Giving your first conference talk is terrifying. You worry about forgetting what to say, embarrassing yourself in front of experienced engineers, or freezing in front of a room full of strangers.

I know that feeling well — because my first talk didn’t go well. I rushed the preparation, overcomplicated the slides, panicked halfway through the talk (around minute two), and forgot half of what I wanted to say. At one point I spent almost a full minute staring at a slide saying “ehmmm… ehmmm…” while 80 engineers watched. To make things even better, the talk was supposed to be given by two speakers — but the day before the conference my co-speaker told me he couldn’t make it.

It felt like a failure. But it taught me something important: your first talk doesn’t need to be perfect — it just needs to happen.

In this talk I’ll share that story and the lessons I learned so others can prepare their first talk, survive the stage, and maybe even enjoy it.