Presentation dos and don'ts

My lightning talk from Euro Python 2024, with suggestions for how to make your technical-conference presentation better.

Transcript

1. Presentation dos and don’ts Reuven M. Lerner • EuroPython 2024 Lightning t a lks https://LernerPython.com
2. Presentation dos and don’ts Reuven M. Lerner • https://LernerPython.com • In person • Online, at https://LernerPython.com • Books (Python Workout + Pandas Workout) • Newsletters • Including Bamboo Weekly — improve your Pandas with puzzles based on current events I teach Python and Pandas! 2
3. Presentation dos and don’ts Reuven M. Lerner • https://LernerPython.com 3
4. Presentation dos and don’ts Reuven M. Lerner • https://LernerPython.com • Explaining things is a separate skill • It’s easy to get nervous • Talking + explaining • + designing slides Public speaking is hard! 4
5. Presentation dos and don’ts Reuven M. Lerner • https://LernerPython.com • You can learn it • You can get better at it • Being a better communicator makes you a better developer Public speaking is a skill 5
6. Presentation dos and don’ts Reuven M. Lerner • https://LernerPython.com Advice based on what I’ve seen 6
7. Presentation dos and don’ts Reuven M. Lerner • https://LernerPython.com • It’s so tempting! You have so much to share! • People can’t handle information at light speed • Focused, short talk >> unfocused, long talk • >> unfocused, short talk • “I’m low on time… I’ll just talk faster!” Don’t: Cover too much 7
8. Presentation dos and don’ts Reuven M. Lerner • https://LernerPython.com • No one complains that a talk ends early • No one likes rushing through 10 f inal slides • It means you didn’t focus or practice enough Don’t: Run out of time 8
9. Presentation dos and don’ts Reuven M. Lerner • https://LernerPython.com • I’m not an expert • I’ve never presented before • I hope this goes well • I hope my mother doesn’t see this Don’t: Apologize 9
10. Presentation dos and don’ts Reuven M. Lerner • https://LernerPython.com • I use Jupyter, every day in my teaching • But not when I give presentations. • I type fast, but not fast enough • I want to concentrate on what I’m teaching • Did I mention that public speaking is hard? • Some people can pull it off! Use slides. (Usually) 10
11. Presentation dos and don’ts Reuven M. Lerner • https://LernerPython.com • It’s very tempting • To write about a lot of things • And so you need to put a lot of text on the screen • But that means that the text will be very small • And then no one will be able to read it • This is super annoying for people in the audience • Who will use their limited concentration to squint and try • To read what you have written, rather than listen to • What you are trying to say, which is super annoying for • Everyone involved, and a shame when your message • Will get lost in the tons of text • And no one will really be able to read what you’ve written down • Unless they’re sitting in the front row. I’ve seen this at numerous • Conferences over the years, and as much as people talk about it, • People never seem to understand how • Incredibly annoying it is to be in the audience • And read really small text • Because when you do that, it shows that you didn’t want to make any choices • If you can read this, then you really should f ind something better to do with your time. • I mean, this teeny weeny text is just ridiculous, no? Make the text large 11
12. Presentation dos and don’ts Reuven M. Lerner • https://LernerPython.com If you can read this, Congratulations. Do: Use highly contrasting colors 12
13. Presentation dos and don’ts Reuven M. Lerner • https://LernerPython.com • Avoid the “wall of text” • It’s OK to use more slides! • Or… take the hint, and reduce the scope of your talk Corollary: Limit text per slide 13
14. Presentation dos and don’ts Reuven M. Lerner • https://LernerPython.com • People absorb graphical data much faster Do: Include graphs! 14
15. The PyArrow revolution in Pandas Reuven M. Lerner • https://LernerPython.com %timeit df_np['Vehicle Color'].str.contains('[BZ]', regex=True, case=False).value_counts().head(5) 4.7 s ± 50.8 ms per loop (mean ± std. dev. of 7 runs, 1 loop each) %timeit df_pa['Vehicle Color'].str.contains('[BZ]', regex=True, case=False).value_counts().head(5) 731 ms ± 2.44 ms per loop (mean ± std. dev. of 7 runs, 1 loop each) • PyArrow is about 6x faster Searching in strings with regex=True 15
16. Presentation dos and don’ts Reuven M. Lerner • https://LernerPython.com Don’t: Use dark mode with code 16
17. Presentation dos and don’ts Reuven M. Lerner • https://LernerPython.com 17
18. Presentation dos and don’ts Reuven M. Lerner • https://LernerPython.com • Dark text on a light background • Bad: White on black • Worse: Purple on black • Worse yet: Purple and black and gray on black • The worst: Purple and black and gray on black… • In a tiny font Don’t: Use dark mode with code 18
19. Presentation dos and don’ts Reuven M. Lerner • https://LernerPython.com Instead 19
20. Presentation dos and don’ts Reuven M. Lerner • https://LernerPython.com Even better 20
21. Presentation dos and don’ts Reuven M. Lerner • https://LernerPython.com • I’m a bad example! • Again: Say less, with more impact Do: Speak slowly 21
22. Presentation dos and don’ts Reuven M. Lerner • https://LernerPython.com • It’s boring! • Usually, you’ll sound unenthusiastic Don’t: Read your notes verbatim 22
23. Presentation dos and don’ts Reuven M. Lerner • https://LernerPython.com • That’s what people want! • Don’t just regurgitate the Python docs • Use interesting examples • Don’t rehash the ones from your university studies Do: Solve a common, painful problem 23
24. Presentation dos and don’ts Reuven M. Lerner • https://LernerPython.com Do: Speak about things you want to know more about 24
25. Presentation dos and don’ts Reuven M. Lerner • https://LernerPython.com • Peers • Meetups/User groups • Colleagues at work • Stack Overflow • What questions do people have? • ChatGPT Do: Practice and get feedback 25
26. Presentation dos and don’ts Reuven M. Lerner • https://LernerPython.com • Presenting is a skill • You’ll get good at it, but only if you do it a lot • Eventually, you might even enjoy it! Do: Get better over time 26
27. Presentation dos and don’ts Reuven M. Lerner • https://LernerPython.com • Smile! • Tell jokes! • It’s OK to laugh at your own jokes • If you’re having fun, then so is the audience Do: Have fun! 27
28. Presentation dos and don’ts Reuven M. Lerner • https://LernerPython.com • E-mail: reuven@lerner.co.il • My courses/site: https://LernerPython.com • Bamboo Weekly: https://BambooWeekly.com Thanks! 28