Give A Talk!

Given at WordPress 518; a talk encouraging folks to embrace public speaking, how to do so, and why.

Transcript

1. Give a Talk
   !
2. Simon Ouderkirk
   @saouderkirk
   ouderkirk.co
   Happiness Engineer intro self, thank organizers go around room, get names & where folks work & what on
3. You Should Give a Talk Tonight: talk about why you should give a talk, what to give a talk about, and how to put a talk together ! discuss what a “talk” is -flash talk, WP518 talk, conference talk, white house talk -Mention How Long -goal is always the same: to motivate audience to action -actions like: use custom fonts, make search better
4. What About
   Every person in this room has a talk waiting to come out Once you’ve given one, that’s it, you’re hooked. Only chasing the dragon after that. ! Talk about background - CCRI, Bakery, Automattic - Each of these can work together to create something novel ! Look for intersections of interesting things in your own life - Work with an unusual client? have unusual work history? -in many ways being new or inexperienced can provide many topics - you might not even know what other folks would like to hear - make what you might see as weaknesses into strengths/assets ! Who has a talk they’d like to hear from someone else?
5. Why
   - SAO selfish: I don’t want to make the mistakes you’ve made. You’ve done lots of things, and I might want to do some of them myself - if I learn from your mistakes, I’m ahead of the game. Even if i don’t want to do exactly what you’ve done, surely there is something in there that I can learn from. ! - John Stuart Mill - even folks you disagree with have a kernel of truth from which you can learn ! - Selfish for you: It grows your knowledge - impossible to present w/o learning Build your Brand Interact with your Audience (see first hand what excites them) Build your Audience Easy topic for blog posts Once you’re awesome, folks will invite to to conferences in interesting places (for example LevelUp) It gives you something to talk about at the afterparty ! - Selfless: It’s good for the community - even if you’re giving a talk about jquery to a room full of jquery gurus, you can bring something new to the table. Just because you don’t think you’re blowing minds and pushing boundaries doesn’t mean that you aren’t shining a light on your own personal corner of well-trod ground. Sometimes presenting something that is common knowledge in a new and enthusiastic way can be better than a pioneering new ground. It’s going to start conversations: The absolute worst thing that can happen is you’re not totally correct about something - but, surely, someone will kindly and humbly correct you at the afterparty, and then you have learned something new yourself. As far as worst outcomes go, this is pretty tame
6. How
   a man a plan a canal Panama
   I’ll have a Page on my site with all of them in one place for you. ! - Planning and Practice - Planning Remember: a man, a plan, a canal, Panama. It’s a palindrome, and it looks the same forward and backward. This is how a good talk looks, too. Say what you’re going to say, say it, then say what you’ve said. Open and close with you and your personal details. Pick a topic, sit down with a piece of paper. Write your topic at the top. This is just for show. Under the topic, write “Intro” You have the first minute of your talk done already. Wasn’t that easy? Figure out the major take-home point of your talk. Just one. Your Big Point. Write that under “Intro” What are the Big Pieces that make your take-home point important? No more than five, no less than three. Write them, one on each line, under your take-home point. Write the take-home point again. Write Intro again. Let’s look at an example.
7. Give a Talk
   ! Intro
   You should give a talk.
   There are simple steps to completion It’s good for me It’s good for you
   You should give a talk
   Intro
   ! These are the bones of your talk Some will get more or less attention Everything should point back to your Big Point Once you have your bones down, it’s a matter of building your slides Lots of opinions on slides: I prefer simplicity ! Intro: use this to introduce yourself and your topic and lend credence to you -Be honest - if you’re a beginner, make it your strength “As a beginner, here are the roadblocks to entry today.” If you’re experienced, mention that too. Big Point: this is what you are hoping will motivate your audience to action. - After the Big Point, you’ll want to present and support your premises - Ideally your premises will lead to your Big Point, and help to motivate your audience - Practice This is the part folks often leave out Can’t overstate how helpful practice is Practice in front of a friend If you don’t have a friend, tape it, put it on YouTube, and I’ll be your friend :) - SUBMIT!
8. Simon Ouderkirk
   @saouderkirk
   ouderkirk.co
   Happiness Engineer ! WordCamp Saratoga is Accepting Talks