Ben Pearce (00:01.496)
Hi everyone and welcome to the Tech World Human Skills Podcast. Thanks for listening. It is wonderful to have you with us. Now, today we're talking about a topic very close to my heart. Big tech conferences. I love them. The things you can learn, the people you meet, the things you can give back. So today we're gonna peek behind the curtain of one of the UK's
biggest conferences, Tech Show London. We'll peek behind the curtain, see how it works and learn how you can be successful speaking at conferences. Now, our guest today knows what she is talking about. She has worked for years in the conference industry and is senior content manager for Tech Show London. Please welcome to the show, Renika Jali. Ren, it is brilliant to have you with us.
Renuka Jhalli (01:01.452)
Hi Ben, hi. So lovely to be here. Thank you for having me.
Ben Pearce (01:05.224)
The pleasure is all ours. It is really wonderful to have you with us. Now, for all of our lovely listeners out there, could you introduce yourself and tell us a bit about your background?
Renuka Jhalli (01:16.862)
Absolutely. Hi, so I'm Renika Jali.
I am, as Ben said, the Senior Content Manager for Tech Show London, which is the largest gathering of technology professionals in the UK. It's next taking place 4th and 5th of March, 2026 at London Excel. It's part of a global portfolio. Actually, the event takes place in Paris, Madrid, Singapore and Frankfurt across the year. And I'm the producer of the conference. I produce 15 to 16 stages and take care of over 500
speakers and have a fantastic job of enabling people to speak on brilliant stages.
Ben Pearce (01:57.295)
It's such an interesting job that you've got and we met I think a couple of years ago when I just you guys did a call for papers I just started my business
and I suggested a session and you guys very kindly gave me the opportunity to get on one of your stages. And then we've continued working with each other for the last couple of years on Tech Show London and hopefully continuing to work together for Tech Show London 2026. So, full disclosure, we've worked together and hopefully we'll continue to work together going forward.
Renuka Jhalli (02:34.732)
Absolutely. Yeah, that's how we met Ben, isn't it? So you had applied via our call for papers. You submitted this really great pitch, actually. I remember reading it thinking, this is different. This is exciting. I've got to get this person on our stage. And then you were hosting our Cloud and AI Infrastructure Keynote stage this year.
Ben Pearce (02:59.394)
I was.
Renuka Jhalli (03:00.42)
And yeah, and you did that last year also. was brilliant. It's been wonderful working with you.
Ben Pearce (03:05.952)
Yeah, well, thank you. Thank you very much. I shall take that compliment. Thank you now Enough enough of our background. Let's let's get onto the onto the show a little bit now for people that haven't been to tech show london I mean a lot have but for people that haven't been to tech show london Can you kind of set the scene and tell us a little bit what it's like?
Renuka Jhalli (03:27.606)
Sure. So it's a large conference and exhibition which takes place all on one floor with five co-located shows. So the five shows are Cloud and AI Infrastructure, DevOps Live.
Cloud and Cyber Security Expo, Data Center World, and Big Data and AI World. What it is, is basically a cluster of five different environments that represent all the disciplines in technology. So you see the full stack of tech here at this show. And that's what's unique to Tech Show, the brand as a whole across the world, is that it's a showcase of the entire tech environment and an inclusive environment for everybody at all levels of tech to come.
browse the industry, browse what's available to them, to meet with peers, to learn, to network, to grow. And a really bustling high energy environment. for our London show, have approximately 20,000 attendees and it is the largest in the country. So it's vibrant, it's busy, it's energetic, and there's so much going on. It's become very quickly that sort of flagship show that's in everybody's diaries. It's just a brilliant experience.
Ben Pearce (04:43.886)
And I love it. So when I think about the show and I'm sort of remembering in my mind last year, at one end, you've got like the data center. So literally you've got these massive stands with like cooling equipment and security fences and cabling and like literally that the real infrastructure, physical infrastructure of data centers. And then it goes right through, you know, so right there, the other end, completely abstracted AI, then SecOps, all these kinds of things as well, all in one kind of show, which is brilliant.
