Zhen Yang gave a 5-minute talk at Camp Digital 2026 while visibly nervous, forgot their lines a couple of times, and kept going anyway. It was one of the most honest things I watched all day.

Zhen Yang works in local government communications and is on the LGComms leadership programme, a competitive scheme for people developing into leadership roles in the sector.

Their talk was called I Am Not Ready.

---

They opened by saying they didn’t say yes to this because they felt ready. They said yes because they were tired of waiting to become the kind of person they’d always thought a leader had to be.

The image in their head of what a leader looks like: confident, polished, already belonging in the room. They didn’t see themselves that way. English isn’t their first language. In meetings, they’d have something to say, and then the brain would run a risk assessment before the words came out. Is this good enough? What if I get it wrong? Is there someone else better placed to say this? The moment passes. The chair moves on. A perfectly formed thought, locked up and unused.

Their workaround: preparation. They called it “emotional support station mode.” Preparation doesn’t make the nerves go away. It just gives you something to hold onto.

---

They forgot their lines a couple of times.

They kept going anyway. Didn’t stop, didn’t apologise, didn’t make it a thing. Just paused and picked back up.

The room noticed. Not in a bad way. In the way you notice someone doing something difficult and doing it anyway.

Organiser Advita Patel gave them a copy of her book Decoding Confidence at the end. A small gesture, but it landed.

---

The distinction they made was between confidence and courage.

Confidence, they said, isn’t what lets you do the thing. It’s what you get afterwards. Courage is applying when you doubt yourself. Speaking when your voice might shake. Showing up before you feel ready.

“Confidence is not an entry ticket. Confidence is a receipt. You get it after you do the scary thing.”

The talk itself was live evidence. Standing in front of 500 people, saying the thing, still nervous. Still there. Still finishing.

---

I have a stammer. I’ve spent years managing the fear of being in exactly that situation. Speaking in public, especially in front of large groups or in leadership settings, takes a different kind of nerve when you know your delivery is unpredictable. I’ve rehearsed in ways other people don’t need to. I’ve declined things I should have said yes to.

Watching Zhen keep going after forgetting their lines, in front of a room that size, without collapsing into an apology, was the kind of thing that’s actually useful to see. Not a polished motivational talk about confidence. Just someone doing a hard thing badly enough to prove it could be done.

The point landed: when they walked off the stage, they weren’t suddenly fearless. But they were someone who did it. That changes the shape of the next time.

Zhen Yang spoke as part of the 300-second talks at Camp Digital 2026 in Manchester on 7 May 2026. Their talk was widely discussed afterwards on LinkedIn.