Shine Bootcamp: Help get more women on stage at conferences

Have you ever been to a conference and thought “Where are all the female presenters?” I know I have. As an Analytics Advocate for Google, I’ve been on stage around the world to teach best practices and share about our products for the past five years, and during that time, I’ve often been one of only a few, if not the only, woman on stage.

I think there are many reasons that lead to under-representation by women on conference stages. I’ve written about some of my thoughts on the topic here. I’ve also written about how to improve your public speaking skills. No one is an expert starting out (if you read my post, you’ll see how much I’ve worked to improve over time!), and it can be intimidating to take that first leap. Writing about it and doing something about it are not the same, however, which is why when I was approached last year to help out as a coach for the first ever Shine Bootcamp, I jumped at the opportunity.

Helping guide a group of ambitious, talented women through the ups and downs of public speaking, and watching them grow over the course of a weekend into confident, authoritative experts on their topics, was both humbling and amazing to watch and to be part of.

Seeing first-hand how powerful this experience was, and hearing time and again from many women that they too want to improve their public speaking skills, I couldn’t be more excited to once again help out as a coach for Shine Bootcamp for its 2nd edition this September.

What is Shine Bootcamp?

Shine is an immersive, 3-day keynote speaker bootcamp for women in technology, marketing and startup environments who want to kickstart their speaking careers, share their stories and become respected thought leaders in their industries.

Over the course of a weekend, with the mentorship of seasoned professional speakers, you will learn how to craft an engaging story, design a beautiful slide deck, develop a strong stage presence, deliver an engaging presentation and build a supportive and fruitful speaking network.

Shine takes place September 21-23, 2018 in Vancouver, Canada.

How you can be a part of Shine

You can start the application process at http://www.shinebootcamp.com. You’ll need to read through the bootcamp information, record a video with information about who you are, why you want to be part of Shine, and what you hope to get out of the program, as well as be prepared for a weekend full of hard work, personal growth, and a lot of fun.

Applications are due by July 27 at midnight PDT, so don’t delay!

I truly hope to see you there!