My presentation as an engineer started with raising a question for myself, and what I learned from it

Hello.
I'm Teraoka, an infrastructure engineer.

Lately, I've been getting more opportunities to speak at external study groups and seminars.
I often see articles online saying things like, "Engineers should speak at events!"
and I myself have come to think the same thing: "Especially engineers should speak at events!"

This time, without including any technical elements,
I'd like to summarize what I learned from actually giving presentations, starting with the "self-reflection" that led me to start speaking on stage.

Events attended so far

Where exactly have you spoken before? I've compiled a list below.
You might have even attended some of these events.

The materials I used in my presentation are all compiled on SpeakerDeck, so please take a look!
Presentation Materials | SpeakerDeck

[Osaka] SB Cloud Seminar: "Cloud Utilization Seminar for Practical Inbound Marketing to Chinese Visitors to Japan"

by SB Cloud,At a seminar hosted
our reservation system,Edisonwe presented a case study of

as our infrastructureAlibaba Cloudwe use
in a session during the seminar, I gave a technical explanation of our cloud infrastructure.

[Osaka] SB Cloud Seminar: "Cloud Utilization Seminar for Practical Inbound Marketing to Chinese Visitors to Japan"

[Osaka] Alibaba Cloud in Osaka #3

At the Alibaba Cloud user meeting,the CloudMonitorservice and
shared some features that I found useful from an MSP's perspective.

As an MSP (Managed Service Provider), server operation is of paramount importance, so
I definitely want to make use of this type of service!

[Osaka] Alibaba Cloud in Osaka #3 | connpass

Practitioners talk about real multi-cloud: AWS, Azure, GCP, Oracle Cloud

We also visited an event hosted by Oracle Corporation Japan!

My presentation focused on "multi-cloud" solutions, specifically
Oracle Cloud'sAutonomouswithin a multi-cloud environment
discussing how to connect to

The materials used here are also uploaded to SpeakerDeck, and they have the most views (the response is amazing!)

Practitioners talk about the real world of multi-cloud: AWS, Azure, GCP, and Oracle Cloud | connpass

Mackerel UG Kansai Branch Meetup #1

the MackerelThis was the first event since the establishment of the Kansai branch of
I participated in the lightning talk session andTerraformintroduced the fact that you can configure Mackerel using

Mackerel UG Kansai Branch Meetup #1 | connpass

[Osaka] Alibaba Cloud in Osaka #4 "First time held in Namba" "DataV Hands-on"

This was my second time speaking at the Alibaba Cloud user meeting!
This time, the topic was entirely about Terraform, and I introduced examples of how Alibaba Cloud is using Terraform.

[Osaka] Alibaba Cloud in Osaka #4 "First time held in Namba" "DataV Hands-on" | connpass

[Kyoto] GCPUG Kyoto #2 [GCP]

This was my first time speaking at a GCP user group meeting!
The topic was containers and Kubernetes, and GCPGoogle Kubernetes Engineoffers a service called

In my presentation,VulsI introduced a vulnerability assessment server built using a combination of

[Kyoto] GCPUG Kyoto #2 [GCP] | connpass

[Osaka] GCPUG Osaka #10 ~ Multi-Cloud Day ~ [Co-hosted by 3 clouds]

It was a very valuable event co-hosted by three clouds (GCP/Alibaba Cloud/Oracle Cloud)!

Since this event was co-hosted by three cloud providers, the topic naturally revolved around multi-cloud environments. As Terraform supported all of them,
I introduced how to build infrastructure using Terraform across three cloud platforms, including actual code examples.

[Osaka] GCPUG Osaka #10 ~ Multi-Cloud Day ~ [Co-hosted by 3 clouds] | connpass

In fact, it was even featured in the media

Although I still have relatively little experience, I have given this many presentations.
In particular, the "Real-World Multi-Cloud Experiences: AWS, Azure, GCP, Oracle Cloud" event hosted by Oracle Japan Co., Ltd.
received a great response, partly because CloudWatch was covering it.

The goal is to combine the best of leading services! The current state of companies embracing multi-cloud | CloudWatch

I will continue to speak at these events in the future, so please say hello if you see me!

