> At conferences I've attended I think it's extremely rare to have a speaker be compensated (maybe outside of the cost of flights/hotels)
Flights, hotels, and tickets are all compensation and what I was referring to. These conferences are all open to newer speakers.
> Also, it's more than reasonable to expect someone to rehearse,
Apparently not, judging by comments.
> but I don't think there is any substitute for the real thing.
But you don't need to go from not speaking to speaking at a conference. There are many other steps in between where you can get experience in public speaking.
Flights, hotels, and tickets are all compensation and what I was referring to. These conferences are all open to newer speakers.
> Also, it's more than reasonable to expect someone to rehearse,
Apparently not, judging by comments.
> but I don't think there is any substitute for the real thing.
But you don't need to go from not speaking to speaking at a conference. There are many other steps in between where you can get experience in public speaking.