WeAreDevelopers LIVE • Mar 13, 2024

From Gazelle to Pride Leader: The Path to Public Speaking in Tech

Public speaking is a developer's ultimate career cheat code. Conquer imposter syndrome, master the CFP process, and transform your anxiety into industry authority.

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#1 about 3 min

The fear of public speaking

Recognizing the physiological and psychological reasons behind glossophobia and performance anxiety.

#2 about 7 min

Overcoming past experiences and lack of role models

Moving past bad speaking experiences and addressing the challenge of finding diverse representation in tech events.

#3 about 6 min

The myth of not being technical enough

Why conference talks do not strictly require coding deep-dives or extreme technical details to be valuable.

#4 about 8 min

Building speaking skills through writing and community

Starting with blogging, internal training, mentorship, and local meetup involvement to steadily build confidence.

#5 about 7 min

Creating an incremental public speaking plan

Scaling up presentation length and audience size from brief sprint reviews to full conference slots.

#6 about 8 min

Finding and submitting to call for papers

Strategies for discovering potential formats and crafting effective talk abstracts for conference organizers.

#7 about 3 min

Preparing slide decks and practicing delivery

Designing clean slides that support rather than distract, while utilizing rehearsal techniques to improve delivery.

#8 about 2 min

Answering audience questions safely

Managing the Q&A segment smoothly, including admitting when an answer is unknown to avoid giving false information.

#9 about 2 min

How public speaking accelerates career growth

Leveraging presentation skills to connect with community, demonstrate expertise, and unlock new job opportunities.

#10 about 4 min

Q&A: The role of a developer advocate

Exploring the daily responsibilities of measuring content creation alongside community support.

#11 about 9 min

Q&A: Getting started in tech and finding career direction

Advice on building a portfolio, reaching out for mentorship, and intentionally evaluating next career steps.

#12 about 4 min

Q&A: Role models and navigating male-dominated environments

Dealing with a lack of gender diversity in technical environments and finding supportive allies to help scale representation.

Matching moments

1:32 min

Amplifying women in tech through confident public speaking

1:06 min

Overcoming extreme shyness and the fear of public speaking

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Francesco Ciulla · Coffee With Developers

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Overcoming introversion through public speaking in developer relations

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2:54 min

Transitioning from attendee to public speaker

Ramona Schwering

Ramona Schwering · LIVE

2:08 min

Gaining public speaking skills and entering developer relations

Jennifer Reif · LIVE

6:33 min

Managing physiological stress and stage fright at developer conferences

Chris Heilmann +2 · LIVE

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September 25, 2026 · 09:40–10:10

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Senior Staff Engineer at Airbnb

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World Congress 2026 North America

September 25, 2026 · 11:40–12:10

Stage 3

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VP of Engineering and Co-founder of Cogent Security

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World Congress 2026 North America

September 24, 2026 · 14:55–15:05

Outdoor Stage

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Steve Chen

Executive Director and Founder at Code & Coffee

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World Congress 2026 North America

September 25, 2026 · 12:55–13:25

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Head of Community, SAP

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September 25, 2026 · 16:30–16:40

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