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Seven reasons to present at Wave 2027
When the Wave 2027 featuring ESO Training Academy call for presentations hit your inbox, your knee-jerk reaction may have been, “Nah, that’s not for me. I don’t have time or anything to say.”
The response makes sense. You already spend your days making high-stakes decisions, navigating bureaucracy, or managing frontline crises. The last thing you think you need is to stand in front of a room full of peers, leadership, and strangers to talk about it.
But here is the truth: your experience is an asset. You’re a professional who gets things done, and this is a chance to prove it.
Read seven reasons why you should get over the nay-saying and submit a Wave 2027 proposal:
1. Own your expertise and genuine credibility
You don’t need a PhD or 30 years on the job to have something worth saying. Whether you’ve cracked the code on data interoperability, solved a persistent staffing headache, or learned a brutal lesson from a protocol overhaul, your team’s hard-won lessons only help other agencies when you share them.
If you fixed a pain point, saved time, responded to a trend, created an easy button, or led change, you are the expert on that solution. After the conference ends, your peers will remember your name when they need a reliable sounding board.
2. Get out of the daily grind
First responders and healthcare professionals spend their careers showing up on someone else’s worst day. At a conference, the environment is completely different.
The charts are already signed, the shift is covered, and you are only responsible for yourself. The adrenaline rush comes from stage lights in breakout sessions, not a radio tone – and that is a welcome change of pace for mind and body.
3. Build a network that matters
Hallway conversations are useful, but being on stage makes you an immediate focal point. You don’t have to work hard to break the ice; people will approach you to talk shop.
When those connections happen, make it easy to keep in touch:
- Keep physical business cards ready for traditional quick exchanges.
- Use digital contact cards (vCards) via SMS, AirDrop, or Android Quick Share to swap details in seconds.
- Take a picture of the attendee badge as a simple option.
These connections turn into joint research, task force invitations, or career-defining opportunities down the road. Post about your session on LinkedIn to keep the momentum rolling.
4. Upgrade your communication muscle
Translating complex operational or clinical data into a 45-minute narrative forces you to refine your thinking. Delivering that session live sharpens your ability to influence an audience, answer tough questions, and command a room. Kind of like you do in your daily work, eh?
Pro-tip: Respect your audience’s time. Nobody flew across the country to watch you read 40 slides word-for-word. Build a talk you’d actually want to sit through.
5. Get field-tested feedback
Every agency thinks their problems are unique until they put them in front of a room full of peers. Continuous improvement is standard practice in healthcare and emergency response, so your expectations for sharing ideas should be no different.
“We’re all practicing medicine,” notes Brad Cosgrove, EMS director and chief at Tower Direct. “You’re always honing your skills. You’re always trying to advance your capabilities or gain more knowledge.”
The Q&A session and post-presentation hallway chats can yield fresh perspectives or validation from agencies facing the exact same roadblocks. Feeback improves outcomes, even for a presentation.
6. Pay it forward
Presenting isn’t about you; it’s an act of service to the profession. Sharing your field-tested strategies, operational workarounds, and mistakes helps other agencies skip the trial-and-error phase and deliver better outcomes faster. Nobody wants to reinvent the wheel when you can hand over a prebuilt one.
Talking about ESO Wave conference, Phil Moy, MD, Medical Director for Mercy EMS and ARCH Air Methods, recalled, “Speakers will say, ‘This is what I’m doing with the data. You can do the same thing.’ It’s all about sharing that knowledge. Nobody is holding onto it.”
7. Enjoy the speaker perks
Beyond the professional prestige, speaking comes with tangible perks. Conference organizers value speakers who bring real substance and want to reward their time and effort. At Wave 2027, speakers receive a complimentary conference pass and one night covered at the JW Marriott. Think of it as a way to help stretch your agency’s travel budget further.
You work hard. Treat yourself.
Ready to Share Your Story? Submit Your WAVE 2027 Proposal
The call for presentations is open for WAVE 2027 featuring ESO Training Academy, taking place March 30 – April 1, 2027, in Austin, Texas.
Breakout sessions run 45 minutes, and organizations are welcome to submit multiple proposals and co-presenters. Don’t sit on your experiences – share your team’s hard work.
- Submission Deadline: November 30, 2026
- Format: 45-minute breakout sessions
- Note: Up to 5 proposals per organization
