You've been telling yourself you'll start speaking up when you feel ready. When you know enough. When your message is perfectly formed. I know, because that's exactly what I told myself for years.
In this solo episode, I'm sharing my own speaking journey, from submitting to JavaOne over 20 years ago just because I wanted to visit San Francisco, to this week, when I'm at the ELC conference in Prague and delivering a paid speaking engagement for KLA. None of it happened because I suddenly became confident. Every single step felt uncomfortable, and I did it anyway.
I'm giving you the exact path I followed, what worked, what didn't, and the rejections I still get along the way.
What you'll get from this episode:
- Why visibility is a skill you build, not a personality trait you're born with
- My step-by-step progression: panels → podcast guest → virtual events → in-person stages → paid engagements
- How I use AI and self-recording to practice (and why I never memorize a script)
- Why I still get rejected from conferences like Lead Dev and Grace Hopper, and why that's okay
- Tools to get started: Sessionize, Podmatch, PodStart, Riverside
- One challenge for you this week to make yourself a little more visible
This is a companion to my conversation with Helen Gottstein on why the prince isn't coming and why competence without visibility keeps women stuck. Listen to that episode too if you haven't already.
Connect with Limor:
Website: https://limorbergman.com
Podcast: https://limorbergman.com/podcast/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/limorbergman/
Substack: https://limorbergman.substack.com