Raising questions about oneself

My first time speaking on stage was around November 2018.
Before that, I had never done it, nor had I ever wanted to.

At that time, it had been a little over two years since I joined the company as a new graduate, and I had become accustomed to my work,
but it was also a period when I was reflecting on myself, and in the process, I raised several issues.

I got used to my job, for better or worse

When I first joined the company, I was struggling to learn the ropes, but
after more than two years, I was able to do more things and be entrusted with more responsibilities,
and gradually I was able to work at my own pace.

That's all well and good, but on the other hand, I became complacent with the situation and stopped taking on new challenges and initiatives, which meant I
lost my passion and motivation for work.

Without any particular excitement, I simply went through the motions of doing the work I was given.
Before I knew it, work had changed from something "fun" to something "boring."

Concerns about one's future career

When I lost my motivation for work, I suddenly began to feel anxious about my future career.
By career, I don't mean evaluations or promotions within the company, but rather
my "personal career"—what I want to do and what I want to accomplish in the future. This
is because I believe that "a career is not something you leave to the company, but something you build up through your own actions."

I felt a gap between my lack of motivation and the career I envisioned,
and that naturally turned into anxiety, wondering, "Is it really okay to continue like this?"

What motivated me to start speaking at events?

Simply raising issues won't solve anything, and nothing will change.
I also believe that professional growth is impossible without self-transformation.
I've decided that I must change and will take action.

At our company, we have one-on-one meetings with our supervisors every six months, and I expressed my desire to speak at external events.
I made the request because I felt that although I hadn't done it before, it would definitely become necessary in the future.
The speed at which the opportunity arose was truly impressive!
This was theきっかけ (trigger/starting point) for me to begin speaking at events, and there are a few things I keep in mind.

Be aware of the output

While inputting information is certainly important,
simply memorizing it as knowledge won't allow you to put it into practice when the time comes.
Output is about "organizing the input information and putting it into a usable state," and I
keep that in mind when creating materials for presentations.

To continue

There's a saying, "Persistence is power," and I truly believe it's true.
You can only learn anything by continuing to do it, and if you stop halfway, you forget it.
Currently, I'm speaking at a pace of once a month, but I'd like to increase the pace and continue doing so in the future.

Connecting to a career

My own career goal is to become a "technical evangelist."
In that case, presentations at events and such will be the core of my work, which
helps to bridge the gap between my current situation and the career I envision.

What I gained from speaking at the event

My network of people outside the company has expanded

I have opportunities to talk with people within the company every time I go to the office, but I
don't have the chance to talk to people outside the company who work in the same industry unless I make the effort to connect with them.
Work cannot be done by myself or my company alone; it depends on others, so
I think it's especially important to value relationships with people and other companies.

Speaking at events allows you to expand your network of contacts, and
depending on the response, people may even reach out to you to connect, so
it's an excellent way to increase your connections.

I was able to increase my market value

Having more connections means you can let more people know about you.
No matter how amazing your skills and techniques are, they're meaningless if people don't remember you.
In my case, I try to be remembered by my Twitter account name, icon image, and nickname.
Lately, I've been getting called by my nickname, "Nezumi-san's House," and
I'm happy that people are liking and retweeting my materials to spread the word!

My speaking/communication skills have improved dramatically

This is probably the biggest benefit.
Speaking in front of a large audience naturally improves your speaking and communication skills.
I myself used to be the type of person who wasn't good at public speaking, but
recently people have been telling me things like, "You're so calm," or "You're so composed," so
I feel that continuing to speak on stage is paying off.

Furthermore, this skill is useful in work outside of public speaking.
Whether you're working with colleagues or external clients, there's no work where you don't speak at all.
Speaking and conveying information is fundamental to communication,
and being good at it can dramatically change how others perceive you.

from now on

I will be speaking in Osaka and Tokyo next month (July)!

Cloud Native Kansai #04

[Event appearance] Engineer Teraoka will be speaking at "Cloud Native Kansai #04"

Google Cloud Next '19 in Tokyo

We will be exhibiting at the event "Google Cloud Next '19 in Tokyo" in 2019, and Mr. Teraoka from the System Solutions Department will be speaking

If you have time, please come and see it!!