Of the talks you have given at various events, which one would you say was most impactful for you as the speaker?

Question was asked by Chris Turvey.

I definitely want to say more than one, but if I had to say which one was the most impactful, I would say it was the talk that I gave at the techqueria. That was a lightning talk and it was about Overloading Operators in Python. The reason why it was so impactful, it was my very first technical talk I had ever given outside of my teaching at Hackbright or Girl develop it. It was in front of strangers and I didn't know if it was going to be 1) “good enough” and 2) technical enough.  When I gave that talk, I got a lot of positive feedback; granted it was with techqueria and they are an amazing community group. I highly recommend checking them out, they're fantastic. I would say that was my most impactful one. 

Now, if I can slide in another one, I would say, I have two other ones: 1) was my very first talk after I got hired at Google and that was at GDG San Francisco and it was about building for Google Assistant. That was impactful for a completely different reason. It was impactful because there was such a large audience and that's really when I realized the magnitude of Google and how that brand will draw and attract people. So that was really interesting to see how it wasn't just my little fun stuff on the side that I did for years prior to that, or something that I did as a volunteer; this one was very different because it was my job now and recognizing that this is in a slightly different tone. Also the acknowledgement that it could have been anyone who was going to do that talk and would have brought people there because of the company and then the technology.That was a really nice thing to be mindful of. The last one I would say was really impactful, was my first talk at Google IO. It was in front of a lot of my peers that I trust and respect. It felt very official, because it was recorded and there is a sense of permanency versus talks at meetups, some are recorded but they're not displayed or given out. Granted now, after covid hit and everything going virtual, recording and having things recorded doesn't feel as indefinite or like forever. But definitely back in like 2019, it felt very different – I felt a little bit more legitimized, like “I’m doing this for realsies.”  

A really common question I get after someone asked me about talks and presenting is “Do I still get nervous?” And the answer: YEAH. I still get nervous, I still get butterflies, even doing these types of videos, I still get a little nervous. I’m not necessarily sure if I'm presenting myself in the most ideal way that I would want someone. So my recommendation to folks who are interested in doing talks is to just start. You're gonna mess up, and that's okay. We learn and we move on. Thank you so much Chris for your question.
Thank you so much Chris for your question.