Finding Your Voice – How to stop worrying and give the talk
Hi, I'm Sophie and I've been speaking at conferences for four years now. After one talk, I was once asked what I'd recommend to someone who considers giving public speaking a try but was scared to do so.
If you also dream about going on stage but need a gentle nudge - or a kick in the butt - let me tell you now what I told them: Do it.
And if you come to my talk 'Finding your voice - how to stop worrying and give the talk', I'll tell you all about how I went from being scared out of my wits of speaking in front of an audience to winning awards for my talks and I'll give you helpful tips and tricks for your speaking journey.
Zielpublikum: People who want to go on stage at GDT 2026 and everybody else who's interested in starting their public speaking journey.
Voraussetzungen: none
Schwierigkeitsgrad: Basic
Extended Abstract:
When I was a little rookie software tester, barely half a year into my career, I attended my first testing conference and caught the public speaking bug. I admired the speakers and dreamed of one day also speaking on the same stages. The only problem was that I was absolutely and utterly terrified. What would I even speak about? Would anybody want to listen to my ramblings? And why would I - a shy introvert - even want to do that to myself? But I got over my fears and now I speak at conferences regularly.
Do the questions I asked myself sound familiar to you? Do you consider submitting to a conference but don't know where to start? Do you need a little push in the right direction?
Then let me tell you about my journey, from clicking the first submit button to my first keynote. I will share how it all happened, which stages where the most fun, and the story of how I absolutely lost my nerve on one for a minute (and how that was the best thing that could have happened!)
Plus, I'll share what I learned along the way, give you a few hints and pointers for becoming a speaker yourself, and tell you why you should absolutely consider giving conference speaking a try. Maybe we'll share a stage one day!
As a child, Sophie Küster wanted to be a ballerina or an astronaut; or both. Today, she holds diplomas in math and yodeling and is a test automation engineer at Cronn, a Bonn based IT company. After years of successfully hunting bugs, she also trains and leads other testers. Recently, she has also dared to look behind the curtain as a developer so she can cut out the middle person and introduce the bugs herself. Sometimes, she speaks at conferences. No stranger to the universe's gut punches, she is passionate about improving awareness and communication about mental health and self-care. When she's not busy testing or coding away at her computer, you can find her on a stand-up paddle board, in a tent (surprisingly often in the rain), or at a ballet barre. Sadly, never in a spaceship.
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