Had you told me 10 years ago that not only would I be on the open source/tech conference speaking circuit but that I would love it, I would’ve looked at you like you had three heads but only two eyes between them all.

And yet, here we are. In 2016 I presented 18 talks at 15 events all over the world. So far in 2017 I’ve either presented or organised 9 talks or events. I advise people on their conference proposals, bios, and on the talks themselves. I provide training for those who wish to get started in conference speaking. This is not at all the life I envisioned for myself; it’s So Much Better and I’m grateful for the opportunities I’ve had so far. Thank you, all.

In 2016, in collaboration with Josh Berkus, I presented my first ever speaker training workshop. Since then both Josh & I have presented the material separately and each made it their own. We’re covering more ground this way, training far more people than we would if we had to coordinate between our very hectic schedules.

During the writing process of that workshop, we created a bibliography of public speaking links. In the year and a half which followed, I kept adding to that bibliography whenever I discovered a link which we hadn’t included the first time around. It was turning into a really great resource for those wanting to learn more about presenting at tech conferences, but it was impossible to find. Who drills down into the repo of a workshop which was presented only once? No one, that’s who. So the valuable bibliography was lying dormant. Well. It ain’t sleeping anymore…

🎉 Please welcome the Public Speaking Resources repo into the world! 🎉

Currently weighing in at 50 different public speaking and conference presenting links, this is one of the best resources you’ll find for improving your conference speaking experience.

One of the advantages of pulling the bibliography out into its own repository is that it’s now very easy for anyone to contribute a new link or resource for the benefit of everyone. We ❤️ contributions and contributors!

Even if you don’t have a link to contribute to the collection, the repo also serves as a focal point for a community which can answer your tech conference presenting questions and help support you on your path to becoming an amazing conference speaker. There are two ways to get this support:

Open an issue with your question or suggestion and we’ll do our best to guide you. Join in the real-time conversation on the #public_speaking IRC channel on Freenode. Yeah, we know that Slack is the new hotness, but this project still kicks it old school. But fear not! The IRC channel is covered by the project code of conduct, so you needn’t worry about dealing with the less savory elements of the internet. You also don’t need to jump through a lot of hoops to join in the conversation. Just hop on the webchat, pick a nickname, and you’re good to go! If you’d like to learn more about how to use IRC, there’s an article for that.

There ya go! Please share this public speaking resource with everyone who might be interested and please contribute. Together, we’ll help a lot of people improve their public speaking, their self confidence, and their careers.