Speaker Notes

Speaking at conferences has changed the course of my life. Conferences are where I’ve met some of my best friends; they’ve taken me across the country and around the world; they’ve given me access to a network of people that means I’m never wanting for work or for guidance.

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

Do or do not. There is no try.
 — Yoda

Speakers, Take Care of Yourselves

From my experience, “conference season” seems to come twice a year: spring and fall (or fall and spring, if you’re in the southern hemisphere). It’s the perfect time of year to have a conference: the weather is generally the best it’s going to be (not too hot, not too…

Overcoming Stage Fright

Sweaty palms. A keen urge to pee despite plenty of visits to the restroom. Mixed martial artists sparring in my stomach. A shaky voice that sounds like I could cry at any moment. A flight instinct that wants to overpower fight.

Misfits Make Great Speakers

The number of women at tech conferences is growing, but we still represent a fraction of the attendees, not to mention the speakers. You may look around at a conference and say, “There aren’t a lot of people like me here.” But that’s not inherently a bad thing.

Asking For Help

The first web talk I ever gave took place in a little basement at a BarCamp in front of six or seven people. We chose the rooms we…

From Public Freaking To Public Speaking

For most of my life, my feelings about public speaking have bordered on phobic and I have avoided it like the plague. I’m not proud to admit this, but in college I once feigned food poisoning to avoid a mandatory presentation. My irrational fear of speaking to…

The Awesomeness of Meet-Ups

Many of us web designers tend to be a self-taught bunch. Most of our early career stories involve a lot of books, tutorials, and late nights of feverishly learning as much we could. For me, one of the biggest influences of my career was attending local meet-ups. As much as Google…

Make yourself comfortable

A few years ago, my six-year-old son invited a friend from school over for a play date. A few minutes before the boy was due to arrive, my husband and I got a call from the boy’s mother saying he had a question for us. When she put him on the phone, he began asking about a number of…