Quiet Time

Unbelievably—at least, to me—I’ve been speaking at conferences for over 11 years now.

I’m finding it difficult not to be self-congratulatory in recognizing that I’ve been doing it so long.

I still remember my first talk at Webvisions. I had a full slide deck of JavaScript tidbits to cover. I don’t think I looked up from my computer once as I delivered my talk. I was nervous and wholly unsure of what I was doing.

All these years later, I still get nervous but I learned to look up from the computer and talk to the audience.

I’m not sure that I ever became a great speaker but I think I managed to become a good speaker. I enjoyed sharing my experiences with whatever it was that I had been working on in hopes that it might spark an idea in someone else.

I’ve seen our industry fill with highly qualified, passionate, and excited people clambering for a chance to speak. There’s nothing I have to say that someone else isn’t already saying and they’re probably saying it better than I am.

For that reason among others, I’ve decided to take an extended break from public speaking. I’m in need of some quiet time.