Demystifying Public Speaking

Presented for PyLadies Vancouver - Oct 27, 2020

Transcript

1. @Mariatta Demystifying Public Speaking
2. Image placeholder About me • Self-taught public speaker • Conference organizer • Program committee and talk proposal reviewer • Speaker mentor Aka my credentials Demystifying Public Speaking @Mariatta
3. PUBLIC SPEAKING IS A LEARNED SKILL Demystifying Public Speaking @Mariatta
4. I’m new • 2016: 1st conference talk • 2017: USA, Canada, Australia, Italy, 1st keynote • 2018: 2 keynotes • 2019: E_TOO_MANY_KEYNOTE_REQUESTS Demystifying Public Speaking @Mariatta
5. Call for Proposals (CFP) • CFP opens from 6 to 3 months ahead • Sample proposals: ◦ https://github.com/akaptur/pycon-proposals ◦ https://talk-talk-talk.readthedocs.io • Get a mentor to review your proposal Demystifying Public Speaking @Mariatta
6. What to talk about? • Things you’ve learned • Things you’re passionate about • Things you wished you had known • Things you know a lot about Demystifying Public Speaking @Mariatta
7. Proposal structure • Who is the audience? ◦ Everyone • What will they learn? ◦ Everything about “something” ◦ How to build “something” Demystifying Public Speaking @Mariatta
8. Proposal structure • The elevator pitch • Be specific, be focused ◦ What is “something”? ◦ Why learn about “something”? ◦ Why learn about “something” from you? Demystifying Public Speaking @Mariatta
9. Proposal rejected? Facts: • PyCascades 2018: 201 proposals for 20 talk slots. ◦ Acceptance rate < 10% • PyCascades 2019: 235 proposals for 20 talk slots. ◦ Acceptance rate < 9% • PyGotham 2018: 252 proposals. • DjangoCon US 2018: 259 proposals. • PyCon AU 2017: 250 proposals. • WriteTheDocs Portland 2017: 100 proposals • North Bay Python 2017: 117 proposals. • SeaGL 2017: 138 proposals. Demystifying Public Speaking @Mariatta
10. Proposal rejected? • It does not mean your proposal is bad • Try again at other conference / next year • Don’t wait for feedback from reviewers ◦ Find a mentor to pre-review your proposal Demystifying Public Speaking @Mariatta
11. SCARY PUBLIC SPEAKING IS Demystifying Public Speaking @Mariatta
12. Why is it scary? • Afraid I will forget what to say ◦ Write script/notes, practise • Afraid of the questions after talk ◦ Say no to Q&A • Afraid to face strangers ◦ Have a friend sit in front of you Demystifying Public Speaking @Mariatta
13. REWARDING PUBLIC SPEAKING IS Demystifying Public Speaking @Mariatta
14. Perks • Free registration • Travel cost covered • Gift, dinner, etc • Build network • Establish yourself as an expert Demystifying Public Speaking @Mariatta
15. Other resources • https://github.com/vmbrasseur/Public_Speaking#proposing-talks • https://github.com/akaptur/pycon-proposals • https://ballingt.com/wanna-do-a-talk/ • https://pydanny.blogspot.com/2011/02/my-tips-for-speaking.html • https://talk-talk-talk.readthedocs.io/ Demystifying Public Speaking @Mariatta PyCascades 2021 CFP is open (we have mentors + perks): https://pretalx.com/pycascades-2021/cfp
16. @Mariatta mariatta@pyladies.com THANKS! Sponsor Mariatta on GitHub: https://github.com/sponsors/Mariatta