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TBC* - A talk on giving talks

David Murphy
November 27, 2013

TBC* - A talk on giving talks

*yes, that's the title.

This is a talk I gave at a tech group meetup to encourage others to give talks.

David Murphy

November 27, 2013
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Transcript

  1. TBC*
    *yes, that’s the title

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  2. A talk on giving talks…
    ...how meta!

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  3. Presented at
    Code Cumbria
    November 27th, 2013

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  4. #1
    Always introduce yourself

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  5. David Murphy
    http://schwuk.com
    @schwuk

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  6. #2
    Be prepared

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  7. Know your subject
    ...and if you don’t know it, this is a good
    chance to learn it!

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  8. Know your purpose
    A short, focused talk is greater than an hour
    long monologue

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  9. Outline > Detail > Sequence
    Start with the purpose, then fill in the
    details. You can re-order it later.

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  10. #3
    Slide decks - the bane of audiences
    everywhere!

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

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  12. 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!

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  13. Slides should be brief
    and to the point

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  14. The worlds most accurate pie chart

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  15. A good slide reinforces
    what you are saying
    but doesn’t distract the audience

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  16. But don’t rely on them
    hardware failures, software failures, network failures,
    presenter failures, audience failures, room failures,
    failure failures

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  17. #4
    Murphy’s law is alive and well
    (and giving this talk)

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  18. #5
    Avoid stock templates

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  19. It’s easy to make your own

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  20. Colours
    kuler.adobe.com
    colourlovers.com

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  21. Backgrounds and images
    images.google.com
    flickr.com
    (don’t forget attribution!)

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  22. Layouts
    This is using a stock layout, but thanks to
    colours and fonts it doesn’t matter

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  23. #6
    Plan B
    Have multiple copies, in multiple formats,
    and be prepared to not use slides at all

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  24. Enough about slides
    Let’s talk about talking

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  25. 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

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  26. It can be overcome
    How? Practice!

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  27. Could you tell me how to
    get to Carnegie Hall?
    Practice!

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  28. Talk to yourself

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  29. Talk to a mirror

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  30. Talk to others

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  31. #7
    Practice!

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  32. #8
    Talk to the room

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  33. #9
    Talk to people

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  34. but still talk to the room!

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  35. #10
    Tell a story

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  36. a beginning,
    a middle,
    an end
    If the audience is engaged, they will
    remember more

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  37. The end
    ...for now...

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  38. Questions?
    @schwuk

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  39. 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!

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