I’m thrilled to have been invited to contribute a piece to Ladies in Tech, a new site celebrating and supporting female speakers in technology.
Published today, Speak and Be Seen is a deeply personal story of how I first got involved in public speaking and the massive fears I’ve had to overcome along the way. If you’ve ever thought your shyness, your introversion, or your lack of experience precludes you from a career in public speaking, I’m here to show you you’re wrong.
Growing up, I never played sports. I never joined the dance troupe or sang with the choir. And I most certainly never tried out for the debate team. I wrote for the school newspaper, hung out in the darkroom, and spent my afternoons on AOL.
For the first 26 years of my life, I drew as little attention to myself as I possibly could. Big groups of people freaked me out, and I didn’t particularly like talking to strangers. I was passionate about my work and boisterous with close friends. I had big ambitions but little motivation, so a life of status quo was pretty much what I expected.
Life had other plans.
Please continue reading Speak and Be Seen on Ladies in Tech.
Thank you to Jenn Lukas and Yesenia Perez-Cruz for allowing me to share my story alongside so many amazing, inspiring women. Thank you to Steph Hay for her fantastic editing. And thank you to all of you for your unrelenting support every step of the way.
Related Posts:
- I’ll be speaking at An Event Apart 2009 January 3, 2009 | 5 comments
- My presentation at IA Summit 2009: “Evangelizing Yourself” March 29, 2009 | 7 comments
- The truth about the presentation process February 21, 2013 | 6 comments
- My Creating a Culture of UX workshop at UX London May 28, 2010 | 2 comments
- 10 Most Common Misconceptions About User Experience Design — the presentation April 6, 2009 | 1 comments
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