Hey there, welcome to another blog about my tech journey. A few weeks ago, I had the incredible opportunity to speak at DjangoCon Africa 2025 for the first time.I decided to share my journey from the lens of a first time speaker and I hope this inspires you to submit a talk for the next conference!
Standing on stage at DjangoCon Africa2025 for my first-ever international conference talk felt surreal. I’d spent weeks preparing, rewriting slides, and repeating my mantra — “I am not afraid.” Yet, no amount of practice could completely prepare me for what it felt like to actually stand there, lights on, faces watching, and my slides glowing behind me.
In that moment, I realized that chaos doesn’t just exist in systems, it exists in us too. And just like in engineering, learning to navigate that chaos is how we grow stronger.
Preparing for the Big Day.
In the weeks leading up to the conference, I had one mantra in my head: “I am not afraid.” Preparation started early. I practiced my talk several times, first alone in my room, then in front of a few friends. Practicing alone gave me confidence, but it wasn’t until I presented in front of others that I realized where the talk wasn’t as perfect as I thought. I began to see where I needed to slow down, clarify, or adjust my tone to make it more engaging and easier to follow.
My talk, “Scaling Django Projects with Chaos” explored how principles of chaos engineering can make Django systems more resilient. But a day before my presentation, I noticed something: the audience included many university students and new developers.
So, I went back to my slides that night and simplified my examples. Instead of complex production scenarios, I added relatable, real-world cases like simulating how an e-commerce site handles traffic during Black Friday or what happens when a database connection fails. That last-minute change made all the difference.
Did I doubt myself? Oh Yes, a few times, I had questions like, Will I remember everything? Will people understand me? Is this topic even interesting? Will people listen?
Lessons I Learned
- Know your audience.
The best talks meet people where they are. Understanding the audience helped me make my examples more engaging and easier to connect with. I used real life examples, audience was familiar with.
2.Practice, but also get feedback.
Rehearsing alone builds confidence; practicing with others builds clarity. The feedback I received helped me polish my delivery and timing. A little side note here, make use of the speaker notes! One speaker shared with me a hack on how to leverage upon the speaker note feature on presentation slides.
3.Personalize your story.
A friend once told me, “People listen to you more when they can relate to you.” Sharing my personal journey from the lens of a service delivery manager made the session more relatable for the audience. Finally let your personality shine through your presentation.
4.Perfection isn’t the goal, connection is.
To be honest, I forgot a few points during my talk, but because I knew my material and believed in the topic, I carried on naturally. The audience stayed with me, and that taught me something powerful: authenticity resonates more than flawless delivery.
What This Experience Taught Me
- Speaking at DjangoCon Africa 2025 was more than just presenting a talk, it was a milestone in my growth as both a developer and a community builder. It showed me the value of preparation, adaptability, and self-belief. I got to tick one goal off my year plan. To be honest, I was a bit nervous when it got to the time for questions but I saw a number of people raise their hands and ask a few questions, which was fulfilling.
2. The best part? The conversations that followed. People walked up to me afterward to share how they connected with my examples or how they planned to explore chaos engineering in their Django projects. One defining moment was when Tim Schiling(read more about his blog on the conference https://www.bettersimple.com/django/2025/08/25/djangocon-africa-2025-recap/ ) walked up to me and said, hey I loved your talk and I am going to try them when I get home and will reach out when I have questions. That’s when it truly hit me, this is what community is all about: sharing, learning, and growing together
Final Thoughts
- If you’ve ever wanted to give a conference talk but doubted yourself, here’s what I’ll say — do it afraid, but do it prepared.
- Lean on your community, practice with people you trust, and remember that your story and perspective matter.
- Because sometimes, the most impactful talks aren’t from the most experienced speakers but from the most authentic ones.
- Find a topic you are passionate about; trust me you have a story that might interest someone.
REMEMBER TO DO IT AFRAID BUT DO IT PREPARED.
Thanks for reading and catch you on the next blog!