A Successful Public Speaking Outing!
Public speaking has been an aspirational goal. I've not had too much opportunity before nor have I actively sought it out.
It was this 'thing' that looked sooooo cool and people doing it were really cool! However, there was a fear of failure that was overwhelming enough for me to not make that leap - public failure, nonetheless :)
In the last year or so, I have applied to speak at a few conferences on the topic of Analytics/Artificial Intelligence(AI)/Machine Learning(ML) applied in the space of Supply Chain Management. What I have learned in many cases is that the conference organizers are engaged in a 'Pay for Play' scheme. A speaking slot is up for sale with the purchase of a display booth or being a sponsor of the whole conference. I am not judging the conference organizers - I fully realize, agree and support the commercial realities of putting on a show. The shock was the pervasiveness of this model and that clash against my naivety.
An opportunity popped up to be a panel speaker at the Austin Technology Council 2019 CEO Summit via some colleagues. It represented a good opportunity and challenge. The topic was AI use in organizations. In my work, we are more using more ML rather than AI. ML is a subset of AI and there is enough I know about this and felt - " I could do this".
On the day of the event, I did feel a tinge of nervousness about 30 minutes before the start time. It was like an inner voice saying "don't fall on your face going up on to the stage:)!". The panel started and things clicked into place and it was like 'Substance over Fear' (kinda 'Mind over Matter'). I did consciously make the effort to speak at a slower and more deliberate pace. Things went smoothly and 45 minutes just blew by. There were still more concepts and ideas in my head that the discussion did not get to for running out of time.
It was great to receive very positive feedback from the audience on the content of the panel discussion. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and this has fully whetted my appetite for more public speaking. And, it felt extra good to be asked to give a summary quote for the event blog.
A few pictures
The only downside was some eye pain and headache caused by literally being in the spotlight (bright lights). 😎 Next time maybe...
I'll plan to write a follow-up post on the content part of the discussion.
In the last year or so, I have applied to speak at a few conferences on the topic of Analytics/Artificial Intelligence(AI)/Machine Learning(ML) applied in the space of Supply Chain Management. What I have learned in many cases is that the conference organizers are engaged in a 'Pay for Play' scheme. A speaking slot is up for sale with the purchase of a display booth or being a sponsor of the whole conference. I am not judging the conference organizers - I fully realize, agree and support the commercial realities of putting on a show. The shock was the pervasiveness of this model and that clash against my naivety.
An opportunity popped up to be a panel speaker at the Austin Technology Council 2019 CEO Summit via some colleagues. It represented a good opportunity and challenge. The topic was AI use in organizations. In my work, we are more using more ML rather than AI. ML is a subset of AI and there is enough I know about this and felt - " I could do this".
On the day of the event, I did feel a tinge of nervousness about 30 minutes before the start time. It was like an inner voice saying "don't fall on your face going up on to the stage:)!". The panel started and things clicked into place and it was like 'Substance over Fear' (kinda 'Mind over Matter'). I did consciously make the effort to speak at a slower and more deliberate pace. Things went smoothly and 45 minutes just blew by. There were still more concepts and ideas in my head that the discussion did not get to for running out of time.
It was great to receive very positive feedback from the audience on the content of the panel discussion. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and this has fully whetted my appetite for more public speaking. And, it felt extra good to be asked to give a summary quote for the event blog.
A few pictures
The only downside was some eye pain and headache caused by literally being in the spotlight (bright lights). 😎 Next time maybe...
I'll plan to write a follow-up post on the content part of the discussion.
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