyst for real, lasting transformation. She empowers individuals to unlock their hidden potential and become legendary leaders. In a world where authenticity often takes a backseat, Sarah guides clients to embrace their unique path to powerful leadership. Join her in igniting your potential and achieving transformative growth.
Wendy Devolder is a strategy consultant at DEVRELLA, the developer marketing agency for B2D startups. She helps marketing teams and founders of tech startups attract and engage ideal adopters, drive successful adoption, and foster loyalty and advocacy for their solutions and brand. Wendy also organises the DevRellers Meetup, and regularly shares her developer marketing expertise in guides and blogs.
