Half-Elf on Tech

Thoughts From a Professional Lesbian

Tag: speaking

  • The Purpose of a Case Study

    The Purpose of a Case Study

    Back in early December I gave a talk at WordCamp US about a website I built with Tracy. The talk was titled “Lesbians, Damn Lesbians, and Statistics.” You can watch it here:

    Of all the talks I’ve given, I feel it was the least WordPressy of them all. That is, while I did talk about WordPress and why we made choices that we did, and how they relate to the data design, it wasn’t very code heavy. It was, instead, a case study in how and why and what.

    What

    A case study talk is complicated because you have to address what the topic is beyond WordPress. When you start with WordPress, and you’re at a WordPress convention, you don’t have to lay the groundwork. You can jump in and talk about custom post types and taxonomies. At a WordCamp, everyone knows about WordPress, or at least enough to skip over the basics.

    On the other hand, your case study starts by explaining what the reason was that you built the site in the first place. What’s the purpose of the site and what’s the relation to WordPress. You start with the narrative of “This is my story.” And you have to do it fast because next is the why!

    Why

    Once you have explained what the site is about, you have to explain why WordPress. When you’re doing a normal talk about WordPress things, you skip right over this. Everyone knows why WordPress. Because WordPress! But many times we ask ourselves “Is WordPress the best tool for this job?” We ask “Is it the right tool?” So in a case study, you have to build up your case and explain why.

    This is hard, because you already jumped through those hoops to explain to yourself (and any business partners you’re working with) the rationale. Distilling all of that into a third of your talk, which means maybe ten minutes, is not easy. You summarize, you skip over things, and you still have to hit the main points or people won’t be able to make the connections for the next section.

    How

    Finally you have to explain how you did this. If people don’t understand what you did and why, the how becomes meaningless. This is because the brunt of your talk takes place here. This is the real WordPressy stuff, where you talk about how the what and why came together to be this thing. If people can understand the enormity of the data, they can conceptualize your logic.

    If you’ve built everything up before, people will understand “Oh, she couldn’t make death a taxonomy because the overlap would cause problems and become unwieldy.” They’ll follow you when you explain about faceting searches and moving data.

    Because

    The purpose of all this is to draw people in with a cohesive story that puts the code and the concept together. People remember songs because of the rhythm and pattern. They will remember your case study because of the story. We remember stories.

    The purpose of your case study is to tell a good story that people remember and that connects them to your topic and your code.

  • Mailbag: Being Rejected Is Good

    Mailbag: Being Rejected Is Good

    Do you talk at every WordCamp you go to?

    Nope.

    You probably wanted a longer answer. I suspect the real question is “If you apply to speak at a WordCamp, are you always accepted?”

    Nope.

    Looking at the numbers, I speak at just over half the WordCamps I attend. I apply to about 75% of them (yes, sometimes I intentionally do not apply, it’s nice to just go to a camp). I’ve been specifically asked to apply to a couple, and I’ve been requested to speak (no application) at two I think (one I did not manage to attend, sorry).

    But I’ve applied to multiple WordCamps and not been selected to speak, like WordCamp San Francisco 2014.

    It doesn’t bother me much.

    Oh, it bothers me some, since I don’t often get to find out why. Sometimes I do. I like when I do. But looking at WCSF 2014, I assumed I was a long shot. I’d spoken at the last two, there were a high number of applicants, and lets be honest, we should get some new faces in there. I also don’t think I submitted the best application, but it was rather obligatory that I do submit, so I did.

    Still, it’s good to get that rejection email, especially when they do tell me things like “We already had X number of speakers apply about Foo, and you’re not local.” I love hearing that one. Yes, pick local! The generic rejections, like from WCSF (I swear I’m not picking on it) makes sense when you consider the mountains of submissions. Same with WordCamp NYC. I submitted twice, once something I picked and once was something they posted as ‘Talks we’d like.’

    That’s my magic sauce for speaking, by the way. I ask what kind of talks they’re looking for, or what the theme of the WordCamp is. A WordCamp based on security should have a security themed talk. A WordCamp with a high number of bloggers and community runners probably would benefit from a talk about dealing with the community. Not everyone has a wide range of topics they can talk about, of course, but it’s still good to broaden your own horizons and talk about what both makes you comfortable and what doesn’t.

    The rejections I learn from. I try to ask what about it wasn’t right. What did people want and not get, what did they not want. This works well with my job, because I’m supposed to be keeping in tune with how people are using WordPress, and being rejected means I learn where I’m wrong.

    Does it hurt? Of course. ‘Losing’ in any sense of the word is painful and uncomfortable, and all the time I tell you that you can learn from it doesn’t make that feel any better. But what will make you feel better is next time. Because if you do learn from it and become better at what you do, then you will speak at an event, or stand up and do a thing, or simply succeed, in whatever way you mean for that to be. And not much feels better than that.

    My father told me once that you lose more than you win, and losing hurt worse than winning felt good. He’s right. And that hasn’t changed in my life one bit. What has changed is that I appreciate the winning a whole heck of a lot more, because I’ve lost.

  • Just Ask

    Just Ask

    Someone asked me why I spoke at some events and not others. Or why I was on some podcasts and not others. For WordPress, I do generally apply to speak if I’m going (for what I consider obvious reasons, I’m good at it and I actually enjoy it, shut up Jenifer, you were right) but I also like going to WordCamps just to learn and be social in a businessy sort of way. This is my job, after all.

    So why did I talk on WPWatercooler or MeetWP or The Matt Report? Why did I do the interview with Code Poet? It’s so simple you’ll laugh.

    They asked.

    Just Ask: Woman stretching out her handI very rarely say no. The two days I tend to are Fridays and Saturdays. I’m not online Saturday, and Friday is usually pretty busy for me. Okay, and I admit Sundays I’m usually out at the archery range or solar (it’s an arts and crafts thing), but still, with enough warning I can make some time. The point being, I’m totally fine with people asking me “Hey, can you be on our thing?” Unless you’re totally hate filled, anti-everything, jerks (which is … surprisingly hard to find in the WP world), I’ll likely say yes if I have the time.

    Mind you, I don’t listen to or watch most podcasts or hangouts in real time. I just don’t have that time anymore. I have a backlog saved, and when I’m at work, I play them on my iPad when things are slower.

    I am sorry to have had to turn down WordCamp Orlando last year, but I’d just come off of three funerals and 6 events in 8 weeks, and I was burning out emotionally (I’m putting you on my list for 2014!). I’m sorry I had to turn down a same-day request from the Matt Report once, but it was just phenomenally bad timing that day. I didn’t even see the email until it was almost too late. Yeah, that kind of day.

    The point to all this is that while I know a lot of people don’t find me super approachable because I like having my personal space respected, and I feel that an unsolicited email is roughly the same as a phone call, my real intent with that viewpoint is to make you think. Think about what you’re asking. Think about what you’re giving to people and what they’re giving you. Don’t take brutal advantage of their good nature, and always respect them as humans with lives and agendas that may not be 100% the same as yours.

    See that’s not hard? Give and take is what makes WordPress great.