Why am I sharing my story? Over the years, I’ve had a few people reach out to me, whether via a message through my blog or in private during my training sessions, asking about my experiences with nervousness. Another reason for posting is that I hope sharing my experience motivates you and helps build your confidence, even if it’s just a tiny amount at a time.
I’ve worked in Tech for about 20 years, and for a part of my career, I struggled with intense nervousness, especially if I did not know the people in a group session. The thought of unmuting myself to ask a question in a large group, whether virtually or in person, would send my heartbeat racing. Turning on the webcam was an even bigger challenge, and raising my hand to ask questions in an audience was out of the question. I would often resort to typing my questions in chat or approaching presenters privately during breaks to ask questions.
I always had a passion for sharing knowledge, and supporting work colleagues that I was familiar with over a Teams session or face-to-face workshops wasn’t a problem, as long as the group was familiar to me. Working with customers over the phone or meeting them in person at their office would not be an issue, yes, nerve racking, but I would slowly get over it and control my nerves as it involved meeting one or a few people, not a large group.
During the Covid pandemic, whilst most of the world was locked down, I started to interact more online, over Teams and Zoom. In particular, I discovered an awesome tech community outside of work, on the social media platform, Twitter, which was rebranded to X not too long ago. I had a passion for sharing knowledge and was already sharing knowledge via my tech blog since 2008. I had an interest in Microsoft technologies, particularly Microsoft Azure, Microsoft 365 and wanted to learn more. It took me some time to locate people I wanted to follow on Twitter. I would check tweets, and based on how helpful and kind the individuals were, I clicked the follow button. I started to read tweets and learn more about this amazing, helpful community growing on Twitter. I eventually started to post more on Twitter and interact by sharing my blog posts and any useful updates about new features introduced by Microsoft. It took time before I located and connected to people who had a passion for sharing knowledge about Microsoft Azure.
I then had a lightbulb moment: how could I help people get started with Microsoft Azure and connect them with these awesome and helpful individuals? I decided to launch a website where I would reach out to people from the Tech community who had a passion for Azure. I communicated with individuals via private messages on Twitter, politely asking if they were willing to provide a written interview. I would create the questions, and they would respond in writing and return the completed document to me.
That’s how AzureCrazy.com was launched, and it was amazing to see people wanting to help by sharing their experiences. One of the questions I included in each interview was, “Do you still get nervous when presenting in front of an audience?” The response was consistently yes. I realised that the answers were not only helping visitors to the site, but also boosting my confidence and that it was ok to be nervous. Please do check out the website and read the amazing interviews. I’m sure it will help.
Apart from noticing the interaction within the tech community and the amount of knowledge being shared, the Covid pandemic accelerated the need for sharing knowledge via virtual events. I found a number of monthly tech virtual groups which I joined. Most of these free virtual groups can be found posted on Twitter (X) and LinkedIn. The presenters are kind, and most will allow you to present a topic of your choice, whether you’re new and looking for support to improve your presentation skills, an occasional presenter or want to join to learn. In these sessions, I started to interact over chat and sometimes came off mute to say hello, as at this point, I had started to know some of the founders of these groups through interacting with them over Twitter.
My confidence was building, thanks to this awesome tech community.
The above virtual sessions sparked another lightbulb moment: we could benefit from having a virtual group in our local/surrounding area. Our new virtual group would allow people, whether new to presenting or experienced presenters, to share a tech topic of their choice. We would also host online video podcasts, inviting people from the tech community for tech chats.
I reached out to individuals from the tech community who had a passion for sharing knowledge, who I now call good friends, to see if they would be interested in setting up a new virtual group. After a few weeks of planning, The Bradford Cloud User Group was launched. This tech group aimed to host at least one virtual session per month, open to everyone worldwide to join for free and learn and share tech knowledge. I started to host some of the sessions with my webcam on, a nervous moment in front of a group of people, but I began to learn how to control my nerves. I was only presenting for a very short time and then handing over to the speakers to deliver their sessions so it wasn’t too bad but I was starting to feel more confident.
At my job, I started to become comfortable turning on my webcam, coming off mute, and conducting workshops for larger groups of people. My heartbeat would still race, but I was becoming a little more comfortable and began to control my nerves. This newfound confidence gave me the courage to apply for a more customer facing role as a Solutions Architect, where I would interact with larger groups of people in workshops.
