Tuesday 31 December 2019

Sideways career

Right... Second attempt at this post 😀

This is a bit of a long story, but rather than keep everything cryptic, and saying it at the end I'm going to do it backwards :)

In February this year I made my way to another country, the first time I'd flown by choice since 2004, and gave my first tech talk at a conference.

Considering how much I get terrified if I have to be with a group of people I was shocked, happily shocked, at just how much I enjoyed it, and by the comments I got from people afterwards.

And... Since then I've live coded for the Microsoft Insider Tour - demonstarting what you can do with new technology and given the first talk another 5 or 6 times at conferences and meetups.

And... I rounded the year off by giving a new talk a shakedown at a meetup, ready for a conference next February.

And... I've even been a guest on two tech podcasts! Once of which has already aired, the other will at some point in the future. Though I have no idea when...

I'm still dumbfounded that talking in front of people is something I enjoy, and even more dumbfounded that people actually listen when I do 🤣

(and, because why not another "and"..., actually, if I can get my anxiety in check, I wouldn't mind trying my hand at some ameteur dramatics... But then I would need time for that!)

I was always in awe of people who gave talks at conferences, and now I have a new found respect for them. The effort that goes into preparing a talk is tremendous. I think that both of my talks have taken more than 200 hours to get to the point where I could try them out. And that is outside of work time, so basically just about every spare hour I had to make sure that I was ready in time...

In fact, after I returned from the first talk I was asked by my other half is this meant that I was going to be seen in the house - rather than coming home from work and dissapearing to the attic study to work on the talk.

But I get so much back from it, andf I can't say why. Put me in a room of people and I'll leave in tears, total anxisety attack. Even when I'm with family I need a book or my phone with me so that I have an escape route should I start to panic.

And yet... When I'm standing on a podium in front of a room full of people and whilst it is very, very scary, and the stress and nerves before I start are out of this world, once I start to talk, it's fine.

I also like that afterwards, normally, people come up and talk to me. Because whilst I can't go up to people and start a conversation, it is quite nice to have a conversation when someone comes up to me.

So, that is the highlight that I am taking from 2019. It's the year I got on a plane more than once to go and talk in front of a group of developers.

Not everything that I mentioned in my last post, but one of the most unexpected for myself 😊

And in the next post I'll go into the 'how' I got started - because that is a story that I quite enjoy!

4 comments:

  1. Wow, that's so impressive! Really pleased for you. Great to hear the presenting is going well. Congratulations on feeling the fear and doing it anyway.

    Note to self: keep an eye out for Stace at MS events ;-)

    All the best for the new year!

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    1. Thanks Lynn! It wasn't anything that I ever saw myself doing, and now I start the year with 4 talks lined up already, and another in the works!

      I'm just so stoked, and honored, that people actually give me their time to listen to my stories :)

      I'm going to try and get a CFP accepted in the UK this year, but it's proving really hard :)

      Groetjes,
      Stace

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  2. Great post, Stace! Does this mean a road trip to the States is in the cards, then? You could see Muse over here in the colonies, for instance! ;c)

    Seriously, congratulations on everything you achieved this year. And of course you have a tour guide here in New England if you ever choose to come visit this side of the pond! :D

    Happy New Year!!!

    == Cass

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    1. Thanks Cass!

      Stateside... I'd love to, if I can get on a plane for that long! (And get accepted at a conference in the US...)

      Should I find a conference in New England that accepts me as a speaker, I'm going to take you up on that! :)

      Groetjes,
      Stace

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