Community &
Presenter Guidelines
Audio Buffer is a space to bridge the gap between academic theory and the gritty reality of releasing audio products. Whether you are in the audience or up on stage, our goal is to tear down the "black box" of audio development and foster a transparent, workshop-style environment.
To keep our sessions valuable, constructive, and focused on actual development, we ask all participants and prospective presenters to follow these guidelines.
For Prospective Presenters
We welcome submissions from students, seasoned developers, sound designers, and creative technologists. To maintain the hands-on nature of our meet-up, all presenters must have realised or prototyped their idea. You need to have some form of audio application or hardware prototype with a working code structure to show.
Thematic Curation & Student Flexibility
Each session is built around a core concept. We curate events by selecting presenters whose work directly contributes to that specific topic. Themes are chosen based on the pool of submitted ideas and a desire to emphasise new technological achievements. By scheduling related submissions together, we create a cohesive, focused event.
Note: Student presenters are given more flexibility regarding the topic and do not need to strictly align with the session's main theme.
✓What to do
- Bring a working prototype. Share the structure of your work, your insights, the development experience achieved, and the network or technical approach behind the process.
- Use slides to organise and archive. Walk us through your workflow, visual materials, and technical choices. Each event gets a dedicated webpage where presentations are archived at audiobuffer.co.uk.
- Show us under the hood. Focus on the process, the architecture, and the logic beneath the surface of your working application.
- Share the struggle. Talk about the hurdles, the bugs, and the compromises you had to make. Showing how you navigated a roadblock is incredibly valuable to the community.
- Embrace the work-in-progress. No polish required. Bringing an unfinished but functional prototype for candid, expert feedback is highly encouraged.
- Bridge theory and reality. You are welcome to present academic concepts — but show us how you translated them into a tool.
✕What not to do
- No "ideas only" pitches. Please do not submit pure concepts or unbuilt ideas. If you haven't started writing the code yet, save it for a future session once you have a functional prototype.
- No marketing pitches. This is a developer meetup, not a product launch. Do not pitch a finished product just to drive awareness. We care about how you built it.
- Don't hide the messy parts. Avoid glossing over technical details to make the project look effortless. We are here to learn from the grit and the problem-solving.
- Don't overstay your slot. Time limits are strict to ensure enough room for Q&A, student reviews, and open discussion. Keep your presentation focused and punchy.
For All Participants & Attendees
Audio Buffer relies on an engaged, respectful, and highly interactive audience.
✓What to do
- Give candid, constructive feedback. When we do live "Code & UI" reviews, be honest but helpful. Offer actionable suggestions, alternative tech stacks, or creative solutions to the presenter's problems.
- Ask the "how" and "why". Dig into the technical choices. Ask why they chose a specific method, algorithm, or design preference.
- Network and collaborate. Use the physical space to connect. Talk to the students, introduce yourself to the presenters, and find people to build with.
✕What not to do
- No gatekeeping. We have a wide range of skill levels in the room — from university students to industry veterans. Avoid talking down to beginners or dismissing tools and languages you don't personally use.
- Don't monopolise the Q&A. Keep your questions concise so that everyone has a chance to participate. If you have a deep, hyper-specific technical debate, save it for the networking break!
Ready to present? Get in touch.
Submit a talk →