Ladies in Tech

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…

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.

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.

Writing Conference Proposals

This post was originally published at rmurphey.com, but with the conference season heating up, I thought it was a good time to re-post it here with some minor changes.

When I’m having a conversation with a prospective conference speaker, one topic that…

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

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

Outline Your Talk with Presenter Notes

How to get over the blank slate and start writing your…

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…