conference

  • August 25, 2017

    5 Steps to Giving a Great Conference Talk

    When Steve Jobs presented the iPhone for the first time, he didn’t get up on stage and say, “Hey this is an iPhone.” Instead, he told a story – specifically the story of Apple. He built up the iPhone in terms that people understood. This made for an excellent presentation. It sucked people in, it made them invested in what it was talking about, and ultimately, he announced the iPhone to huge cheers. Steve Jobs knew how to give a great presentation.

    Now, I’ve been speaking in front of people for a long time. My first on stage performance was at 7 years old, when I was in 2nd grade. I love being in front of people, whether I’m acting, teaching, or just talking. But giving a good conference presentation takes practice. After professionally speaking for almost 10 years, I know what works and what needs work. Here are my 5 steps to putting together a good conference talk.

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  • October 19, 2012

    Speaking at WordCamp Philly

    I'm Speaking - WordCamp PhillyJust a quick note that I’ll be speaking tomorrow (Oct 20th) at WordCamp Philly! My talk is called Building a Simple WordPress Framework. Here is the description:

    This is a talk modeled after my 4-part series on WPTuts+, DIY WordPress Theme Framework. I’ll cover some basic rules of software reuse and defining your needs, what’s out there, why I made my own, and then some code: The important elements of WP themes and what should be included in the framework, how to use that framework as a child theme, and how to use it as a starting point for a parent theme.

    I’m part of the Designer Track and will be speaking at 1:15pm (full schedule here). Come on by! If you can’t make it, I’ll be around both days so feel free to stop me and say hello.