On Speaking

I've been off the speaking circuit for a while now. After a successful 2012 and 2013, I let my public speaking take a backseat to focus on my new role at Yell. I'm really happy to have got to a point in this role where I can begin to talk at the work that I'm doing here, and there's a lot that I'm really proud of.

Recently I got back up on the stage at Oxford Geek Night to do Yell's first technology talk in a very long time. It was a five minute slot, nothing grand, but it was to a room full of people I didn't know, though many who I recognised from their Twitter profiles but was too nervous to say "hello, I really like what you do". I was far more nervous before the talk than I'd been in a very long time, the kind of dancing nerves that make you triple-check the order of the slides, even though I'd been through them twenty times. Then, just as I stepped onto the stage there was this serene moment where all the nerves dropped away, I plugged my laptop in, took up the remote and started talking.

And everyone was awesome

I couldn't have wished for a better crowd - twangs of nostalgia for the brand, laughter in all of the right places, and people listening to the message, which was fantastic. I have no idea if it was even useful for people, but I am so pleased that I did it - and the buzz that goes with it is like nothing else.

So, I'm going to do it again. I've expanded the talk so that I can actually go into some detail, and I can't wait to give it again. I've got another date in my diary already which I'll share soon. Until then, the short version of the slides are embedded below.

Speaking