TBC* - A talk on giving talks

TBC**yes, that’s the title

A talk on giving talks…...how meta!

Presented atCode Cumbria

November 27th, 2013

#1Always introduce yourself

David Murphy

http://schwuk.com

@schwuk

#2Be prepared

Know your subject...and if you don’t know it, this is a good

chance to learn it!

Know your purposeA short, focused talk is greater than an hour

long monologue

Outline > Detail > SequenceStart with the purpose, then fill in the

details. You can re-order it later.

#3Slide decks - the bane of audiences

everywhere!

Don’t be afraid to use them...but don’t abuse them

We’ve all seen them. The walls of text or lists of bullets points that the presenter proceeds to read verbatim in a monotone voice at a much slower pace than the average person reads. You’ve gotten to the end of the slide and they are still wrapping up the first sentence. So now what? Listen attentively until they’ve finished? Nope. Half the audience are pretending not to fall asleep while the other half are on Twitter or watching that hilarious cat video. You know, the one where it sneaks up on the camera like a ninja. What do you mean you haven’t seen it? Anyway, back to the talk. If by any chance they’re still engaged at this point then you’re going to lose them with the next slide which is … wait for it … another wall of text! Oh joy, oh rapture, oh … look … it’s video of someone drunk playing Euro Truck Simulator 2 with an Occulus Rift. I should share this with my all Facebook m8tes… Oh, and if the audience is still reading this, they’re not listening to you!

Slides should be briefand to the point

The worlds most accurate pie chart

A good slide reinforces what you are sayingbut doesn’t distract the audience

But don’t rely on themhardware failures, software failures, network failures,

presenter failures, audience failures, room failures, failure failures

#4Murphy’s law is alive and well

(and giving this talk)

#5Avoid stock templates

It’s easy to make your own

Colourskuler.adobe.comcolourlovers.com

Backgrounds and imagesimages.google.com

flickr.com(don’t forget attribution!)

LayoutsThis is using a stock layout, but thanks to

colours and fonts it doesn’t matter

#6Plan B

Have multiple copies, in multiple formats, and be prepared to not use slides at all

Enough about slidesLet’s talk about talking

glossophobia

Glossophobia or speech anxiety is the fear of public speaking or of speaking in general.

The word glossophobia comes from the Greek γλῶσσα glōssa, meaning tongue, and φόβος phobos, fear or dread. ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossophobia

It can be overcomeHow? Practice!

Could you tell me how to get to Carnegie Hall?

Practice!

Talk to yourself

Talk to a mirror

Talk to others

#7Practice!

#8Talk to the room

#9Talk to people

but still talk to the room!

#10Tell a story

a beginning,a middle,

an endIf the audience is engaged, they will

remember more

The end...for now...

Questions?@schwuk

Why is this talk called “To be confirmed”?

It’s a reminder to not get hung up on the title - just get out there and present!