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Comment by jairuhme | Hacker News Reader

I haven't listened to Jensen speak before, but am I the only one who thought the presentation wasn't very polished? Not a knock on anything he has accomplished, just an observation that sorta surprised me

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He said he didn't rehearse well. I think it makes him come across very genuinely, not some dumb hyperpolished corporate blabla

In comparison to Apple keynotes, precise, polished, practiced and pre-recorded.

He's selling water in a desert, kind of doesn't matter how polished his presentation is.

I've been watching his keynotes for as long as I can remember, this is how it's always been

Previous ones have been similar. Awkward “you may clap now” pauses etc.

Don’t think anyone cares as long as the company keeps getting the bets right

When he had that slide up with generating everything I was kind of expecting that he'd say this whole keynote is generated including him. That'd have been crazy.

The beginning in particular seemed pretty rough, but he seemed to mostly get into a groove about halfway into it. At least he started talking a lot smoother around then.

He has more important things to do than perfecting a presentation. He likes his employees to message him freely with things they think he can help with.

I read about this around and tbh I respect it a lot. Somehow Jensen has managed to scale the company and still keep it focused on the product with high eng practices.

It's typical. He isn't a great public speaker IMO. Not terrible but not great.

I remember his opening line at NEURIPS 2017, to an audience of grad students and postdocs, "only Nvidia would unveil their most expensive product to an audience who's completely broke"

Then he went into a comedic monologue about GANS. But hey, at least that meant that the CEO was reading the actual conference proceedings...

The products, animations and slides are doing some heavy lifting. Most jokes don't land and his presentation is somewhat confusing at times (e.g. star trek intro token count)

Yeah he said he didn't rehearse and it really shows.

I think it's a good reminder that objectively great CEO's and leaders can be kind of cringe when presenting. A lot of times people like that get passed up in promotions in favor of smooth talkers.

It's been said that founders are people who can't get hired.

If I am not mistaken he has said in some interviews he is not a big fan of public speaking.

Its refreshing. Another tech keynote that I regularly watch (Apple) is far too polished these days.

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