And then also loads of stages, haven't you? You've got lots of stages throughout the show talking on all kinds of topics.
Renuka Jhalli (05:21.748)
Absolutely. Yes, it's exactly that. It's a showcase of everything in tech. you get to see the traditional side of technology with the machinery, as you mentioned, calling systems and the like, and the real sort of heart of where everything happens right through to the future, to AI, to what's next. And to your point, also, there are several stages. So there's 15, sometimes 16 stages, which are
all dedicated to each area of the show, as well as a central main stage, which hosts these fantastic celebrities. So we sort of cover everything topic wise from, like I say, that sort of traditional side of technology and where everything began, you know, the sort of heart of tech writing data centers right through to what people need to be looking out for for the future. And there's so many different mindsets that come together who are techies as well as strategists, as well as futurists.
So it's exactly that, yeah, it's a showcase of absolutely everything.
Ben Pearce (06:26.83)
And so how does the show work? Because it's a free ticket, isn't it, event, isn't it? So it's free ticket. How does the show work?
Renuka Jhalli (06:34.996)
Yes, exactly. It's a free to attend event, obviously for qualifying professionals who are working in the tech space, maybe for an end user business, perhaps they're in healthcare, education, finance, open to all sectors. You just apply online when the registration to attend is open and apply for your ticket, essentially. Come with your team. Most companies, they tend to come sort of with a cluster of their tech.
specialists from the developers right up to C-suite so they come together as a team and they can explore new opportunities, new ideas and yeah and then network with people who are in similar situations to themselves maybe in different industries. Yes you just apply online it's really that easy.
Ben Pearce (07:20.334)
Well, I think let's start to talk about the speaker side because I think that's what's really interesting for people. Maybe we could start off with a bit of a chat about the benefits of speaking at events and why people might want to speak at events. And then maybe we can get onto how you get chosen and some mechanics on how you do really well at those sorts of events as well. But why would people want to be speakers at this event?
Renuka Jhalli (07:48.748)
Well, I think the truth is that we're in such a fast paced environment that most people don't really have the answers and we're trying to keep at pace. And it's important for people to come together and share their experience and share their ideas and learn from each other and get a real sense of the fact that they're not actually alone.
in not knowing the answers, not knowing what to do. So I think the importance of speaking at events is to speak to that piece, the fact that people don't know and they need to know. So if you have ideas, there's a whole market of people out there who really need to hear from you. It's about supporting, supporting your community and...
giving back, suppose, because, you know, I talked to people who have climbed their way up from having never spoken at events to being professional speakers. And they all started once upon a time as this person who was just trying to figure out some part of the tech stack they were dealing with, and they needed help outside of their department. They needed to go to some sort of expert or at least to just feel like they're someone in the same boat as them. So
Speaking is very much about giving to that community. It's speaking to somebody just like you, giving them exactly what you need. So yeah, I think it's exactly that piece. It's about giving back.
Ben Pearce (09:20.226)
Yeah.
Ben Pearce (09:23.68)
It is and I love it. I personally love to help people and so it's lovely to have a platform to be able to help a number of people on a perhaps a cutting edge topic or something like that. So I love that giving back piece. That's a huge part of it. Can I give my perspective and also be really selfish as well? I think it's a wonderful opportunity to build your reputation.
And it's interesting, I was listening to some hiring a podcast and hiring with on a pre-sales podcast just the other day. And they were talking about how to get hired and the reality of just sending in CVs and AI is just filtering them all out keyword. And basically the challenge of getting hired. And what they were talking about is if you have an industry reputation.
then you will be more successful in your career, in applying for jobs, getting to know people, building your network. And that's the other thing that I think tech conferences do so well, is they give you a platform to build your reputation as an expert in X and that you're willing to help people and also meet people with a similar mindset. So not only is it wonderful to give back, and I'm a huge advocate of that, but also it's a huge opportunity.
to build your reputation, which will help you in so many ways, I think, in your career.
