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Planning a Technical Talk

Planning a Technical Talk

A worksheet for putting together a technical talk using storytelling techniques.
A companion piece to https://hackernoon.com/writing-a-tech-talk-using-storytelling-techniques-ff116392b4d8

Gillian Armstrong

April 10, 2018
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  1. Planning a Technical Talk
    Gillian Armstrong
    https://twitter.com/@virtualgill
    https://medium.com/@virtualgill

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  2. PURPOSE
    Gillian Armstrong @virtualgill
    Why am I telling this story?
    What do I want people to know?
    What do I want people to have learnt?
    Everything in your talk should serve
    this purpose. Keep it in mind as you
    make all your decisions.
    NOTES

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  3. Gillian Armstrong @virtualgill
    Fill in the end first, so you can see
    where you need to get to. It will help
    you work out where you should start.
    What steps happened in between the
    start and the end. What are the most
    important ones?
    THE STORY
    START
    END
    STEPS
    NOTES

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  4. Gillian Armstrong @virtualgill
    Who are you giving this talk to. Will it
    be a mixed group?
    What should you be able to assume
    that the audience will already know.
    AUDIENCE NOTES
    ASSUMPTIONS

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  5. Gillian Armstrong @virtualgill
    This is for you, to help you think
    through the story. Every technology,
    application and person should be
    considered a character in this story.
    You might need more than one of this
    sheet!
    The description should be a single
    sentence that can be used to sum
    what what it is.
    The backstory fills in more details.
    Only what is needed of this will be
    shared as part of the story.
    Remember you are a character in this
    story too!
    CHARACTERS NOTES
    NAME DESCRIPTION BACKSTORY

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  6. Gillian Armstrong @virtualgill
    What do you need to explain for your
    story to make sense.
    SCENE SETTING NOTES
    • Add an epilogue – where can people reach you or find
    out more?
    • Practice, practice, practice.
    • Edit ruthlessly – cut whatever isn’t core to the story or
    aligned with the purpose.
    • Be you!
    FINAL PIECES You’re going to be awesome!

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