Nela Dunato has been rated best speaker from WordCamp Split 2016 and we are very happy to announce that she will be opening this years’ WordCamp Zagreb with her talk “The Human-Centered Brand“. We talked with Nela about personal growth, balancing women speakers, conferences and more!
Nela, you were with us last year too, but for those who don’t know you – could you tell us couple of things about yourself?
I’m a freelance brand designer living in Rijeka, a charming port city on the Croatian coast. I also teach design and marketing through classes and workshops. I’ve been a blogger since 2004, so my (rather rocky) relationship with WordPress started around that time.
I like to say that I design for a living, and live for art. Whenever I’m not working, I’m trying to bring one of my million creative ideas to life, and so far my personal projects have been the driving force behind my career.
Personal growth is a very important aspect of my life, and I’ve been exploring the intersection of design, business, public service and self-expression, and formulating my thoughts on that in my upcoming book (more on that later).
Last year most attendees said that your talk was the best, and this year we’re continuing with the tradition where the best speaker from the previous year, opens the conference. What will you talk about this year?
I am so excited about that! I’m deeply grateful to everyone who voted for my talk. It’s an honor to open this conference.
My talk “The Human-Centered Brand” is about branding for service professionals, such as creative agencies and freelancers. I find that a lot of advice is geared towards products (physical or digital), and that’s not the same as branding your services. Service professionals are directly in touch with their clients and so they need to be more discerning about who they’re serving, as well as more transparent with their clients to form authentic relationships. I wanted to highlight this difference and help business owners get clarity around the elements of branding that are relevant for them, and ignore the rest.
“The Human-Centered Brand” is also the title of the book I’m in the process of writing, based on my experience of working with clients, most of whom are service-based businesses. It’s as much about mindset, as it is about design.
I remember, don’t know if you do – we talked at the first WordCamp Croatia in Rijeka, on that afterparty – about what anyone needs to become a speaker. What pushed you towards speaking? What anyone needs to do to become a speaker?
I do remember that conversation!
What pushed me toward speaking was that I’ve felt I had valuable things to share, and they weren’t creating as much impact as I hoped just sitting there on my blog. I wanted to start showing up on industry events alongside experts I respected, and teach more in-depth concepts through workshops to make sure people implemented them. This was not my first foray into speaking, though. I’ve had a bit of experience in the sci-fi fandom with talks, panels and running creative workshops, I just had to apply it in a professional setting.
In my opinion, the two factors that matter the most in a good talk are the speaker’s grasp on the subject and stage presence. The audience will forgive you tech issues and broken presentation slides if you can earn their attention through an interesting topic, and by appearing competent.
A good grasp on the subject doesn’t mean just knowing how to do a certain thing, but being able to organize the information in a way that makes it accessible to others. I’ve found that writing really helps with this. I script my talks heavily and carefully edit the order of each point. If I didn’t do this, I’d start rambling and go over time (which happens to me in situations when time isn’t kept so strictly).
Stage presence is something you practice – preferably as often as you can, not just once a year. People ask me how I deal with stage fright, but I no longer have it. My advice is to keep going, it gets much easier. Over time, you’ll be less stiff and anxious on stage so more of your personality will come through. Start small, with events where you feel comfortable. Don’t crack jokes if that’s not what you normally do, or try to be too serious if you’re normally a relaxed and funny person. Be yourself and the audience will appreciate it.
Is it rewarding to be a speaker and would you recommend it to others? And also – how can we have more woman women speakers, something that is a problem not only in the WordPress community but in the tech community in general. What needs to be done to make it happen?
I find it very rewarding. Being around and in front of people is my strong suit, so I definitely enjoy the opportunity. When you’re a speaker, people approach you and start conversations, so you get to meet a lot more people than by being an attendee. It’s not for everyone, but if you’re intrigued, definitely give it a try.
The lack of women speakers bothers me a lot, too. There’s a lot of research and tips already a mere Google search away, but apparently most conference organizers don’t bother to read it. Those who experiment with this advice see a huge spike in female representation.
Organizers typically wait for people to apply to speak, but that will always result in fewer women applicants because women apply at a lower rate than men of the same level of expertise, as we’re typically more affected by impostor syndrome. Inviting women speakers sends the message that their voice is appreciated in this community. If you don’t know any, there’s a directory called Women Talk Design where conferences can find women speakers (there are similar lists for other professions). Ask women speakers to recommend their colleagues. Include more women in the organization committee – they might know who to invite, and will work harder to avoid an all-dude panel.
Croatian sci-fi conventions are a great model of how this works. There’s a roughly 50-50 ratio both among speakers and attendees, and it’s been that way for over a decade. When foreigners come here they can’t quite believe it – in other countries, sci-fi cons suffer from the same problems as tech conferences. Seems like we’ve done the “impossible”!
Let’s not forget that women with small children are less likely to travel. WordCamp London has a cheap daycare in the venue for speakers and attendees, which made the event a lot more inclusive for parents regardless of gender.
Some men get up in arms when we suggest this “special treatment” of women speakers, claiming that’s not what equality is about, but the only way to address systemic inequality and undo the negative messages we get from society is to extend a hand towards women and make sure they know they’re welcome, and that they will be treated with respect and safe from harassment.
One last word?
Anyone who’s on the fence about attending because they’re “not using WordPress” should come anyway. For this ticket price, this is by far the most accessible conference with a guaranteed ROI.
You’ll have a great time, and you’ll find that the WordPress community is very welcoming toward WP newbies. We don’t bite!
Did you get your ticket?
If you haven’t already, get your ticket for WordCamp Zagreb today. Tickets are priced at 20€ (around 150 HRK) which will give you entrance to the conference, (first) access to workshops on Friday and to Contributor day on Sunday. You will also get the drinks, lunch, incredible t-shirt and other cool swag from our sponsors.