[99]

Recently the "everyone must be a speaker" drum-roll is getting too loud. Does being a non-speaker at conferences and workshops reduce my technical ability? I think not.

The problem with insisting that "everyone must be a speaker" - all the shy-introverted-yet-technically-good-developers get the short end of the stick and you are left with spin doctors who can promote themselves very well. Sad.

[probably_wrong]

> all the shy-introverted-yet-technically-good-developers get the short end of the stick and you are left with spin doctors who can promote themselves very well

Exactly, which is why more good technical speakers are needed: the guy who makes the best job at convincing why his idea is better than the one from the other guy is the one that will get his idea implemented.

And I'm not talking about people selling smoke: if I'm competing for one idea against another developer's proposal, and both seems reasonable enough, how will the boss know my idea is better if I keep it to myself? Even if I send him a paper explaining why my method is O(n log n), if my co-worker makes a 45 min presentation addressing my boss' concerns (which may not be only technical - "using this cloud provider it's reliable and will make us look as a forward-moving company" solves two of my boss' problems), he'll get the implementation.

When dealing with humans, emotions also play a role. Perhaps after the robot uprising we can solve our problems by forwarding benchmarks in CSV files, but until then it wouldn't hurt taking a course on two in how to get our ideas across our bosses' thick skulls.

[youngtaff]

I've never considered myself a confident speaker but last year I did 8 talks, some were in small meetup type events, others in larger conferences.

Most of the of other speakers I meet are just as introverted as me, get quite nervous about speaking, but with practice have got better and learn how to manage their stress and introvertness - I don't think the OP is any different to that.

Experience and positive feedback helps, with good preparation the more talks I give the better I think I get.

I know that I currently give a far better talk if I've got space around me (I want to be able to glance at my speaker notes if necessary, but find podiums really restrictive).

I also like to move around and come to the front of the stage not be shy and retire to the back corner (even if that's what I feel like doing sometimes).

I also have a routine before I go on stage - drink plenty of fluids, close my eyes, breath and just think about how I'm going to start, key points etc.

The other thing that always helps me is remembering the audience have come to learn from you they want you to succeed.

I don't think "everyone must be a speaker", for some of us it's just that it's an effective way of teaching and sharing knowledge despite our introverted nature.

(Other thing to remember is when you're onstage at a big conference, you can't see past the first few rows anyway)