Renuka Jhalli (10:46.828)
Absolutely, absolutely. Yeah, it's absolutely an opportunity to develop your career, to build yourself, to gain recognition, to become an expert in your field. It's such an enabler, the speaking platform. I mean, I see people who've just shot up from sort of not being known, not being seen to suddenly being able to command huge fees to be on a stage.
And that's what they do full time, no longer working for businesses, no longer doing the techie stuff, but in fact, overseeing other people as they're doing it and then inspiring them to move towards some sort of cultural shift or some sort of new innovation. So absolutely, you know, the speaking platform could be such a game changer for anyone who's looking to develop their career.
Ben Pearce (11:41.455)
Okay, so let's imagine somebody's listening to this, they're like, okay, I get it, I wanna get on the stage, I wanna help enhance my reputation. Let's give them a bit of a behind the scenes. How do you choose your speakers? So what tips have you got to help people get chosen?
Renuka Jhalli (12:00.638)
Well, I think it's a little bit like what I said with yourself, Ben. When you applied via the call for papers, which by the way goes live at a certain time on the website, anybody could go onto the website and just apply. The pitch that you gave was something that was different from a lot of the talks that are out there in the industry. It had a lot of storytelling behind it. There was this real sense before I'd even met you that Ben is a really vibrant person.
is willing to give back to the community in a big way, is quite inspiring. I think the main thing is, you know, what have you got to say that's different from other people? And how can other people be moved by you in what you say? So what I say to people is, you know, go by the means, put your call for papers out there, put your applications out there and have a think about what's distinguished about.
distinguishable about you that you wanna put forward.
Ben Pearce (13:04.038)
And so what are those sorts of topics? So I guess the sorts of topics that you're going to be looking for are they're going to be relevant topics that people would want to see with maybe a unique experience or unique perspective on it? I mean, are those the sorts of things?
Renuka Jhalli (13:24.908)
Absolutely. I mean, we look, of course, for uniqueness. I think the other thing, though, is that it's got to speak to the audience. It's got to speak to real day-to-day needs. So, you know, if you're somebody, for example, who's working on data engineering and you and your own team have come up with a new initiative for cost efficiency or to speed things up, you've got a bright idea and you're feeling like, actually,
other people may be in the same situation as me that would love to do what I'm now doing and they just need to know the tricks of the trade that I've learned. A story like that would land on me and I will go, I've got a hundred other data engineers who are struggling to speed things up and save money. So this talk is absolutely relevant to them. So I guess it's...
on the one hand, thinking about what's unique and what's different, but on the other hand, what speaks exactly to that audience? And the best way to understand that is just have a look at yourself and think of yourself and what's distinguishable about what you're doing. And imagine that there's a hundred people just like you that need to know the things that you've learned. And if you're confident enough to just put that forward, I can almost guarantee it will be on a stage because that is the sort of stuff that needs to be heard.
Ben Pearce (14:51.596)
Yeah, and from my experience, it can often be a lot simpler than a lot simpler topic than you think. I remember the first when I started doing a lot of tech conference speaking on the more of the tech side, the first topics I talked about were basically there was a technology PowerShell that came out years and years ago and I learnt it. I was one of the early adopters of learning it.
I wasn't that great at it, but I was just a bit ahead of everybody else because I'd started earlier and all I did was I shared my learning, right? This is how I learnt to use this new technology. It wasn't that I crafted some wonderful, deep, supremely complex thing. was just probably everybody else is in the same boat. Is this new technology? They're trying to figure out how to use it. I can probably share what I've learnt, the mistakes I've made. And it was as simple as that. But just by doing that very simple thing, actually that
got me noticed by the product group, the people that own that product that then said, come and talk at this conference and come and do these things. So it was just by putting out there, out into the ether, things that would help other people that were really simple, not particularly complicated, but just relevant and interesting and helpful.
Renuka Jhalli (16:07.05)
Yes, exactly that relevant, interesting, helpful. Yeah, those are the main things really. And I think, I think sometimes people overthink because maybe they're downplaying the value of their ideas.
