What’s up everyone, Wesley here. In this week-in-the-life video, I’m documenting my first ever UX speaking engagement with a local networking group called SoCal UX Designers. They asked me to do a 30-minute talk on a UX topic of my choosing, and I honestly felt super blessed (and also a little shocked) that I was even being asked to speak. I walk you through how I prepared: finishing my outline, building my deck, and doing practice runs so the story actually flows and makes sense. For my topic, I share my real-world experience doing user research in the retail e-commerce space—specifically research for in-store tools used by store associates and managers. A lot of people only think about “the customer” as the user, but in retail, the employees running the store are users too. I also share my personal approach to presentations: keep text minimal, lean on visuals, and use icons/GIFs to keep things engaging without distracting people from what you’re saying. On the day of the event, I was nervous (like freaking out a little bit), but it ended up being an amazing experience meeting designers in my area. The biggest takeaway I want you to leave with is that storytelling and confidence are soft skills you build through reps—trial, error, and showing up—especially if you’re dealing with imposter syndrome as a newer UX designer.