I spoke at my first tech conference 15 years ago.

Since then, I've had a number of people say that they'd like to give a presentation, but then they say things like:

• I can't do it. I just don't know enough.

• I'm afraid I'd forget what I wanted to say and will freeze.

• What if someone gives me a hard time for it?

Here are 3 simple (but effective) thoughts I'd give anyone who would like to speak at a conference, but are holding back:

You absolutely know enough about help someone else

We think we need to have have incredibly deep expertise before we have anything to share. It's just not true.

Everyone is at different levels of their security journey. Some are at an earlier point and would love learn from your experiences. In several of my presentations, I would openly say that this was something I wanted to learn and that I was sharing what I had found out.

Pick something that you've learned (or are learning) and share your story about what the process. Folks will be interested in your topic and come to hear what you have to say.

Practicing your presentation reduces fear

Practicing what you have to say will make you far more confident in your ability to say it on stage.

I won't say that practicing eliminates fear, but it will make you far more confident that you'll be successful. Not only does it get your thoughts in order, you'll find the glaring mistakes that your slides have in them. (At least it helps me find the holes in my presentations.)

Plan to deliver your presentation to your cat or dog a couple of times and make sure you do it. It helps immensely.

Your audience wants you to succeed

When people decide to attend your presentation, they want to hear you have to say.

Usually there are a number of presentations going on at the same time as yours. Your audience saw the description of yours and picked you over the others. They are there to pick up some new things that will help them.

Don't waste your energy worrying about someone who might criticize you. They didn't get up on stage. You did.

Don't hold back if you have the desire to speak publicly. It can be a lot of fun and helps us all grow.