Episode 1 - Why Present at Slate Summit?

Thinking about presenting at Slate Summit but not sure where to start? In this kickoff episode, Megan sits down with longtime presenter Trevor Kingsley to pull back the curtain on how talks come together and why sharing your work matters more than you think. It’s a candid, sleeves-rolled-up conversation about choosing a topic that helps Slaters shape a clear story and learning from the inevitable “wish we’d known that sooner” moments. If presenting has been on your “someday” list, this is the friendly nudge to move it to “this year.”

💡Key Takeaways
The question we’re answering in this episode is why you should consider presenting as part of Slate Summit. To start, there are a ton of reasons you should consider presenting.

1. Contributing to the Community: Sharing your experiences, successes, and even failures can benefit the wider Slate community by helping others avoid common pitfalls and inspiring them to explore new ideas. In addition, presenting provides a platform to share insights, best practices, and innovative solutions related to Slate. It's an opportunity to contribute to the collective knowledge of the field and help others improve their processes.

2. Networking: Summit brings together professionals from various institutions and backgrounds. Presenting allows you to connect with colleagues, industry experts, and potential collaborators. These connections can lead to valuable partnerships, collaborations, and future opportunities. In addition, presenting demonstrates your expertise and thought leadership within the field. It can elevate your professional profile and position you as a knowledgeable and influential figure in the higher education.

3. Institutional Exposure: For your institution, presenting at Slate Summit can showcase the innovative approaches and technologies being employed in your admissions/advancement/student success processes. This can enhance your institution's reputation and attract attention from prospective students, partners, and other stakeholders. 

4. Feedback and Validation: Presenting your work to the Slate user community allows you to receive valuable feedback and insights. This feedback can help you refine your ideas, improve your solutions, and validate the effectiveness of your strategies.

5. Professional Development: Preparing and delivering a presentation enhances your public speaking, communication, and organizational skills. It also pushes you to stay current with the latest trends and developments with Slate, contributing to your continuous professional growth. The process of preparing a presentation forces you to dive deep into your topic, research thoroughly, and organize your thoughts. 

We hope the conversation with Trevor inspired you to consider presenting this year or in the future!

🔗Connect with Megan LinkedIn | Slack | Slate Community (🔐 requires Slate login)
🔗Connect with Trevor LinkedIn | Slack | Slate Community (🔐 requires Slate login)

🔎Trevor Kingsley's Slate Summit Presentations

• Nth Time’s a Charm for International Admissions Workflows (and Beyond): Continuously Improving the International Admissions Process from Application through the I-20/Visa process (and Beyond!) - Keith Gallinelli & Trevor Kingsley (🔐 requires login)
• From Application Cloning to Custom Copying: How to Build and Automate Your Process - Michael Bendorf & Trevor Kingsley (🔐 requires login)