Ben Pearce (16:19.553)
Yeah.
Renuka Jhalli (16:20.394)
you know, thinking, well, this is too simple. No one's going to want to know that. I'm not going to put this forward as a pitch to speak at, you know, the UK's biggest show because it's just, it's basic. But actually it's, a lot of it is when it comes to speaking is how you deliver that. So when you're speaking on simple points and simple ideas, but with lots of passion and lots of character.
people engage with you and they absorb what you're saying. And it may well be the very thing that sticks with them more than somebody else who's got some really complex idea that they didn't quite engage with. So yeah, it's exactly that, It's really, just committing to what you believe in and just going with it, even if it is a really simple idea.
Ben Pearce (17:08.844)
so then so I guess the reality is they then submit this call for papers so you need a reasonably punchy title you know that sort of tells people what it is maybe a bit interesting doesn't go on forever the title and then you've then just got this paragraph haven't you like a few a few hundred words maybe where you pop in this is what we'll be covering this is what people people will get from it so those need to be fairly good fairly punchy now I may have heard this from some other
conference folks that I know in the community. How about AI and getting that to help you create those things? Is this helpful? you getting stuff that's obviously just AI generated and a bit bland or what's that like?
Renuka Jhalli (17:47.318)
Thank
gosh. Look, if you're going to use AI, just use AI. It doesn't matter. What a producer is looking at is the context and the value of that discussion to their audience. And of course a punchy headline and good writing is important, especially to capture them in the first instance. But a good producer also will...
try to look beyond that and feel the context of that conversation. So a lot of the time, I'm not using AI. I'm going with my gut instinct and writing things myself and working with the speakers to try to produce something that's very authentic and very natural. So punchy headlines, great writing is great.
And we're in an era now where yes, you don't have to be a great writer. You can just use AI for everything. But also, don't forget that a good producer on the other side is looking at you and what's in your heart and what you're most passionate about because you wanna bring that to life in a way that's very human, right? And so remember...
that whatever it is that you're submitting, that you need to sort of showcase a bit of yourself as well.
Ben Pearce (19:12.47)
Yeah, yeah, okay. So maybe use AI to polish, help you get it the right length, make it punchy. But the perspective has got to be unique. It can't just be that bland. These are the three points that everybody's gonna say on this topic or that the AI is gonna generate from you. Create me a topic on speaking on big data. That is not gonna be as interesting as somebody that's going, actually, I've deployed this to a thousand people.
these are the mistakes we've had and these are the things that we've learned. That's going to be unique and so wrap that round with good AI writing but still come from a place of authenticity.
Renuka Jhalli (19:50.22)
Absolutely that. Yes, being authentic is the most important thing. I that's what I see with all of our speakers, especially the main stage speakers, some of the celebrity headliners we've had. They're so brilliantly authentic. So yeah, it's exactly that.
Ben Pearce (20:04.68)
So I'm really intrigued by those main stage speakers. Let's come back to those in a second because one last thing I'm just thinking is so somebody submitted their call for papers, they've done that bit, do you then go and then go this person has submitted, first thing I'm going to do I'm going to check him out on LinkedIn or I'm going to check him out on, is that the sort of thing that you do or do you take that as a standalone application?
Renuka Jhalli (20:27.66)
We absolutely like to check everybody out. We we want to see the portfolio of that person. We want to understand them. We want to understand their career background, where they're working. We want to sense as well of kind of what they've had to deal with. So if somebody's had a past of large scale businesses and now they're in a new startup or something, we want to see that there's a lot to them that they're bringing in terms of experience. So.
We'll always go on LinkedIn, see their profile or if they've submitted a CV or any other sort of speaker profile, we'll absolutely be having a look at that. And then the next thing will be to have a call with them. So there's a good sort of three, sometimes four steps before we're making a final decision where we're really investing time in getting to know that person essentially. And it's to all the points that I just mentioned, we want to see their personality, the character, how they talk and what they're passionate about. And then
I guess the decision in the end is sort of based on the relevance to that audience and how well we can kind of work together to get it right.
