Confessions of a (nervous) public speaker

When I moved into Developer Relations, public speaking became my job despite finding it terrifying! Here's all I've learnt about managing speaker anxiety after four years in the role.

Transcript

1. CONFESSIONS OF A (NERVOUS) PUBLIC SPEAKER JAMES THOMAS, DEV ADVOCATE @ IBM ☁
2. me = " " " " beginning of my advocacy career…
3. HOW CAN I KEEP DOING THIS?
4. " Everyone gets this! # Not about getting rid of it. $ Does get better.
5. BE PREPARED BE PREPARED.
6. % Practice, practice, practice. & No surprises. ' Prepare for failure.
7. QUESTION TO ASK THE ORGANISER…. ▸ Display Connection: HDMI, VGA, Apple TV ▸ Internet: wireless, wired or none. ▸ Screen aspect ratio: 4x3 or 16x9. ▸ Microphone setup: lapel, hand-held podium ▸ Session details: when, where, length, Q&A ▸ Introductions: MC or self-introducing?
9. Three points of contact. Three points of backup. ✅ Laptop ✅ USB ✅ Cloud
10. AT THE CONFERENCE
11. % Distraction. & Mindfulness. ' Talk to someone.
12. HERE WE GO… "
13. ) Start strong. * Manage the symptoms. + Find the “nodders”.
14. , ,
15. DEMONSTRATION TIME
16. - Record video backups . “Minimum Viable Demo” ✂ Minimise “moving parts”
17. DEMONSTRATION TIME Q & A
18. 0 Just say no.
19. Dealing with difficult questions… 1 “I don’t know” 1 Deflect or bridge. 1 “I’m not here to talk about that”
20. …and relax.
21. " Being nervous is normal. . Focus on management. 2 Just hang in there.