Karen Catlin

Stepping outside of our comfort zone is often where the magic happens. We stretch ourselves, we learn, we innovate, and we accomplish things we didn't think we could. Yet, it can be challenging to take those steps, especially for women in a male-dominated STEM field. In this keynote, Karen shares her career journey and the lessons she learned along the way about stepping outside of her comfort zone. She also talka about how she forced herself to conquer her fear of public speaking, stepping away from the comfort zone of the audience to embracing being on stage. Because public speaking provides the visibility and professional credibility that can lead to career growth, Karen wants to see more women speaking at conferences, community meet-ups, and company meetings. She co-authored "Present! A Techie's Guide to Public Speaking," to inspire and help people improve their presentations skills. During this keynote, Karen also shares her favorite tips from the book.

To grow your career, you know what you need to do: improve your public speaking skills. Public speaking provides the visibility and professional credibility that helps you score the next big opportunity. But even more important is the fact that it transforms the way you communicate. Improved confidence and the ability to convey messages clearly will impact your relationships with your managers, coworkers, customers, industry peers, and even potential new hires. In this one-hour presentation, Karen Catlin covers the importance of speaking at conferences and events, along with strategies to get started. She shares some favorite tips from her book "Present! A Techie's Guide to Public Speaking," along with ideas for finding speaking opportunities. She also some embarrassing stories that are just too good to keep to herself.

In 2014, I spoke at TEDx College Of William And Mary. The theme of the event was “Forward,” to address the subtly powerful forces that are changing our daily lives and affecting our future through our communication, our careers, and our relationships. My topic? Women in the software industry, and how they are missing from the force shaping the future of technology. In this talk, I explain how there used to be more women in tech (yes, more!), why the industry has become more male dominated, and what we can all do about it. And I weave in personal experiences throughout.