Yesterday at TestBash USA, one of people I've mentored behind the scenes delivered a talk. I woke up today to a delightful message: "...had people saying I was their favorite talk. I wouldn't have reached this point without your help, I can't thank you enough."
Today, at Belgrade Testing Days, lovely people on Twitter delivered me news that another people I have mentored had a full house and got 4.93/5 in immediate app feedback for her first ever talk.
There is something in common. These people did awesome with their talks. They invited help. But what that really shows is that they have always been awesome, and inviting help was just small part of them putting effort into making their messages accessible for others. It has been my pleasure to be a small part on their journey, and get privately insights into what they are teaching - me and others.
I believe we all have worthwhile lessons to share. And we are ourselves our worst enemies talking down to ourselves. There is something you've done. There is something you care for. Your approach, when shared, could help someone else figure out their approach. It could be the same as yours. It could be completely opposite, yet inspired by you. The conference stages are for us learning together, and we need different perspectives and stories on those stages.
You - yes, YOU - have this in you. And you don't have to take that step of becoming a speaker alone. That is why there is SpeakEasy, a community initiative of building productive relationships between speakers, mentors and conferences. I believe in this so much that I've formed a leadership team with 3 lovely colleagues to take the initiative forward from 2018 on. I believe in this so much that I have mentored dozens of people, and keep my calendar open for giving time to support people on their speaking journeys.
Right now, I am volunteering with SpeakEasy that works in collaboration of one of the lovely conferences: Agile Testing Days USA. We have a full SpeakEasy track we are building to get stories to learn from that wouldn't be available otherwise. We seek for 6 talks, 2 workshops and 1 keynote. The talks are from new speakers. The workshops would be new speakers pairing with more seasoned speakers. And the keynote would be a seasoned speaker who has not had their changes of kicking into the keynoting regular circles yet.
You have one more week to join this. To join as a new speaker, you need to schedule yourself into my calendar for 15 minute discussion. We'll figure out what your early idea could look like, and consider it as something that you'll build with support from a mentor if it is the right match for a balanced program. Schedule your session now. If nothing else, you'll get a chance to talk your experiences through with me, and hear my ideas of how you could frame that for other stages.
If you get selected, Agile Testing Days USA pays the travel (with specified limits) and accommodation, and you get to enjoy the other sessions in the conference too. It's a lot of work to prep a talk, but it is also rewarding to structure your thoughts so that others are able to follow. It is a skill, I find, that makes a difference in your career.
You are awesome. And I want to talk with you. I need you to take the first step. I can't find you when you've not taken that stage yet.
Today, at Belgrade Testing Days, lovely people on Twitter delivered me news that another people I have mentored had a full house and got 4.93/5 in immediate app feedback for her first ever talk.
There is something in common. These people did awesome with their talks. They invited help. But what that really shows is that they have always been awesome, and inviting help was just small part of them putting effort into making their messages accessible for others. It has been my pleasure to be a small part on their journey, and get privately insights into what they are teaching - me and others.
I believe we all have worthwhile lessons to share. And we are ourselves our worst enemies talking down to ourselves. There is something you've done. There is something you care for. Your approach, when shared, could help someone else figure out their approach. It could be the same as yours. It could be completely opposite, yet inspired by you. The conference stages are for us learning together, and we need different perspectives and stories on those stages.
You - yes, YOU - have this in you. And you don't have to take that step of becoming a speaker alone. That is why there is SpeakEasy, a community initiative of building productive relationships between speakers, mentors and conferences. I believe in this so much that I've formed a leadership team with 3 lovely colleagues to take the initiative forward from 2018 on. I believe in this so much that I have mentored dozens of people, and keep my calendar open for giving time to support people on their speaking journeys.
Right now, I am volunteering with SpeakEasy that works in collaboration of one of the lovely conferences: Agile Testing Days USA. We have a full SpeakEasy track we are building to get stories to learn from that wouldn't be available otherwise. We seek for 6 talks, 2 workshops and 1 keynote. The talks are from new speakers. The workshops would be new speakers pairing with more seasoned speakers. And the keynote would be a seasoned speaker who has not had their changes of kicking into the keynoting regular circles yet.
You have one more week to join this. To join as a new speaker, you need to schedule yourself into my calendar for 15 minute discussion. We'll figure out what your early idea could look like, and consider it as something that you'll build with support from a mentor if it is the right match for a balanced program. Schedule your session now. If nothing else, you'll get a chance to talk your experiences through with me, and hear my ideas of how you could frame that for other stages.
If you get selected, Agile Testing Days USA pays the travel (with specified limits) and accommodation, and you get to enjoy the other sessions in the conference too. It's a lot of work to prep a talk, but it is also rewarding to structure your thoughts so that others are able to follow. It is a skill, I find, that makes a difference in your career.
You are awesome. And I want to talk with you. I need you to take the first step. I can't find you when you've not taken that stage yet.
