A WiTVoices Cohort · For Women in Tech
Your first talk. Your forever advantage.
In four weeks, go from "I think I have something to say" to delivering a real conference talk — live, recorded, and on the record. No prior speaking experience required. Just your voice and four weeks.
Next cohort starts [START DATE] · Limited to [COHORT SIZE] women
4
WEEKS, IDEA TO STAGE
1
LIVE TALK YOU WILL DELIVER
∞
A CREDENTIAL FOR LIFE
0→1
FIRST TIME SPEAKERS WELCOME
01 - The Gap
The rooms that shape tech careers are missing your voice.
You're brilliant at what you do. You've shipped the thing, solved the hard problem, mentored the team. But the stage — where reputations are built and doors quietly open — still doesn't look like you.
♦ You've watched less-qualified people get visible — and get the opportunities.
♦ You'd speak if you had a topic, a structure, a deadline, and people in your corner.
♦ You have deep expertise, but "who am I to get up there?" keeps winning.
"I couldn't get talented, accomplished, highly educated women to speak — even at our own internal sessions. It crushed me. So I built the path I wished they'd had." — Barkha Herman, Founder, WiTVoices
My story
Speaking didn't just change my calendar. It changed my career.
I fell in love with conferences as a working mom with almost no time to keep up with cutting-edge tech. They were my fastest way to learn — but I noticed something off. There were almost no women on the stages I admired. So I decided to become one of them.
What happened next surprised me. The skills I built on stage followed me everywhere. I got sharper in meetings. More persuasive in planning sessions. Calmer and clearer in salary negotiations. I became recognized. My network grew. Doors opened that I didn't even know existed.
My last three jobs happened because of my speaking. I've traveled the world, spoken at incredible events, and made connections I'll have for life.
Years ago at Microsoft, I led an employee resource group for technical women — and ran straight into the gap. I could not get accomplished, knowledgeable women to speak, even internally. It crushed me. So I built a 5-Day Speaker Challenge that took women from zero to a finished presentation in under a week.
I've been walking women through that journey ever since. First Stage is the fullest version of it yet: a guided cohort that doesn't stop at "you could do this" — it puts you on a real stage, in front of a real audience, with a recording and a credential to prove it.
02 — Why it matters
One talk unlocks more
than you'd expect.
Speaking is the highest-leverage skill most technical women never
invest in. Here's what tends to follow.
Visibility & recognition
You stop being the best-kept secret on your team. People remember the person on stage — and remember what she knows.
Network that compounds
Audiences become contacts. Contacts become referrals, collaborators, and the people who think of you when a role opens up.
Doors you can't see yet
Promotions, panels, advisory roles, new jobs. The opportunities you can't predict tend to find the people who are visible.
Everyday influence
The same muscles work in standups, reviews, and negotiations. You'll argue your ideas — and your worth — more clearly.
Earned confidence
Not affirmations — evidence. Once you've done the scariest version, the meeting room stops feeling intimidating.
A permanent credential
A delivered, recorded talk on your speaker profile is proof that travels with you for the rest of your career.
03 — What you walk away with
Five things you'll own by
the end — not someday,
but in four weeks.
1
A finished presentation
A real talk with a clear idea, a story arc, and slides — built from your own expertise with hands-on guidance.
2
A delivery you've rehearsed
Practiced techniques for presence, pacing, and impact — so you don't just present, you connect.
3
A real stage moment
You'll deliver your talk live at First Stage Live, our mini-conference finale, in front of a supportive audience.
4
Feedback that levels you up
Specific, encouraging, actionable feedback from facilitators and peers — the kind you can rarely get on your own.
5
Proof, made public
Promotion on LinkedIn and a talk on your Sessionize speaker profile — a forever achievement you can point to.
+
A room of women in your corner
A cohort who started exactly where you did — and a community to keep speaking with long after.
04 — The journey
Four weeks, one clear
path to the stage.
An online cohort that meets you where you are and builds week by
week — culminating in a live finale.
1
Week One
Find your talk
We start with the hardest part: deciding what you have to say. You'll land on a topic you're genuinely qualified to own, shape your core idea, and structure it so it lands.
2
WEEK TWO
Build the presentation
Turn the outline into a real talk — story, narrative, and slides that support you instead of competing with you. You'll leave the week with a complete first draft.
