01/16/2026
I had an amazing time attending SNIC 2026 and teaching my 2-Hour pre-conference session “Presenting With Confidence”! 🗣️
As someone who was professionally trained in public speaking during college (while working for a non-for-profit), I am extremely passionate about people speaking authentically. Although I value how I was trained, I actually speak NOTHING like I was taught. Now, I speak like ME. And guess what? When I started doing that, my speaking career really took off! 📈
I tell everyone “I am by no means a polished speaker”:
1. I talk really fast & my hands move all over the place (let’s blame the Chicago Italian in me) 🤌🏼😆
2. I say “like” too much 🙈
3. I am not scripted in the slightest so I do in fact glance at my slides 👀
4. I sometimes sway side to side when talking, a habit I’ve had since childhood! 🌊
But you know what is the best feedback I get from my audience? “I love listening to you, because I feel like you’re just having a conversation with me”
That’s. The. Point. ☝🏼
Sounding like anyone but myself means nothing if my message isn’t connecting with my audience. I don’t care about being perfect, I care about bringing value to others. 👏🏼
In a world of social media where everything is “picture perfect”, I am focused on building up those around me to be their authentic messy selves. I want others to have the confidence to speak their truth and share their knowledge, without the fear of not being “perfect”.
I received great feedback from my session, and made some amazing connections! Not to mention my favorite moment from the weekend, when asked if my cousin was Taylor Swift LOL (last slide)
Always a great time at SNIC! 🫶🏻