Meet Me at the Digital Festival in Zurich

The Forrest Four-Cast: September 16, 2016

Today I leave Austin for the Digital Festival in Zurich, where I am scheduled to talk about current technology trends on September 17. I’ve never been to Switzerland before, so I’m excited about the trip — although I certainly wish the duration of my stay in this country was a bit longer.

Public speaking is something that I have become a lot more comfortable with. Even five years, standing in front of an audience and trying to piece together a coherent thought was one of my biggest fears in life. More recently, this activity feels a lot less stressful (enough so that I almost miss the adrenalin rush that I got in the old days when I made it through a talk without fainting). I am still not nearly as good as I want to be in terms of the content that I deliver as well as the style with which I deliver that content. But, I’m slowly getting better. Moreover, my relative lack of fear is a strong reminder that the more often you do something that scares you, the more likely you can eventually conquer that fright.

The micro-trip to Zurich also reflects our ongoing mission to grow the international presence at SXSW. In 2016, representatives from about 100 different countries (including Switzerland) visited Austin in March. We’d like to see even more countries at the 2017 event. Being able to connect and share ideas with digital creatives from all over the world is absolutely one of the best aspects of SXSW.

If you are attending the Digital Festival this weekend, then please stop by to say introduce yourself. I will be speaking at 11:45 am on Saturday at the Kaufleuten Zurich.