Sometimes people ask me what it takes to start doing public talks in the networking field. Frankly, I never thought community engaging and public speaking would be my "thing", but with dozens of them done, I'd like to share some things I've learned. I recall it all started with publishing blog posts. I was never the brightest or most talented, but I didn't think twice about sharing my knowledge. You take your notes out of OneNote, Notes, or Notion, and there is a good chance people would rave about you sharing that. So I started. Through blogging, you get the preschool experience; you meet your first haters and supporters. You see what works well and what doesn't. You reflect. Most importantly, you get your record "straight". You can't explain X without getting to quite some depths of it, and it helps you as an engineer a lot. After the blogging period, you start applying to CFPs for your first talks. Oh, boy, it is nervous. Good thing there is likely a local NOG community around you. Like the one in the picture here, @NLNOG hosted by BIT-MeetMe. These events are like doing a gig when your fam is around you. You don't stress (much) because you feel being home and the stage is not massive, but getting through these smaller events is crucial before you go @ripencc or @nanog . The latter is a totally different experience, and if you want to know more about it, chime in in the comments.