Ben Pearce (21:38.447)
Brilliant. Let's talk about the main stage, because I think the way you've set it up is you've got your main stage, which is where you have your professional celebrity, shall we say, type speakers. And I know I've seen, I think Professor Brian Cox, I think I've seen there. I think I've seen the founder of Shazam. I've forgotten his name now. He was there last. Yeah, Chris Barton. Yeah, so I've seen Professor Brian Cox, Chris Barton. So that's your main stage.
Renuka Jhalli (22:00.332)
Chris Barton. Yeah.
Ben Pearce (22:06.614)
And then you've got lots of keynote stages which tend to be more people from the industry, I would say, thought leaders and technical folks that are out on those slightly smaller, still pretty big stages that are around. Can we start off on the main stage? Because that's where, you your very biggest stage where you get your highest profile, most accomplished speakers there.
What was it like working with them? And so what have you learned from working with these sort professional speakers?
Renuka Jhalli (22:38.462)
I can't tell you, Ben, I love, I absolutely love my job, I think for this reason. Because it's just fascinating to have a call with people like, for example, like Chris Barton, who founded Shazam. It was like speaking with someone who's just almost like not on this planet because he's so inspirational, it's so driven.
Ben Pearce (22:59.384)
Really.
Renuka Jhalli (23:03.668)
to overcome obstacles and so passionate about what he does. It's the experience of sort of kind of being the observer to people who had an idea and just went with it all the way, took it as far as they could to creating something that the world really needed that it didn't have once upon a time.
it's the experience of seeing people as well who are sort of not bogged down by sort of small things. They're always thinking big. And then to talk with them about speaking and how to position a talk or, you know, how to give their messaging in on a main stage. It's almost, if anything, I think...
I'm sort of learning from them. And what I find is, and I hope that this is inspiration for anyone who's sort of just coming into the world of speaking or thinking, like, could I be on a main stage one day? That there's nothing so distinguishable about them that's different from anyone other than they had an idea and they just never gave up on talking about it.
Ben Pearce (24:01.91)
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Renuka Jhalli (24:24.69)
and they don't just talk about that idea on stages, they talk about it at lunchtime, they talk about it to their friends, they talk about it all the time. It's in their mind all the time. yeah, it's like, it's such a great experience to sort of, you know, be witness to people like this, who've got just the...
Ben Pearce (24:42.038)
And so it's actually that they're really passionate about this thing, whatever it might be, astronomy, if you're Brian Cox or letting people find what song is playing in the bar that they're in, if yours does have, but they're really passionate about that thing that they're doing. And they tell you, I guess, the story in a way that only they can. And when I say story, I mean, they just tell them their experience of what happened, how it was, what happened to them.
in a way that only they can so it's just kind of their unique view of the world that is so so interesting and and they just happen to be doing it on a stage in front of hundreds of people, of thousands of people
Renuka Jhalli (25:23.688)
Exactly that. Yes, it's exactly that. Yeah, that's what it is. It's storytelling, isn't it? And that's what makes a great speaker, but it's not just them doing that on stages, as I say. Like, they're doing that all the time. So Chris Barton was telling his story of Shazam a million times before he ever got to a stage, you know? So, yeah, and there's something about storytelling, isn't there? That's just so fascinating.
Ben Pearce (25:50.583)
Yeah, yeah. So that's like your main stage where you, like I say, you get these celebrity big speakers where I've spoken and where a lot of other people might speak. Certainly to begin with, would be on some of these keynote stages that you've got out on the show floor. Have you got any advice from maybe the sessions that you've seen that are brilliant?
maybe the sessions that you've seen that weren't so brilliant, you know, and from all of your years of doing this, so that once people get selected to come and speak, how they can really nail it and just do a good job.
Renuka Jhalli (26:30.582)
Yeah, I think it's a lot of what we've mentioned already is sort of to be good is to really be sort of authentic, passionate, tell a story in a way that's very real and be entirely relevant to the audience. So think of them like they're just you, you know, with the same problems as you, they're needing the same solutions as you.
