Conference Presentation Judo
perl.plover.com
perl.plover.com
> It's about how to give a successful three-hour conference tutorial.
If that sounds likely unpleasant, the slides confirm:
> A three-hour class is a terrible way to learn anything
One was a vim thing by Damian Conway at OSCon 2006(?) and the other was a very fast-paced Linux kernel programming class by Greg Kroah-Hartman at Oregon State. The knowledge from both have stuck with me decade(s) later.
I feel like if you have a good instructor and have a few hours of isolation, you can have some seriously productive learning. Or at least, I can.
It's strangely embedded deep into his notes and presentation, but preparation is crucial. Practice your talk in front of others, as the author says, or at least rehearse it out loud to yourself. A big mistake I've seen technical professionals make is over-focusing on the content, structure, and detail, and leaving too little time/energy to actually practice their talk. I guarantee you'll find something to fix / add / remove when you hear your presentation out loud. Bonus points if you actually record yourself practicing and review it afterward. This is THE single best bang-for-your-buck practice for improving your presentation skills.
He's right about evaluations. You almost always receive contradictory feedback. A few weeks back I read the evals after running a workshop. One person said (paraphrasing) it was "too long, maybe shorten from 2 hours to just 1." Another said "too short, this could easily have been 4-6 hours." Other examples abound. The reason one person enjoys your presentation might be the exact reason someone else hates it.
Sure, some presenters are too slow. But many - especially inexperienced or nervous presenters - rush through their talk at breakneck speed. Both are equally sinful. If you have a tendency to rush, practice pausing periodically and don't litter the empty space with filler words ("uh," "so," "y'know," etc.). Embrace the silence. Audiences interpret that comfort with silence as authoritative, not incompetent.
Plant a friend in the front row so you can look at them and see a friendly face? I can see people misinterpreting this advice to mean "just stare at your friendly-looking friend for your whole presentation." Maybe it'll help for your first few talks, but it could become a bit of a crutch. Scan the room and address individual attendees as if you're having a conversation with them directly. Watch for their reactions (or lack thereof). Expect people to look annoyed, bored, etc. If you expect it, it's less likely to throw you off. More often than not, that's just how their face looks.
He's right about "geeks" reacting adversely to suits. I wore a suit to run something for our technology group's leadership team, and within the first five minutes they were busting me about it. Know your audience. That includes knowing what manner of dress they expect, but also what they might know/don't know about your topic, why they might care, etc.
Unless you're Vint Cerf, you have business wearing a suit to a tech conference :D
The goal was to deliver advice that wasn't so widely available. "Practice beforehand" is something you can hear a lot of places. "Don't jingle your coins" and "watch the cake schedule" are rare advice.