Ross Larson
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Finding Your Voice - Becoming a speaker

Presented June 1, 2025 at MABC, July 2025

Slides Website Venue

MABC Live! July 10, 2025

Day: Thur, July 10

Finding your voice - Becoming a speaker

This is an overview of steps that you can take to find your own voice and take the steps to feel more comfortable becoming a public speaker.

Format

Regular session

Description

Everyone has unique interests, perspectives, and experience. This session will give you strategies to find your voice and become a speaker, if that is something that would interest you.

Audience

Who is the audience? People who would like to become more comfortable with public speaking.

Outcomes/Conclusions

Give people confidence, inspire them to share their perspectives, and get them involved in our community.

Outline

This presentation covers several topics:

  • Learning about yourself
  • Learning about speaking
  • Learning about submitting to conferences
  • Accepted? Learn about preparing to speak.

Mind Map

  • Mind Map in Coggle

Links

  • 10 Days for Better Presentations
  • 10 More Days for Better Presentations
  • Virtual Coffee Challenge - Finding your voice
  • Virtual Coffee Lightning Talk Guide
  • VC Lightning talks from 2023, 2022, and 2021
  • Ultraspeaking blog - Note: Ultraspeaking is a very high-cost speaking consulting service, but they also have some excellent free resources that do not require a large financial outlay.
  • Beth Tucker Long - How to submit a talk at a conference
  • Speaking Resources
  • Video - How to get your first gig at a tech conference
  • Ali Abdaal - How I became a better speaker
  • Brooke Jamieson - How to become a tech conference speaker

Pictures

Ross Larson

Ross Larson became a software developer through the nontraditional path of obtaining a double major in Psychology and French from Luther College. He later obtained a software development degree from Fox Valley Technical College. He works as a Software Developer for Paradigm in Middleton, WI. He currently serves on the board of the Forward Festival. Ross enjoys indie and retro video games, board games, the NFL Draft, creating obscure fantasy leagues, and making charts.

Ross has previously spoken at meetups and conferences like That Conference and DevFest WI.

Ross earned the MCSA: Web Applications certification in 2019.

MCSA

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© 2025 Ross Larson