Unlock Your Potential: Developer's Speaking Guide

I began speaking publicly in 2018, and looking back, I’ve come a long way. Start wasn’t easy, but I’ve learned so much and I am still growing todayp. Here are some of the valuable lessons I’ve picked up from my own experience.

Steps toward becoming a speaker

1. Seek Out a Mentor

You can’t always improve on your own. Having a mentor who’s been where you are can be a game-changer. Here’s just a couple of points covering what they can help you with:

Overcoming your fear of speaking in public and looking confident
Creating and planning your presentations
Keeping the audience interested and engaged with your talk
Showing you how public speaking can improve and build your image

Connect with someone who’s experienced — a fellow speaker, colleague, or friend — and let them help guide you. Have them share their thoughts on what you do well and what you can work on, especially if you have an example of a presentation or talk you did. Believe me, mentors are much more useful when you have real examples to discuss as you can learn more from them.

My own mentor did exactly that for me and it really helped me grow into the speaker I am today. I’m truly grateful for all the support I got.

2. Believe in Yourself

I’m always pretty tough on myself, but I don’t shy away from taking a leap of faith with chances. Becoming a speaker is a challenge because it means stepping out of your comfort zone where you feel safe. Have faith in yourself, take that first big step forward, and start speaking. Believe me, the hardest step is to actually start. The first time might be scary, but once you break the ice, it gets easier.

Keep this in mind: People in your audience are there because they’re genuinely interested in your topic and they want to learn from you. They’re not there to judge you or your talk, and they won’t know if you skipped a part because they are hearing your material for the first time. Once you stop worrying about that, you’ll find it much easier to speak publicly.

3. Practice, Practice, Practice!

My very first public talk was at an internal company conference in 2018, and I remember trying to pack in all my thoughts with no real structure. It ended up being an overloaded mess, and I felt like I hadn’t accomplished much. But, that moment kicked off my journey in public speaking, and I wouldn’t change it for anything!

Don’t expect to be perfect or nail it on your first try; speaking well takes a lot of practice. Begin with smaller events such as a local meetup or a team presentation. Work on it with your mentor and build your confidence slowly.

It’s also really helpful to practice alone, like in front of a mirror, or by recording yourself – this way, you’ll see you’re doing better than you thought! Just as crucial, be kind and patient with yourself. 🙂

4. Speak from Experience

My personal rule for choosing a topic to speak about is simple: if I can explain it clearly even when I wake up at 3am, then it is a solid topic for me. Choose topics based on your own experience.

That way, speaking is easier, and you can give real-life examples that are more relatable to the audience. Even if you’ve just started exploring a topic, if you’re excited about it, that enthusiasm could turn into an engaging and great talk.

5. Prepare Thoroughly in Advance

I absolutely never wing it on stage because I’m hearing-impaired. I’m 55% deaf in both ears and I need more time to process what I want to say. To make sure I cover everything in the available time, I always prepare in advance.

I create slide notes to organize my thoughts; even though I don’t read from them during my talks, they help boost my confidence. Lately, I’ve started to use flowchart tools like Whimsical to organize my talk before working on my slides.

During practice, aim to fit your material in 80% of the time you’ve been given. Events usually allow you 30 or 45 minutes to deliver your talk, including any questions. So, if you have 30 minutes, try to do your talk in 25 minutes when you rehearse. Do this at least 3 times. Reaching this goal constantly will help you feel prepared. And being prepared is key because because talks always tend to run longer than you expect.

6. Aim for Improvement, Not Perfection!

Trying to make every talk perfect can make you feel discouraged, because it’s impossible to reach perfection. It’s better to achieve small improvements daily rather than to expect leaps and bounds. Every small victory is a step towards becoming a better speaker.

What I’ve learned is – start small. Practice in less intimidating environments before heading to the big stage. Use smaller venues like local meetups or events to boost your confidence and get better through practice.

Learn by watching others and notice what makes their speeches work. I began by speaking at local meetups and watching other conferences and speakers. This built up my courage and the strong will to enhance my public speaking skills.

7. Pick Key Outcomes and Focus on Them

I’ve learned over the years not to worry about every possible little detail because no talk is ever perfect. Instead, it is better to decide on a few core goals for your talk and focus solely on them. If you meet these goals, consider your talk successful, regardless of the small hiccups along the way.

