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.

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