3
WEEK THREE
Deliver with impact
Now we make it land. Pacing, presence, nerves, and the practical craft of delivery — practiced in a safe room with feedback, so the stage feels familiar before you get there.
4
WEEK FOUR
Take the Stage @ First Stage Live
Dress Rehearsal, then the real thing: you deliver your talk live at our mini conference, get feedback, and walk away with a recording and a credential that’s yours forever.
05 — The finale
First Stage Live: the moment it becomes real.
This isn't a practice run in a private room. It's a live mini-conference where you step up, deliver your talk to a genuine audience, and become — officially — a conference speaker.It's designed to be the warmest, most encouraging first stage you could ask for. High stakes enough to matter. Safe enough to soar.
✦ A live audience of peers, mentors, and the WiTVoices community.
✦ A professional recording of your talk to keep and share.
✦ Live, supportive feedback you can act on immediately.
✦ A real speaker line-up you'll be proud to be part of.
✦ The exact confidence boost that makes the next talk easy to say yes to.
06 — Yours forever
When the cohort ends, the proof stays with you.
Most courses leave you with a certificate in a drawer. First Stage leaves you with a public, career-long credential.
On LinkedIn
A spotlight post
We promote your talk where your network, recruiters, and future managers will see it — positioning you as a speaker, not just an attendee.
On Sessionize
A real speaker profile
Your talk goes on the platform conference organizers actually use to find speakers — so your first stage becomes the gateway to your next one.
On the record
A recording you own
Video proof that you did the hard thing. Share it, submit it, or just keep it as the moment everything shifted.
07 — Is this you?
Built for first-timers. Not for everyone.
✦ This is for you if…
✓ You're a woman in tech with real expertise and zero (or barely any) speaking experience.
✓ You've thought "I should speak" more than once but never had a path.
✓ You're willing to do the work across four weeks and show up to the finale.
✓ You want visibility, network, and confidence — not just a certificate.
✕ This isn't for you if…
✕ You want to watch passively and never actually get on stage.
✕ You're an experienced keynote speaker looking for advanced coaching.
✕ You can't commit to the finale date — the live talk is the whole point.
08 — Your guide
You'll be led by someone who's walked it — and taught it for years.
I'm Barkha Herman, founder of WiTVoices. I went from a working mom with no time and no stage to a global speaker whose last three roles came directly from speaking. Along the way I led a technical women's ERG at Microsoft, where I first built a method to take women from zero to a finished talk.
I've spent years since helping women find their voice and claim the stage. First Stage is everything I've learned, distilled into four weeks — with a real audience waiting at the end.
Global Tech Speaker
Ex-Microsoft - Led WiT ERG
Creator, 5-Day Speaker Challenge
Founder, WiTVoices
09 — Questions
Before you apply.
I've never spoken before. Is that really okay?
It's the point. First Stage is built specifically for first-time speakers. You don't need experience, a "speaker personality," or a perfect topic to start — we build all of that together, week by week.
How much time will it take each week?
Plan for live cohort sessions plus a few hours of focused work between them. It's designed to fit around a real job and a real life — but it does ask you to show up and do the work. [ADJUST TIME COMMITMENT]
What's the format — online or in person?
The cohort runs online over four weeks, so you can join from anywhere. The finale, First Stage Live, is a live event where you deliver your talk. [CONFIRM FINALE FORMAT/LOCATION]
What if I'm terrified of public speaking?
Then you're in exactly the right room. The whole structure is designed to shrink the fear gradually — by the time you reach the stage, you'll have rehearsed, gotten feedback, and built real evidence that you can do this.
What do I get to keep afterward?
A finished talk, a recording of your live delivery, a LinkedIn spotlight, and a talk on your Sessionize speaker profile — plus an ongoing community of women who speak.
What's the investment?
[INVESTMENT DETAILS — price, payment options, any early-bird or scholarship.] If cost is a barrier, reach out — we want the right women on stage.
Your turn
The stage has been waiting for you.
You already have something worth saying. In four weeks, the rest of us will finally get to hear it.
Investment: [INVESTMENT] · Cohort starts [START DATE] · [COHORT SIZE] seats
Seats are limited so every speaker gets real attention and a real spot in the line-up.