For example, at Infobip Shift 2023, I gave a talk about hearing-impaired accessibility called “Hear! Hear! An Accessibility Talk from a Hearing-Impaired Senior Software Engineer”. My 2 goals for the talk were to spread the word about often-overlooked aspects of accessibility and to make a strong impact on the audience with the topic itself.

The talk wasn’t perfect – I had to rush through a few slides – but it didn’t matter because the audience had never seen the talk before, and they didn’t know what I had initially planned to say. Because I managed to fullfil my goals, I was satisfied with my talk.

8. Keep Your Talk Fresh

My time as an educator showed me that trying new things helps us improve. So, whenever you give same talk on different conferences, don’t make it the exact same one. Change 2-3 things, like different tools, a new angle, or slightly updated content. This keeps things interesting and prevents feeling like you’re on repeat.

I have a talk called “Designing for the World: A Developer’s Guide to Localization” that I presented on ADPList meetup in Zagreb and at the Build Stuff 2023 conference in Vilnius. Even though I was already happy with the content, I decided to refine it and introduce some new ideas. At Build Stuff 2023, I took a gamble by starting the talk in Lithuanian for the first few slides, and people were pleasantly shocked and really enjoyed the experience.

Be willing to experiment, take risks, and don’t be afraid to fail – sometimes things won’t go as planned, but at least you’ve tried and that’s how you learn and grow.

9. Learn from Each Experience

Every speaking opportunity is a chance to learn. Try different presentation styles and take notes how your audience reacts. Perhaps you are a good storyteller who can captivate the crowd with your narrative. Or maybe humor is your strong suit and will make your talk funny and interesting. Again, don’t hesitate to experiment!

All of us are different and the beauty is in finding what works well for you. Challenging yourself is part of the personal growth process. After all, we are here to share knowledge and grow, aren’t we?

10. Find Your Own Style

In the beginning, you might find yourself imitating other speakers or following tutorials closely, but over time, you’ll develop your own identity. Think about what sets you apart because everyone is unique. You might have a unique hobby, or perhaps, like me, you’ve overcome a significant challenge, like 55% deafness in both ears. Embrace your individuality; it draws people in.

For example, it took me some time to establish my presentation style. I’ve started by sticking strictly to the advice of my mentors. But then when I grew more confident, I began experimenting with humor. Eventually, my style evolved into more of an educator role and I’ve started focusing not just on what I said, but also on how I delivered it visually and through storytelling techniques.

I have also learned to lean into what makes me unique because I’ve noticed that people are really curious and interested in it.

I suggest you watch Cassandra Faris’s talk on Purposeful Personal Branding from Build Stuff 2022 conference – it does a fantastic job of exploring these ideas. Don’t be afraid to experiment; it’s how you’ll discover what works for you.

11. Always Keep Improving

Improvement is a constant process. Keep an eye on your progress and keep track of it. You could ask your coworkers or friends for their thoughts on your talk, or do as I do – set clear targets and check if you’ve met them afterward.

When seeking feedback, make sure you ask for honesty. Without knowing what didn’t work, you can’t get better! I really value having friends who aren’t afrad to give it to me straight because they understand how much it helps me improve.

Remember, the goal is to polish your skills, little by little, each day.

12. Enjoy the Ride!

Above all – make sure you’re having a good time and enjoy the process. Loving what you do makes your talks more engaging and less stressful for you.

Plus, the overall experience is amazing: you get to share your knowledge with tech enthusiasts, meet all sorts of new folks, make new friendships, and even travel to some fantastic places. It is sooo worth it!!!

Ready to take on the conferences? How to start?

Let’s travel back to when I’ve just started with conferences. I’ve been regularly speaking on meetups since 2018 and started with conferences in 2020.

Most of my early arrangements were online due to COVID, but once in-person conferences returned, I got to experience both sides. Here are some of the most useful lessons I have learned.

Applying to Speak

So, do you want to speak at a conference? Awesome! How can we make that happen?

The first move is to apply. This typically involves getting in touch with the event organizers or responding to their CFPs (Calls for Papers). For a CFP, you’ll need to put together a proposal, often referred to as an abstract, summarizing the talk you want to give.

You might send in one or multiple proposals and then comes the tough part – waiting for a response. It could take a couple of months, or sometimes even longer, but you’ll eventually find out if your talk has been chosen. And then you can start getting ready for your presentation. 🙂

So, how exactly do you begin? Let’s break down each part and explain what it involves.

