At the start of 2024, I set several goals for the year, one of which was to improve my public speaking skills. Last year, I found great enjoyment in speaking at small online conference, and this motivated me to further develop my presentation abilities. In this post, I want to share some of the progress I’ve made with you.
Schedule of Speaking Engagements
Before diving into the details, let’s briefly take a look at the events I was fortunate enough to attend. My schedule included a diverse array of conferences, meetups, podcasts, and lectures. I am grateful for the opportunity to take the stage or appear on camera at so many events. It’s also worth noting that I managed to participate in all of these during my free time while maintaining a full-time job and other responsibilities.
BSides Prague 2024
It all started with BSides Prague. I had been building up the courage to sign up for this conference for a long time. When I learned that none of my submissions got accepted, I was a bit disappointed, but I was looking forward to the conference nonetheless. After a day, I received an email saying that the organizers decided to open up a new stage (balcony talks) for the talks that were good but didn’t make it to the main stage. And that opened the door for one of my talks to be accepted. I have wasted no time and worked hard to make my visual novel one of the best out there. My effort and activity were recognized by having almost all the seats taken, which made me really happy. This event had the most amazing vibe for me since I was running all over the place, helping out here and there, sharing laughter with everyone, and just being myself. After the event, it knocked me off for the whole week, but it was totally worth it. I have made a lot of new friends, and I am already looking forward to the next year!
Cyber Security Platform
Motivated by the BSides, I have followed up with the local communities, mainly the Cyber Security Platform, a local cyber security community. Here, I have given a talk on the topic of the secure software development life cycle. I really like this community since it is starting to get some traction with more and more professionals showing up, yet the talks are still intended for the general public. In the April, there was an interesting talk on the topic of GDPR.
Cyber Security Conference (Brno, University of Technology)
I firmly believe that a good speaker should be able to address different people within the audience. Students are one of these groups, and they are characterized by usually being eager to learn and ask, as well as quite curious about various topics. Being able to convey a message to them helps build up a new generation of professionals, which we so desperately need. This is why I have agreed and happily presented at the cyber security conference for the students of the local university. During my talk about the state of the secret sprawl, I have emphasized the need for secure development and proper secret management.
LCG Podcast
May was the time when the talks really “hit the fan”. I got the opportunity to speak on my first podcast – LCG Talks. I had a great time talking to the host, Edvinas Urbasius, about public speaking in cyber security. It was great timing, don’t you think? You can listen to the episode on Spotify.
Czechitas
As you might have noticed, a lot of my engagements relate to Czechitas, a Czech non-profit organization that is helping women in the tech world. I am one of the lecturers for the nine-month-long course called Digital Academy: Cyber Security. Here, we are preparing a group of students for various junior positions in cyber security. Our students attend the regular online evening lectures (twice a week), and once a month, we have an in-person bootcamp. To brighten up the lecture, I am known for wearing a funny hat.
DevAcademy Podcast
Since I really enjoyed the previous podcast, I was more than happy to join Bartosz Pietrucha for the episode of DevAcademy Podcast. We had an amazing hour long talk on the topic of secrets management, where I have shared some of the practices as well as answered some of the questions such as whether I would like to travel to the past or future and why. If you are interested, you can listen to the episode online.
Cloudná akce
Okay, so now it is time to step up. To step up on the big stage. About a month ago, I was wearing the Snyk hoodie for BSides Prague. I was nervous and a bit terrified back then. I am still a bit surprised at how a person can change in a month of time. This time, I was standing on a stage at Cloudná akce a local cloud conference. And I wasn’t nervous at all. I was calm and collected while giving a talk on the topic of card games used in threat modelling, with a special focus on OWASP Cumulus.
Animefest 2024
Animefest, a local anime convention, was the best possible way to finish my two-month-long speaking spree. I have been an AF attendee since my teenage years, and this year, I have found the courage to apply to be a speaker. I don’t regret it at all, as nearly 300 people showed up and the whole event had an amazing vibe and energy!
Finishing thoughts
So this has been my speaking spree, and I have to admit that it has been a crazy and wild ride. If you had asked me a couple months ago whether I would go through all of this, I would have probably hesitated with the answer. Now, looking back, I am happy that I have persisted. That wouldn’t be possible without the help of others who were guiding and supporting me along the way, and I am grateful for that.
If you take a look at the first and last pictures, there is a notable difference. At first, I was quite unsure, but throughout this time span, I have both found my way and built strong and healthy confidence.
Also, this is just the beginning of my journey! If you are interested on what will come next, feel free to connect with me over at LinkedIn or Mastodon.