Be as down to earth as possible and as approachable as possible. Be interactive. You know, even if it's so much as raising your hand on the stage and asking people to engage with you physically, you know, those little things, those gestures, that sense of kind of oneness between the speaker and the audience is what makes a great session. I think what's not so great is where you're feeling
Like as an audience member, this person isn't really here for me. This person might just be trying to sell me something or, you know, talking about their product, talking about their something or, you know, or feeling like they just need to get through these slides and there isn't any real human interaction as such. There isn't this two way conversation and there isn't this sense of authenticity and vulnerability. When that's gone, you know, the audience are gone.
Ben Pearce (27:36.174)
Okay.
Renuka Jhalli (27:57.088)
they won't engage anymore. So absolutely, be as authentic as you can and as real and as kind one with the audience as you can.
Ben Pearce (28:05.58)
Yeah, I think, you know, when I sort of think about it, I sort of go, first thing is you've got to be relevant and valuable, you know, and that's the first thing. And you can research that before because you can sort of think, right, who are these people that are going to be in here? They're going to be fellow technologists, tech leaders, maybe there's going to be some senior leaders as well in there. But we've got these bunch of people that are working in the tech sector.
what's valuable to them and I find often that's a bit easier to empathize with because that's the sector we work in. That's the great thing about doing a focus tech show as opposed to a very generic thing. So I always think, can you be really relevant and can you be valuable? Then I was fine if you can create some sort of compelling content, know, so what is that unique perspective you've got? What's that story of the thing that went wrong that you could tell nicely? Can we do some slides that aren't all just death by PowerPoint?
those typical things that you've just seen. So how can you create some compelling content that's really interesting or a demo that's pretty exciting and shows something really interesting? And then this is then the other, so I always think, right, be relevant, have great content. And then the other thing is how not to choke. Like when you get on that stage and there's hundreds of people sat there looking at you and you're like,
Renuka Jhalli (29:00.598)
Yeah.
Ben Pearce (29:27.374)
Flippin' heck, right, this is a bit more nerve wracking than I thought it was gonna be. So sort of having that presence of mind and being able to control your nerves a little bit so you're able to deliver the things that you planned to deliver and not have a freak out on stage. Those are sort of the areas that I always tend to think about.
Renuka Jhalli (29:35.596)
Thank
Renuka Jhalli (29:45.132)
Yeah, absolutely. It's for everyone to think about for sure. Yeah, no, don't freak out on stage. Look, I don't want anyone to overthink. I want all of my speakers to go on knowing that they can't get it wrong. They're just talking to people who are just like them. And I think it's important to remember that piece, that no one's got it right. No one knows more than you.
Ben Pearce (29:48.174)
Hahaha
Renuka Jhalli (30:15.166)
No one is expecting you to be, know, give all the answers to all of their problems. It's really, it's about people just want to connect, don't they? Yeah, they want connection.
Ben Pearce (30:23.906)
Yeah, yeah, yeah and they do and you know what there's such interesting things I mean so I'm just thinking if I think about back over my podcast now over the last few months I have done loads of episodes with people from tech show London so I hope I'm not going to miss anybody out now because I'm just sort of thinking through I did a great one with Itai all about AI so zero knowledge threat actors which was just brilliant which was Itai
telling all of these stories about AI hacking basically and the future of hacking and the way he told it to your point about stories was just brilliant. I think we had Oliver Cronk on who was also I met at Tech Show London doing the darker side of tech we were talking about the energy consumption of AI and you know how much energy it really takes when you do one of those novelty little AI things and well you know the reality of that and that was really fascinating and I think just the last one was
James Freed who was talking about why why the NHS why projects in the NHS fail and why so many digital projects fail and brought it to life with the reality of of the projects that he'd been through and what worked and what you know so I found your show if nothing else a great source of finding really interesting people from my podcast but it kind of gives that flavour of these people that have got interesting perspectives want to share the story want to give back
and are just so compelling to listen to.
