My First Conference Talk at WitCon 2025
- kundlasarah
- Oct 29
- 2 min read
Updated: 2 days ago
Two weeks ago, I was at the OSU Fawcett Center in Columbus and delivered my first conference talk since going out on my own. The session was called "Leveraging AI & Psychological Frameworks for Tough Personalities."
What Made This Experience Special
WitCon was the perfect environment for a first-time solo speaker.
The conference organizers were incredibly supportive from the moment I was accepted. They provided speaker prep resources, answered every random question I had, and created an atmosphere where first-time speakers felt welcomed rather than intimidated. During the session itself, my audience was engaged - several even pulling out their phones a few times to capture what I was sharing - asked thoughtful questions at the end.
I also had the best support crew I could ask for: my husband took the day off work to attend the conference and support me from the audience. Knowing he was there made everything feel less nerve-wracking and more like a shared experience.
What I Taught (And What I Learned)
My session focused on using AI tools like Claude or ChatGPT alongside psychological frameworks to navigate challenging workplace personalities. I references insights from Geoff Woods' book The AI-Driven Leader, which offers excellent frameworks for blending technology with human-centered leadership.
The goal was to give participants practical tools they could use immediately: prompts for practicing difficult conversations, frameworks for understanding personality dynamics, and strategies for using AI as a coaching partner rather than a replacement for human judgment.
As for what I learned...it's hard to narrow it down to just one thing. Above all else, I discovered what the experience felt like coming at this from the solo entrepreneur side. It's different from company-sponsored workshops I've led in corporate settings or classrooms. There's a fulfillment that comes from conference speaking that's hard to describe until you experience it.
What's Next
I'm already refining some of this content for CodeMash 2026, where I'll be speaking in January. I'm also working on new session topics and thinking about what other conferences might be a good opportunity.
But more than anything, I'm feeling very grateful. Grateful to WitCon for taking a chance on a first-time speaker. Grateful to the attendees who showed up and engaged! Grateful to my husband for cheering me on. And grateful to myself for deciding to submit this proposal back in the summer, even when I wasn't sure I was “100% ready." Sometimes, you just need to take a chance on yourself and go for it. It's worth every nervous moment leading up to it.
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