My First Time Speaking at a Tech Conference: Orlando Code Camp Recap

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to attend Orlando Code Camp — and for the first time, I wasn’t just an attendee, I was a speaker. The event is organized by the Orlando .NET User Group. It’s completely free to attend, thanks to generous sponsors, and features a wide range of sessions across multiple tracks — from deep technical dives to industry insights — delivered by speakers from all over the tech and software development landscape. It was an experience I’ll never forget, filled with amazing conversations, inspiring talks, and a whole lot of personal growth.

The Road to Orlando
I made the trip down Friday morning with a friend of mine who was also speaking at the conference. We arrived just in time for the speaker dinner that evening. It was such a welcoming experience — delicious food, great conversations, and even a cute little umbrella as a speaker gift (which came in handy on the way home). I had the chance to connect with other speakers, hear about their backgrounds, and learn what topics they were presenting on. I also chatted with some of the event sponsors, who were not only supportive but also genuinely interested in the community.

That night, my friend gave me a preview of his talk — an intro to Vue.js — and I learned so much. As someone who primarily works in React, I was impressed with how intuitive Vue seemed. Watching him demo features and break down the framework sparked my curiosity. It left me really motivated to dive into Vue.js myself.

Conference Day
Despite a long day of driving and socializing, I couldn’t fall asleep that night. I didn’t feel nervous, but maybe the adrenaline of giving my first talk had something to do with it. We woke up early the next morning and headed to the venue.

My talk was scheduled for the afternoon, so I spent the morning exploring. I stopped by sponsor booths, caught up with people I’d met the night before, and attended a few other sessions.

One of the talks I went to was about using generative AI to improve soft skills. The speaker demonstrated how to role-play different workplace scenarios with AI — assigning it temperaments like “disgruntled” or “satisfied” — and then using speech-to-text to interact in real time. After the exchange, the AI would provide feedback on how you handled the situation. It was honestly mind-blowing. He also talked about using AI to build custom learning modules, tailored to your style and pace, which I think is such a cool use case.

As someone whose talk was centered around giving and receiving feedback, this AI session gave me so many ideas. I’m definitely considering incorporating some of these tools into future versions of my talk — whether it’s practicing difficult conversations or using AI to help interpret or reframe feedback in a constructive way.

Owning Your Skillset
I also caught a fascinating (and super fun) talk comparing open source communities to cults. Yes, cults! The parallels were more real than you’d expect — and the delivery had the whole room engaged and laughing.

Later in the day, I watched another friend give his talk, titled “Skills to Bills: A User’s Guide to Demonstrated Competency.” It was a practical and empowering guide on how developers can not only build technical skills, but also communicate them with confidence.

He broke the session down into four core pillars:

• Speak to it: how to talk about your work — whether it’s from your job, personal projects, or open source contributions.
• Build it: recognizing that experience can be built outside traditional roles.
• Share it: leveraging platforms like social media to showcase what you know.
• Handle it: addressing the emotional side, like imposter syndrome, that can hold you back from sharing your expertise.

By the end, attendees walked away with actionable tips to not only do the work, but talk about it, share it, and own it.

Soft Skills, Strong Impact
To my surprise (and excitement), the room for my talk was completely packed. I could tell that a lot of folks attending were genuinely interested in improving their soft skills — something that often doesn’t get the spotlight in technical conferences. My talk focused on feedback — how to give it, how to receive it, and how to foster healthier communication in our workplaces.

This was my first time delivering this particular presentation, and I ran through it quicker than I expected. I ended up using just over half my allotted time for the main content, but the real magic happened during the Q&A.

We had an amazing discussion that went right up to the end of my session. People opened up about their fears of rejection, struggles with receiving critical feedback, and experiences navigating feedback in both tech and life. I was able to share my own journey, coming from an arts background and moving into tech, dealing with everything from imposter syndrome to rejection sensitivity. I also shared what I’ve learned through my roles as a professor and mentor — how to give feedback that’s not only honest but supportive.

That moment of connection — with people opening up, asking hard questions, and feeling safe to explore those topics — was incredibly powerful. We probably could’ve talked for another hour.

Looking Ahead
Orlando Code Camp was an unforgettable experience. Speaking for the first time at a conference taught me so much — not just about public speaking, but about community, vulnerability, and how much we all want to learn and grow.

I’m already looking forward to my next conference later this month: Atlanta Cloud Conference on April 26th, where I’ll be giving a talk titled “404 Community Not Found? Let’s Fix That!” After everything I experienced at Orlando Code Camp, I feel more inspired than ever to keep showing up, sharing what I’ve learned, and learning from others.

Thanks for following along, and if you’re thinking about speaking at a conference — do it. You never know who needs to hear what you have to say.