Speaking at New Relic User Group Vol. 10

Hello!

It had been a while since my previous post, but I had not simply been taking a break. Work required me to learn some new technologies and concepts, so I had been investing a good deal of time in technical input.

That did not mean I was only consuming information. On June 18, 2024, I spoke at New Relic User Group Vol. 10, held at KDDI Digital Gate. This post is my report on the experience.

Table of Contents

My First New Relic User Group Talk

The environment I work in uses New Relic as its observability platform. New Relic can alert us to many kinds of abnormal service behavior and run scheduled synthetic monitoring. At work, I had managed this configuration as Infrastructure as Code with Terraform, and that became the subject of my talk.

You can find the presentation slides here.

I often prepare slides and present at internal study sessions, but this was my first time speaking in person at a fairly large external event. It taught me a great deal and gave me confidence.

Preparing the Talk

The opportunity came through my employer. Our company received an invitation to speak at New Relic User Group, and I was selected as the presenter.

I had consistently shared information inside the company, made it known that I wanted to take any available speaking opportunity, and had relevant experience for the topic. Those factors led to the assignment coming my way.

I had presented to large audiences several times since university and had even been fortunate enough to receive awards, so speaking itself was not completely unfamiliar. An external event is much stricter about time than an internal study session, however. While building the slides, I repeatedly rehearsed to make sure I could finish just within the allotted slot.

The Day of the Event

Before the Talk

The event was scheduled to begin at 6:00 p.m. As it happened, I had also booked a medical examination that day, including my first gastroscopy.

My first gastroscopy and my first external talk therefore landed on the same date. The examination was performed under sedation, so it seemed to be over almost as soon as I noticed it had begun. Feeling much better about gastroscopy than the alternative barium test, I headed to the venue in a good mood.

The other speakers were already there, and I exchanged business cards with many people. That was another first. I was quietly wondering whether I was following the correct etiquette, and because I had forgotten to bring a card holder, I was not sure how best to handle the cards I received.

As you would expect at a New Relic event, many attendees had a deep interest in SRE and infrastructure. Every talk was substantial, and I found the event stimulating even as an audience member. At the same time, I began to worry that my own material might be the least substantial of the day.

Time to Present

Then it was my turn. I drew on the presentation techniques I had learned from previous experience and was able to deliver the talk in my own style.

The slot was 20 minutes. My presentation style is to watch the audience, respond to their reactions, and add small improvised explanations. If I design the prepared material to fill every second from the start, I will inevitably run over, so I deliberately prepared what felt like slightly too little.

That decision worked. Once I slowed down and added explanations in response to the room, the talk finished at almost exactly 20 minutes. Leaving room in advance really matters when you want to speak naturally.

After the Talk

After the event, members of the NRUG organizing team and people from New Relic invited us to an informal gathering. Their enthusiasm for New Relic was remarkable, and I was surrounded by highly capable software engineers. It was an inspiring experience.

Thank you very much to everyone who welcomed me and took care of the speakers. I hope we have another opportunity to work together.

What I Took Away

I am very glad I participated. Speaking at an event attended by around 170 people gave me my first real external-event experience and significantly lowered the psychological barrier to doing it again.

These were my main lessons:

• Speaking at an external event is not something to fear.
• Participating as a speaker expands your community more than attending only as an audience member.
• Many people interested in SRE care not only about technology, but also about how their work contributes to the business.
• Taking action matters.

I was especially inspired by how seriously so many participants thought about contributing to their businesses.

I am naturally drawn to technology itself, but I also try to think constantly about how to connect it to value. I make a conscious effort to contribute in that area at work. Compared with the other sessions, however, my presentation focused more heavily on concrete technology.

I do not consider that a weakness, and I intend to keep my technically oriented perspective. At the same time, many talks at this event went beyond technology and explored how to turn it into business value. They showed me how broad that world is, and I want to carry that inspiration into my future work.

Closing

The experience made me want to speak more often—perhaps once or twice a year.

I was delighted that so many people came to talk with me afterward. It also gave me confidence that I can contribute to a community myself.

Preparing a talk helps organize your own understanding, but the benefits go far beyond the presentation: conversations after the event, new relationships, and opportunities to improve how you communicate. I gained much more than the 20 minutes on stage.

I look forward to doing it again.