Scott ran across CFP Land a few months ago, and unlike 99% of subscribers, he reached out to chat. I really enjoy learning from and trading stories with other speakers, so I’m excited to bring his story to life here on the blog. Like many speakers I’ve interviewed, Scott started off reluctant to get on stage, but has turned one of his biggest weaknesses into an indispensable strength.

You did it! Your proposal was accepted and you’re officially in the conference program. Now what?

If you’re like me, you’ve been to hundreds of presentations (maybe even more) and you know exactly what makes a presentation memorable: it’s either REALLY good or REALLY bad. Content aside, it’s the presentation of your material that makes the most impact to a room full of eager, yet, potentially overwhelmed, conference-goers.

I believe that everyone has the ability to develop an aesthetic and engaging presentation that will be remembered, so I’ve put together some of my favorite tools to help you do just that. But, if you’re not quite ready to begin your slide deck yet, first check out my Guide to Preparing a Conference Presentation.

GOTO Chicago will be more accessible than ever now that it’s all online, so I’m excited to bring you a speaker story from one of the many great speakers scheduled for the event. Kirk Pepperdine sold the company he founded to Microsoft, and now helps build the Java experience for Azure.

Kirk has spoken at countless conferences (as evidenced by his trove of event badges), and is currently talking about performance tuning for Java. In his interview below, he talks about his current work, how he has built up a workshop over years, and what he’s learned about what people expect out of conference speakers. Read on for more of Kirk’s story.