Research is Key

Before applying, it’s important to do some research to figure out which conferences are a good match for the topic you want to talk about. At the conferences you are interested in, look at the presentations that align with your area of expertise and find where you can offer new insights. Try to look for a unique perspective in your talks to make you stand out.

Good places to start can be:

Confs.Tech
Dev.Events (Example for EU conferences)
Calling All Papers which is a good resource of all available CFPs
Developer Conferences Agenda which is a well-organized and great resource (with an awesome Github repo)

Once you have determined the list of the conferences you would like to speak at, the next step is to put together a proposal for your talk ideas.

Write Compelling Abstracts

Abstracts are something that will make or break your speaking proposals. So what is an abstract? You can think of it as a brief summary of the talk you want to present to the audience at a tech conference or an event. It includes a title and talk description, but some event organizers might ask for additional details, depending on their requirements.

When you’re crafting your abstracts, I find it best to think like an attendee – What would grab your attention? What topics would you like to learn about? Even though each conference will have its own criteria for the talks they’re looking for, having a rough idea can guide you in tailoring your proposal.

Here’s how to make a strong impression with your abstract:

You’ve only got 10 to 30 seconds to catch someone’s interest with your title and summary, so make it count!
Think of a title that is clear, engaging, and catchy.
Write a description that clearly explains what you’ll cover in the talk. From my experience, it is best to make them descriptive and intriguing. I personally like to challenge the reader, to make them think about the topic, and to lure them into wanting to learn more about it.
People like new, different, and unique topics, so think whether there’s anything distinctive you can advertize as the main hook of your topic.
If you can position yourself as an expert on the subject, it can draw more attendees and build your reputation.

Remember: Fitting the conference theme increases your chances of being selected.

Don’t be Afraid of Failure

It won’t be easy to get in as a speaker, especially on the more popular conferences. But even if you didn’t get in, don’t get discouraged. There’s an old saying: what doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger. After all, the worst thing that can happen is that your proposals are rejected.

The benefit of getting rejected is that we learn from our experiences. You can get feedback from the event organizers about your proposal, and it can mean a lot for your growth. Resiliency and applying as much as we can will get you into at least some of the conferences and will build up your communication skills as well as the skill to sell yourself as a brand.

So, my advice is to cast a wide net. Apply to as many conferences as you can. By playing the numbers, you’re bound to get a positive response from one or two conferences at least! Keep at it, and don’t be afraid of failure – it’s just another step on the path to success.

Build Your Reputation

Congratulations on having your talk selected! You’re in for an exciting experience, but now’s the time to focus on preparing your talk. This stage is crucial because you should nail your talk – the better you do, the more people will take notice at the conference.

Delivering great talks is a priority, and so is making connections. Networking can raise your profile and help build your reputation. When people know who you are, they’ll be more willing to attend your talk and spread the good word to their friends. For some great insights, I suggest watching a fantastic session on networking at conferences by Lirone Glikman from Build Stuff 2023. It offers really good tips on how to engage and connect with others effectively.

Reflect on Your Event Goals

Once a conference or event wraps up, take some time to reflect on how things went for you. Did you reach the goals you set for yourself?

Regular self-assessment is essential for ongoing improvement and tracking the progress of your personal brand development. This habit of self-review will help you identify areas for improvement and celebrate the goals you’ve accomplished.

Promote Your Achievements

Participating at a conference as a speaker is an amazing achievement, especially at a larger event. For example, I always love coming to Infobip Shift and Build Stuff because they set the gold standards for events and I will always gladly come as a speaker or attendee.

Once your talk is done or the conference is over, don’t be shy about sharing your speaking experiences online. Success stories not only enhance your visibility and profile but get you noticed by event organizers. As a bonus, if you loved the conference, you help promote it by sharing posts about it. Event organizers always appreciate the good word.

People enjoy hearing about the triumphs of others, and speaking about yours could encourage more developers to pursue public speaking. This would bring about an additional bonus, a kind of ripple effect of your achievement.

Beyond the Stage

Being visible in the tech world isn’t just about giving talks and attending conferences. Engage with your audience outside events through social media and blogging.

If you have learned or experienced something interesting during the day – share it! This keeps the conversation going and strengthens your ties with the tech community. And I get it, it’s time-consuming and even I, who loves posting on social media, struggle to find the time to share everything I want to. But remember, it’s never too late to start! 🙂

Let these tips guide you on your path to becoming a respected speaker and tech community member. Remember, every expert was once a beginner. Enjoy your journey!

Developer’s Guide to the Speaking and Conference Galaxy