The road to being a kick-ass public speaker

The road to being a kick-ass public speaker.

Chris Heilmann, Mozilla All-Hands, April 2011, Mountain View.

Geeks are not speakers?

This breeds a lot of misunderstandings as to how to present.

Geeks *are* awesome presenters - if they understand that they need to present.

It is a slight shift in our perception of what we want to achieve.

Instead of showing off what you know your task is to inspire people to want to know more.

Step 1: Preparation

CYA

Forget the presentation, do your homework.

Find something that excites you!

Prepare a doggy bag.

Think of the audience.

Point to the obvious.

Find something that is not obvious to concentrate on.

Have a story.

Piggy back on something current.

Share information from the trenches.

Have fun - be unpredictable!

Spread out and back up.

Step 2: Delivery

Get into the right mindset.

Some delivery tips...

Say “hi” and tell them what’s coming.

Be yourself!

Pace yourself.

Do not try to gloss over issues.

Speak clearly and use simple language.

Roam the audience...

Your slides are your backdrop.

You are the transmitter, not your slides.

Screencasts are the safer live demos.

Cite and give credit.

Get simple participation.

Don’t answer your own questions.

Deal with failure quickly and honestly.

Rinse and repeat.

Step 3: Feedback

Ask people for feedback.

Advertise your availability.

Own the Q&A.

Quick tip about “Clever Trevors”

Step 4: Follow-up

Share your materials.

Answer emails and convert business cards.

Write a post about your feelings and impressions.

Be your own judge.

http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

Still waiting for the closed technology revolution

Godspeed - go kick some ass!

Thanks!

Chris Heilmann@codepo8

#html5/freenet