Better Talks to Technical Audiences Boston Azure User Group @bostonazure Bill Wilder ...
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Transcript of Better Talks to Technical Audiences Boston Azure User Group @bostonazure Bill Wilder ...
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Better Talks to Technical Audiences
Boston Azure User Grouphttp://bostonazure.org@bostonazure
Bill Wilderhttp://blog.codingoutloud.com@codingoutloud
Boston West Toastmastershttp://bwtoastmasters.com
(Such as Programmers)
Presentation Camp Boston(NERD Center, Cambridge, MA)
24-Oct-2009
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Outline
1. Audience
2. Why give talks?
3. Goal of this talk
4. Preparing your tech talk
5. Delivering your tech talk
6. How to get better
7. Action!
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1. Audience
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Who is this talk for?
• You know who you are!
• You know something or are willing to learn
• Have some interest in giving a Tech Talk?
• Willing to do some work
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2. Why give talks?
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Top 10 “Blunders” by Enterprise Architects
#3. Not engaging the business peeps#2. Insufficient understanding and
support from stakeholders#1. The Wrong Lead Architect#7. Not … Communicating the Impact#10. Not Spending Enough Time on
Communications Source http://www.sdtimes.com/link/33787 The top 10 enterprise architecture
blunders By Alex Handy, September 25, 2009
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CALIBRATE with the AUDIENCE
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3. Goal of this talk
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This talk will…
• Encourage & Educate
Get yourself in front of an audience
Not intending to cover all facets of tech talks! Emphasis on approach & effective use of tools.
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4. Preparing your tech talk
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Preparing a Tech Talk in 2 Steps
• STEP 1: Prepare the “tech”
• STEP 2: Prepare the “talk”
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Five Cardinal Sins
(from “Presenting to Win” by Jerry Weissman)
• No Clear Point
• No Audience Benefit
• No Clear Flow
• Too Detailed
• Too Long
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STEP 0: What is it about?
• Concise, twitter-sized summary
• “the sentence”, “the headline”
• “the core message” (Making Things Stick)
• Lets you know what to leave out
• Clarify your non-goals
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Preparing Your Talk
Speech template (thanks to Derek Perkins)
• Prepare strong opening & strong close
• State your premise
• Make your point and give an example to support it
• Finish with a summary, strong conclusion, and a call to action
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Do Not Race the Audience
• According to Yahoo! Answers, the average person can read 300 words per minute.
• This slide is a test to prove that you will read the slides before your speaker reads it to you.
• Please start (pretend) coughing once you get to this sentence so your speaker knows you read this. Yes, please start (pretend) coughing now.
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Tech Talk Tip
Use Progressive Reveal• PowerPoint will allow you to expose one bullet at
a time if you wish to limit read-ahead
• Your audience CAN READ FASTER THAN YOU CAN TALK. Do not read the slides to them.
DEMO?
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Slides are Slides
You give a “talk” – not a “read”
• They do not need to stand alone
• There are better tools for stand-alone docs
• There are better tools to handle notes
• The audience reads faster than you speak
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Tech Talk Tip
Use Multiple Monitor Support• By default, you see the same content on
projector as on your laptop
• Use PowerPoint’s “Notes” feature; see notes but don’t show to your audience
• In PowerPoint:– Slide Show > Set Up Show…
DEMO?
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Designing Your Slides
• Have an organized structure– Whether you make it explicit or not
• Single Responsibility Principle (SRP)– Slides are cheap
• Slides do not have to be all text
• Fine to have code samples in your slides
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You are Not Steve Jobs
• But that’s okay!
• Steve is a brilliant speaker
• … but remember to find the right level for your audience
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Guy Kawasaki: 10-20-30 Rule
• 10 slides, in 20 minutes, using 30-point font• This is a “classic” that you may run into• Reasonable guideline for Code Camp?
– 10 slides for PPT content in 20 minutes– Complemented by 45 minutes of Code examples– And 15 minutes of Q&A
• Only count “content slides” in the 10 slides• 30-point font both for readability and concision • (Code also needs to be readable)
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How long should it be?
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Tech Talk Tip
Spruce up with Images • Finding images you are allowed to use
legally for free on images.google.com– Filter by license
• Import them into PowerPoint• Provide proper attribution• Note: I am not a lawyer
DEMO?
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5. Delivering your tech talk
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How Do You Get to Carnegie Hall?
while (presentation_quality < suck_threshold)
{
Practice();
}
• “I’ve never seen someone over-prepared” –Bill’s Uncle Peter c. 1988
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Pre-Talk Check-List (1/3)
For the Humans• Bottle of water• Have I checked in?• Do I have any give-aways (e.g., books)?• Do I have Wi-Fi access key (if needed)?• Way to take notes• Consider taking off your conference badge to reduce
opportunities for distraction [From Jeffrey Veen - http://www.veen.com/jeff/archives/000483.html]
• Turn off my cell phone
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Pre-Talk Check-List (2/3)
Computer Hygiene• Reboot in advance – clean boot• Firewall, Anti-Virus – disable• Anything that will create a pop-up – turn off• Any unneeded applications – close• Do I need Internet/web access? Check for it. Do
I have access key? Beware false access.
