Note: I’m a Brit with a huge self-deprecating streak. So I find some of what I have written here really quite cringey and embarassing. But as I worked hard on some things, and did good at some things, I want to show off for five minutes. I hope that’s OK.
I’ve been invited to speak at a fairly prestigious conference. In my tech circles, at least. Which is both lovely and nerve racking!!
People have commented before that I’m quite a good speaker and… if I might blow my own trumpet… I think I mostly do a good job, and I’ve gotten some amazing feedback on talks I have done in the past.
But here’s the thing. I’ve only ever done 3 WordCamp talks, 1 WordCamp lightning talk, and a few meetup talks. One of the WordCamp talks was a dud. The other three I’m very proud of.
I don’t do public speaking often. I don’t take my talks on tour. I don’t really like traveling very much, and my family commitments have prevented me getting out much.
But when I do… oh boy, it’s a BIG deal.
I will only speak about things I know a lot about and am passionate about. I hear about people signing up to speak at conferences without a topic – just based on their reputation. I don’t understand how you can sign up to speak at a conference with no idea what your topic will be. That’s just weird and alien to me.
I like to think that I have recognized what makes for a bad talk and avoid as many of those traps as possible – and I work very hard to not deliver bad talks. I prepare. I rehearse. A good talk is days of effort over a span of weeks. It’s a lot of hard work.
Having said all of that, I really do enjoy giving talks on things I’m knowledgeable and passionate about and I’d love to do more in the coming years – if the time and place are right.
I’m proud of the talks I’ve given and I think they are good content. And, as I just said, I put a lot of effort into them. So if you’re interested, here they are.
- Level Up! How Side Quests Enhance your Career – my talk from this years WordSesh conference has been made free to watch. Brian Richards says it was “the most fun session of WordSesh 2025″. (Personally I think the most fun was Lianna Patch’s “EW, FEELINGS!”, but I’m honestly hugely flattered in a way which only a reserved Brit can be).
- I Tried Writing Some Code… You Won’t Believe What Happened Next! (WordCamp London, 2019) (This recording is scraped off of Facebook, so apologies for the quality. The original, sadly, went missing.)
- You Are Creative (WordCamp Brighton, 2016) – A lightning talk, and if you watch any of these, watch this one.
- User Experience – it’s for everyone (WordCamp London, 2016) – My first ever WordCamp talk. One I’m still proud of. And one that I think has stood the test of time.