Outside of work and back in the tech community, I was invited to have a one on one live interview to discuss my journey in Tech, blogging, sharing knowledge and more, and I agreed. I knew the presenter from our interactions on Twitter, and he had previously provided me with an Azure Crazy interview. Also, the interview was not difficult and it was a topic I was very comfortable talking about. Thanks to the presenter, who made me feel really comfortable.
As the monthly virtual sessions, blog posts, and AzureCrazy.com interviews continued, Covid restrictions started to reduce, and in-person events were returning. I decided to attend an in-person tech event and finally got to meet people I had been interacting with on Twitter and in virtual sessions for the first time. We also later set up a couple of in-person Bradford Cloud User Group events.
I joined Microsoft as an Azure Technical Trainer
My role: to deliver technical training to Microsoft customers virtually from around the world!
Webcam on! Off mute! Delivering training to groups of 10 – 300 people from around the world, and people I don’t know! This was a role I would never have dreamed of applying for previously. However, the first hurdle was to overcome the barrier to apply for a job at Microsoft. For years, I held myself back, thinking I wasn’t good enough to work for Microsoft. Encouragement from my family and an individual from the tech community who was also a Microsoft employee made a huge difference. He believed in me and confidently referred me for the role, boosting my confidence immensely. What could be the worst that would happen? I wouldn’t be successful, but it would be a great experience interviewing for a role at Microsoft and would help boost my confidence. After three virtual interviews over Teams, I received the news that I was successful!
Another nervous moment was joining and starting my first day at Microsoft. From day 1, I very quickly found that I was joining an amazing and supportive team. Again, it was the right people who made me feel comfortable, along with the Microsoft culture promoting a growth mindset and the idea that we don’t know everything. It’s okay to say, “I don’t know the answer, but will find out” or “I don’t know, but I would love to learn.”
Today, I enjoy providing training to thousands of Microsoft Enterprise customers virtually from around the world. My team, including my Managers at Microsoft support and continue to motivate me, helping boost my confidence, which has encouraged me to always ask questions if I am not sure about something. I am able to confidently and proudly say, “I don’t know, but will find out.” This gives me the opportunity to learn, expand my knowledge and grow daily.
Do I still get nervous? Yes, of course. That will never disappear. I am always nervous, especially every Monday morning before my training delivery commences, but I eventually control my nerves. It’s okay to be nervous, and a colleague on my team who has been a trainer for a long time said a few words that have stuck with me.
When I asked him if he still gets nervous after so many years as a trainer, he said,
“I still feel those little butterfly nerves every Monday morning – I always tell myself… the day I stop feeling those, is the day I stop being a trainer. But so far it didn’t happen”
Final Words
- Being nervous is ok, it shows you’re passionate and want to deliver the best you can.
- Help others by sharing your knowledge.
- Don’t belittle people or put them down with words such as “as if you did not know that” or “are you stupid“. It can lower one’s confidence and even question their career choice, leading to stress and anxiety. Please help them by teaching them and answering their questions respectfully.
- Promote within your team that questions may be off topic, but there are no stupid questions and people should be comfortable asking even if they think the question may seem basic. This will help in boosting confidence.
- If you wish to present in front of a group, start off by picking a topic you are very comfortable with, such as sharing your journey about how you started working in tech. Present in front of one person, a friend, a colleague, a family member and ask them to provide you with feedback. You could present in front of a mirror or join free virtual groups who will support you. Get in touch and we would love for you to present virtually at our Bradford Cloud User Group.
- Promote a growth mindset culture in your organisation. We’re always learning.
- Surround yourself with positive and supportive people who uplift and encourage you.
- Believe in yourself and take it a tiny step at a time.
- Maintain a positive attitude and focus on the good things in your life. Positive thinking can enhance your overall well being and drive.
- Remember, you are good enough and you can do this! Reach out to friends, family, and colleagues and share what you’re feeling.
- Don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone. Taking risks can lead to unexpected opportunities and growth.
- Share your experience, for example, let people know that you may come across as very confident when presenting, but you do get nervous.
- Understand that progress takes time. Patience and persistence are key to achieving long term success.
- Acknowledge and reward yourself for small achievements along the way. Every step forward is progress.
- Break down larger tasks into manageable goals. Achieving smaller milestones can boost your confidence and motivation.
- View failures as learning opportunities. Each setback is a step towards growth and improvement.
- Always be open to learning new things. Curiosity can drive motivation and lead to personal and professional development.
I hope this post motivates you and helps build your confidence. Please feel free to reach out if I can be of any help.
If you have a story to share which could help boost motivation for others, please post in the comments section below. Your story may inspire others.
Thank you 🙂
