"If you can speak , you can influence. If you can influence you can change lives" - Anonymous
In early July, when I received the email from Ridhima Kapoor inviting me to speak at the AWS Women in Tech Day Event 2022, I was genuinely surprised as I did not feel I had done anything worthy of getting this opportunity (my impostor syndrome kicking in). I was also humbled by the kind of support that the AWS Community lends its members. I grabbed the opportunity with both my hands & sent back a positive reply to Ridhima.
Other than the fact that it was my first in-person event, it was also the first time I was stepping out of my house for a meetup post the pandemic.
The content that's going to follow is basically a set of steps I adhered to upto the Event Day.
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
1.Getting over the initial nerves
2.Selection of topic
3.Presentation Deck Prep
4.Presentation Prep
5.Facing your doubts
6.The main event
Getting over the nerves prep
To get over the initial jitters of "Where to start from" I decided to go over AWS Machine Learning Hero Brooke Jamieson's video which I had come across few months ago. It's a humorous take where Brooke describes her own experiences when she started as a speaker in Tech conferences. I must have gone over it 4–5 times.
She provides references to some common problems which though seem mundane while watching, you see the relevance when preparing the content such as selection of font size, presentation template , colour palette, speaker bio etc.
Video Link : How to be a Tech Conf Speaker
As I was working with a Keynote presentation, I also checked out a few beginner to advanced videos on animations on Keynote
Video Link: Beginners Tutorial for Keynote ,
Intermediate Tutorial for Keynote
I did not go over the tech conference videos by other speakers as I was worried it could influence me to emulate the speaker.
Selection of topic
Selecting the topic of your talk is crucial.
You should be both comfortable & confident with the content.
Also pay attention to who will be the audience & whether you need to deliver for a beginner, intermediate or expert level.
Be sure to select something which interests you. I had selected "Fundamentals of Data Encryption" as Security in AWS was something I was interested in.
Presentation Deck Prep
Start working on your deck at least 2 weeks before the event. So you have enough time to rehearse & make changes to the content.
Check whether you will be getting a pre designed template for your talk. I had received a pre defined one from the organising team even though I had spent some time on choosing the slide deck of my own prior to it.
Else you might have to decide on the slide colour & design.If that's sorted, you can move on to font selection, look & feel of your content.
Ensure the header, sub header sections are differentiated in font. Also, that the font is big enough for even the back benchers in the room to view.
Avoid clutter in the deck.
I usually prefer less theory on the slide & more of pictures or animation that helps audience understand better.
Decide on how much content you want to fit into each slide & the number of slides you want to put in.
Think from the perspective of the audience, what would they like to see for the subject of your choosing
Get your deck reviewed by peers or your mentors, I had received some useful feedback for my slides.
One such feedback was that the slides should be self explanatory so I had to include labels over arrows & pictures where needed.
Remove content if it cannot be correlated with the topic.
Presentation Prep
If you are a first time speaker & low on confidence, prepare your speech, write it down on a paper, don't mug it up, if you understand the content you won't have to.
Rehearse in an empty room or before the mirror & finally with a friend. Get feedback & apply it.
No matter the actual words in your speech go with your gut & change the narrative if you need to.
Time yourself during rehearsals , if your talk is set for 30 mins, check whether you complete well within the time. If there is a QnA session post your talk be mindful of the session as well.
Also in QnA if you are not sure of the answers, be honest & tell the audience you would get back to them.
Facing your doubts
A week before the event I was having some self doubts that's when I spoke to Bhuvaneswari Subramani a very active member of our AWS Community & a seasoned speaker.
Her words gave me a new perspective – she encouraged me to think about my purpose of giving the talk, how big this opportunity & the stage was.
She advised me about how to overcome stage fright, trying the WonderWoman pose before my talk(I swear it does help), communicate with the audience & smile while speaking. Her pep talk washed over my fears & I started rehearsing with a renewed zeal.
The main event
Having rehearsed enough, on the day of the event I was able to witness the meticulous planning & preparation behind the scenes of the event. Hats off to Ridhima Kapoor, Rohini Gaonkar & the entire organising team.
I could get essentials such as mic check & stage etiquette ensured much before the start of the event.
Post the start of the event I got so inspired by the talks of all the speakers that I completely trashed my rehearsed speech & went with an impromptu talk connecting with the audience, in the process I realised how much I loved being on the stage.
This was quite a memorable experience for me, all thanks to the support & encouragement of the AWS community members – Ridhima Kapoor, Rohini Gaonkar, Bhuvaneswari Subramani, Sridevi Murugayen, Vivek Raja P.S.
The event updates have already been documented by Bhuvaneswari ma'am in her blog , for those who have missed, you can find the link below
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