A real story for introverts, late starters and “not good enough” minds:

At 54, neurodivergent, introvert, mum, gamer, non-native English speaker and working in a niche – I spent years believing I was “too quiet” for the stage. Tech conferences looked full of confident, fast-talking, fluent people. I didn’t recognise myself in any of them.

And yet, step by step, I ended up speaking at events like ECS, Experts Live and ESPC.

This session is the honest story of how that happened: no overnight success, no “just be more confident”, no perfect English. Just a long series of small risks, rejected submissions, shaky first talks, saying yes even when my voice was shaking – and learning to use my age, my background and my quiet personality as strengths instead of excuses.

We’ll talk about what it really feels like to start speaking when you think you’re too old, too quiet, too busy with family, too “not enough”. You’ll hear practical ideas on how to find your topics, write submissions, start small and grow at your own pace – without pretending to be a rockstar speaker.

This session is an invitation: if you’ve ever thought “that’s not for someone like me”, maybe it is.