Public Speaking for Technologists

A presentation at HackConf.bg in October 2019 in Sofia, Bulgaria by Daniel "phrawzty" Maher

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Slide 1

Public Speaking for Technologists

Daniel “phrawzty” Maher Developer Advocate Datadog

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Slide 2

Table of Contents

  • Identify
  • CFP
  • Prepare
  • Deliver
  • After-care

@phrawzty // Datadog

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Slide 3

Identify

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Factors to consider

Business

  • Themes
  • Industry and market
  • Influence Audience composition

You

  • Topics / subjects
  • Format
  • Other presentations
  • Networking

Logistics

  • Help with expenses
  • Production value
  • Location Support

@phrawzty // Datadog

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Slide 5

Where to look

In specific

  • PaperCall.io
  • Meetup.com
  • Confs.tech
  • Devopsdays.org

In general

  • O’Reilly, SkillsMatter, etc…
  • Tech sites, lists, and Slacks
  • Word of mouth
  • Google for “open tech CFPs”

@phrawzty // Datadog

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Slide 6

CFP

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You always need these

  • Title
  • Pitch
  • Description
  • Notes
  • Headshot
  • Bio
  • Previous presentations
  • Assistance required?
  • Demographic data

@phrawzty // Datadog

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Slide 8

Tips for CFP

  • Be bold, but don’t be a jerk about it.
  • Be terse. Don’t get bogged down in the details.
  • Believe in your words.
  • Pay attention to the guidelines!
  • No, seriously, pay attention—especially to character or word count.
  • Be early, but don’t be first.
  • Don’t wait until the last minute (it might already be too late).

@phrawzty // Datadog

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Slide 9

Prepare

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Two basic elements

Say it

  • The story you want to tell.
  • What you are going to say.
  • How you are going to say it.

Display it

  • The visual support for your story.
  • Slides, pictures, video, etc.
  • Terminals! Live coding!

@phrawzty // Datadog

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Slide 11

Slides are a trap.

– You are the most important element of the talk. – Your presentation should be functional without slides. – (Live demos excepted.)

@phrawzty // Datadog

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Practice makes perfect

By yourself

  • First, just say things out loud to see how they sound.
  • Then, put on a timer and click through your slides.
  • Modify as necessary.

With others

  • Dry-run the first. It’s ok to be nervous. Accept the feedback and improve.
  • Dry-run the second. Already a huge improvement!

@phrawzty // Datadog

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Slide 13

Deliver

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It’s your big day!

  • Arrive early. Explore the venue and sort yourself out.
  • Talk to the organisers to see if they have last-minute info.
  • Find somewhere quiet to review.
  • Sound / tech-check on stage.
  • Close all apps you don’t need. Mute notifications, too.
  • Silence your phone.

@phrawzty // Datadog

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Slide 15

Do the thing!

  • Being nervous is normal.
  • Confidence is the best cure. (Practice was how you gained confidence.)
  • Be passionate! You got this!
  • Slow down and breathe.
  • Find a comfortable standing position. Forget about your pockets.
  • Take sips of water.

@phrawzty // Datadog

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Slide 16

After-care

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Slide 17

Oops it’s not over yet

Q&A

  • It’s OK to ask for a question to be repeated or expanded upon.
  • It’s OK if you don’t know the answer. Really. Take it off-line.
  • If they go low, you go high.

Hallway track

  • It’s usually the best part of a conference, but it can also be the worst for reasons well outside of your control.
  • That said, embrace it! Have fun!

@phrawzty // Datadog

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Slide 18

A little while later…

Reflect

  • If the talk was recorded, watch the recording.
  • If feedback was collected, read the feedback.
  • Improve your presentation!

Publish

  • Blog post; tutorial; workshop.
  • A spin-off talk.
  • Podcast? Sure! Why not write a book about it? The sky’s the limit!

@phrawzty // Datadog

Slide 19

Slide 19

Thank you

Datadog