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Pre-Talk Check-List (3/3)
Lock & Load• Load up all samples• Load ZoomIt (Ctrl-1)• Remote Control• Code snippets queued up• Slide deck at the ready• Visual Studio font size, layout, colors• Load up any web sites I will reference (have
browsers open if needed)
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Rules of Engagement
When do you want to entertain questions?
• On the fly
• At specific intervals, milestones
• At the end
• Recommendation: On the fly, with possibility of short deferral if in deep
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In the Beginning…
• Ask audience to turn off their cell phones – Or say “phasers on stun” to sound more scifi – Don’t say “turn off pagers”
• Begin! - Start on time (or within very short grace period) – respect the time of the people already in the room
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How will you make me care?
• “Use as many stories as you can to make the content interesting”
–Derek Perkins
• “Use the word ‘you’ much more than you use the word ‘I’. Helps you to ensure the speech is about them, not you.”
–Patricia Fripp
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Some Classics
• Know thy audience– Not entirely a “Delivery” concern
• Dress for success
• Know the physical space
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Tech Talk Tip
• Unchain yourself from the keyboard– Wireless mouse may do fine– Fancy wireless presenter is fancier
• Many presentation coaches advise you stand to the (audience’s) left of the display
• Probably does not apply for Code Demos, but useful during slides.
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Tech Talk Tip
Going to the Dark Slide• PowerPoint has capability to show blank
screen (black or white) [B, W, or Remote]• Useful during mental breaks, questions• “A blank screen from time to time also
makes images stronger when they do appear.” http://www.presentationzen.com/presentationzen/2005/11/the_zen_estheti.html
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Tech Talk Tip
• Make Your Demo Code Readable– 11 Tips from Scott Hanselman:
http://www.hanselman.com/blog/11TopTipsForASuccessfulTechnicalPresentation.aspx
– Lucida Console, 14 to 18pt, Bold
• Consider a Zooming utility
DEMO?
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Social Engineering – Manipulating Your Audience for Fun & Profit
• For when a compelling talk is not enough!• Put an Easter egg in your slides, challenge
them to find it • Announce there will be a book give-away
or raffle at the end• Withhold hand-outs until the end • Threaten to take a group photo at the end • Provide food at the end • Lock the door
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6. How to Get Better
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Toastmasters
Deliberate Practice – just like Jerry Rice!
• Directory on http://toastmasters.org – Many local clubs
• Boston West Toastmasters – My club! http://bwtoastmasters.com – Offering a free 6-months for unemployed*– 2nd & 4th Monday of the month 7:30-9:00 PM– Meets in Needham, MA
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Requirements for Giving a Talk
• Know or learn something• Prepare a talk• Practice the talk• Deliver the talk• Rejoice• Repeat
• WARNING: some steps require w-o-r-k !]
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You can observe a lot by watching
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Upcoming Local Events
• Presentation Camp Boston – Sat Oct 24, 2009 @ NERD (55 free tickets still available as of last night)– http://PresentationCampBoston.org
• Scott Berkun speaking on his new book Confessions of a Public Speaker – Thu Nov 5 in evening @ NERD – http://microsoftcambridge.com/Events/
RefreshBostonScottBerkun/tabid/207/Default.aspx
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7. Action
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Where Can You Talk?
• Code Camps (Boston, NH, VT, CT, NY, …)– http://thedevcommunity.org
• Your Company– Lunch & Learn
• User Groups– http://bostonusergroups.org/, http://bugc.org/– http://blogs.msdn.com/cbowen/ (see far right)– http://blogs.msdn.com/jimoneil/pages/area-user-group
s.aspx (map)
– http://meetup.com/, http://upcoming.yahoo.com/
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Interest in.. ???
• Workshop at a Code Camp
• Learning more about Toastmasters?
• “Techmasters” style Toastmasters club
• Starter-template for giving a talk
• What else do you need before you can get started on your first Code Camp talk?
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Let me know when you’ve given your first Tech Talk
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Questions?Or feedback for me?
Check for posted slides, any other follow-up at:
http://blog.codingoutloud.com
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More than a good idea…
• Ever need to give a “talk” just because?
• Go on a sales call? Work at a trade-show?– Do they let you speak?
• Give your status in a morning stand-up?
• Speaking roles at meetings?
• Will you ever go on a job interview?
• Ever need to convince [ peers | manager | team ] of something?