Anxiety Submitting Talks Outside the Python Community

Tue, 21 Jan 2025 04:08:50 -0000

I'm spoiled... It's been 6 years since my first conference talk was accepted and North Bay Python took a chance on my goofy talk, "How I turned a podcast into a business with Python (and some Other Tools we won't talk about".

In my earliest days it was actually the non-Python events that I would get my talks accepted. That said as I rushed to meet the deadlines for PGDay Chicago and DevOps Days Atlanta I struggled to get the confidence to submit something.

I don't know what the culture's feeling

That isn't to say I know everything when it comes to Python, but I'm more comfortable sharing my knowledge around those that trust my knowledge.

At a Python conference, I'm actually less likely to give a Python-specific talk, rather a talk that heavily features Python but addresses a bigger topic. At a Postgres conference, I would likely not be able to give you much PostgreSQL. More importantly I don't know the "Vibe" of the conference. I mean PyCon didn't accept the Python vs Hip Hop conversation so me I have no clue what to expect in sharing "how cursor.execute in Psycopg made me less afraid to write queries instead of using an ORM"1.

I actually like going to these events because I get to see what the greater tech community is like. I have to admit the "Came for the code, stayed for the community is strong where I participate". Literally, DjangoCon's big running joke for several years was "We don't do that here" which serves as a friendly reminder that we want to protect our community and no one is too big for a Code of Conduct report.

Scoring points

I'm of the internet age where many people like to "prove they are smarter". I do get these folks in Python events but I feel comfortable saying "I'm not going to take questions/comments but you can find me in the hallway."

I know of incidents in the community where lesser known folks have been harassed following a presentation and I would be honest, I don't know how I would handle that in a community where that stuff isn't taken seriously.

I should also mention that I don't know if they would be taken seriously or not. I wouldn't know until I'm there.

The beginner's story

My favorite kind of talks are those that come at things from different angles and those where the presenter, being fascinated with a topic, shares the boundary of their knowledge.

I don't know a lot about these areas but I have friends that do and they teach me all kinds of things. I love being able to give the "As a beginner talk" again and honestly it does help the many maintainers of those products in the room remember that to someone, it's their first time interacting with their product (or that product's community).

The perks of blind courage

I want to wrap this with acknowledging I'm very privileged. My employer wants me to attend these events and speak at them just as much as I want to attend them. The reality is my a part of my job is sharing about the company with an attendee or hundred. That said I feel I'm best capable of doing this while not on the stage. However, I often can't get to the event without that sprinkle of stage time. So If you, like me would like to go to more events and learn from amazing people in-person, consider mustering up a little bling-courage and offering to share a personal, knowledgeable, and humble conversation with a few hundred folks all staring at you. I say bring your whole-self to the party and make it a roaring time!

Worst case you bomb and then you never go to that conference again! 🙃

1. I didn't submit this but after writing this line I took 10 minutes to make that submission. What's the worst that could happen. ↩