I go to a lot of events. While some of the speakers and presenters are truly excellent they are, sadly, in the minority. Most speakers are mediocre and some are just painful. In some cases it’s “death by Powerpoint”. In others it’s just an incoherent mess.
However, it doesn’t have to be that way. If you’ve seen some of the more engaging and interesting speakers in action you know that no matter the subject matter a talk or presentation does not have to be boring.
Here’s a fairly short video that shows a lot of the techniques that good speakers use – it’s a little tongue in cheek, but it highlights what works with an audience very effectively:
Dave Nihill’s talk is over an hour long, but it’s worth the time to watch it:
Yes it’s a long video, but if you take the time to watch it you might pick up a few tips that can help you speak better in public.
If you’re using slides don’t put oodles of text – nobody can read them, but they’ll all try and they’ll get frustrated.
Humour helps. Always.
Hopefully I’ll get to attend some good sessions in 2024!
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