This is an event for people from marginalized or underrepresented groups in WordPress in AMER & EMEA and for participants in our Allyship program who have taken the "Allyship for WordPress event organizers" workshop.

The Diverse Speaker Training Group (#WPDiversity) invites you to join us for a workshop in a fun format: an Interactive, Transformational Watch Party! We will watch a video on Learn WordPress.

Facilitators: Oneal Rosero and AmyJune Hineline

Does the thought of speaking at one of our WordPress meetups or WordCamps intrigue you? This is a workshop for people from marginalized and underrepresented groups who are thinking about speaking at a meetup or WordCamp. The focus of this hands-on session is to look at what has stopped you from speaking in the past and explore how to move past your fears, generate WordPress-related topics to give a talk on, boost your speaking confidence, and allow you to practice speaking in a safe space. At the end of the workshop, you will have a few ideas for talks that the community wants to hear!

***You do NOT have to have any experience in public speaking. This workshop is for all levels of experience.***

This workshop is for you if:

- You identify as being from a marginalized or underrepresented group in terms of gender, race, class, sexuality, ability, age, etc.

- You’ve thought about speaking at Meetups or WordCamps but haven’t been able to think of a topic

- You think you don’t know anything worth speaking about

Or:

- You are a participant of our Allyship program who has taken the "Allyship for WordPress event organizers" workshop

We will cover:

• Why speak at WordPress events?
• Explore what has stopped you from speaking in the past and how to move past your fears
• Dispelling some myths about speakers/speaking
• Coming up with topics and choosing one
• How to boost your speaking confidence
• Practice speaking in a safe space.

There will be an invitation to participate actively by:

• Working on the video exercises together and receiving live coaching from mentors and attendees
• Chatting about the material we are watching in the Zoom text chat

Participants of the Allyship program are invited to both participate in the exercises and to support the attendees.

We call this Transformational because you will not simply be sitting and watching a video. Doing these exercises with us creates a profound shift in how you see yourself and your tech knowledge.

You will get the Zoom link in the confirmation to your ticket. We will also send it by email and by google calendar shortly before the event.

“I felt like you were reading my mind on some of these points about what holds us back from speaking. And the brainstorm prompts are all really, really good. I walked away with a ton of ideas and newfound confidence. I’m excited to talk now. This workshop works!”

– Erika Lewis, WordPress Dev, Washington DC