Renuka Jhalli (31:53.972)
it's absolutely that. Isn't it amazing, know, when you're in a room with 20,000 people, all in the same industry as you, all in the same boat as you essentially in some way, you know, get gems from everywhere, don't you? And you've mentioned that there's so many different stages. There's so many different mindsets here and so many different voices with all different perspectives as well on the industry that...
other people need to hear because it's that, it's when you talk to people and when you hear different points of view and you hear the stories that you start to change, you start to grow, you start to go back to work thinking, hmm, maybe I can do something different here because you feel inspired because you've just kind of just connected with something that was different from what you were already doing.
Ben Pearce (32:38.05)
Yeah. Yeah.
Ben Pearce (32:46.014)
Yeah. Ren, I've just looked at the clock and sadly we are rapidly running out of time. Maybe we could just sort of summarise a little bit. What would be your key takeaways from this episode for people?
Renuka Jhalli (33:01.078)
Key takeaways. Well, I would say that if you are new to the world of speaking at a technology event, don't hesitate. Apply. Apply to Tech Show London. Please, I want to see you. I want to hear your ideas. Come to the call for papers online and just submit an idea. Even if you've never spoken before, just share your idea and don't be afraid. I would say also that if you are a speaker, that...
The top tips for success are number one, to be authentic, to be vulnerable, and to be interactive. That's what will make a great session. And yeah, think the other thing I would say is, you know, like those main stages, if you've got some idea you're really passionate about, talk about it. Don't just talk about it on stages, talk about it everywhere. Talk about it over lunch, talk about it with your friends, find people.
who wanna listen to you and just speak. And that's what will make you a great speaker.
Ben Pearce (34:05.944)
Yeah. And I think from my perspective, as I reflect back, I think what you just said there, we need new speakers. It's the same old people like me doing it again and again and again. And we need that diversity of thought, those different perspectives, those people earlier in career as well coming along, as well as some of the more seasoned long in the tooth folks. So I just really, I'd love to see as many people applying as we possibly could. It'd be brilliant to hear from people.
And then I just really like the idea of showing that unique perspective, know, sharing those war stories that only you personally have got. That's just, you know, that's what I love to hear. And that's why I love to hear from these people. So to get some new perspectives showing the experience that they've got would just be brilliant. And then just think selfishly as well as giving back, which is brilliant. I am a massive fan of that. It's also a great way to build your career.
help you with future jobs, strengthen your network, all of those kinds of stuff. So yeah it's a wonderful opportunity. So if people are interested in this can you remind us when is the show, when are the call for papers, where do people go, all of those sorts of things.
Renuka Jhalli (35:24.268)
Absolutely. So the show is 4th and 5th of March, 2026 at London Excel. That's the next edition of Tech Show London. And if you're looking to apply as a speaker, then the call for papers will be open around September time. Just jump online, apply, submit your ideas, as I mentioned. And similarly, there'll be a point where registration is live to attend as a delegate. So you just apply online for your tickets.
Ben Pearce (35:52.198)
And your main website to look for that? I'm not gonna guess at it because I'll get it wrong. I'm guessing it's got Tech Show London in it, but what's your main address?
Renuka Jhalli (35:58.508)
Yes, it's techshowlondon.co.uk.
Ben Pearce (36:02.86)
That's what I was gonna guess at and then I thought if I do I'll confuse people because I'll get it wrong and there'll be some cool acronym or it'll be something else. Right, okay, and I'll pop that in the show notes for everybody and also I guess you're on LinkedIn so people can reach out to you if they've got an idea or just want to chat a little bit about a potential great idea.
Renuka Jhalli (36:22.764)
Absolutely, I certainly am. Please do drop me a line. I want to hear from you.
Ben Pearce (36:27.404)
Well, Ren, it's been amazing. So I think the final thing for me to say is thank you so much for sharing with us your insight. It's such a unique perspective and I'm so glad that you agreed to come on the podcast. So thank you so much.
Renuka Jhalli (36:42.582)
Thank you, Ben. Thank you.
