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

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!

1. Audience

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

2. Why give talks?

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

CALIBRATE with the AUDIENCE

3. Goal of this talk

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.

4. Preparing your tech talk

Preparing a Tech Talk in 2 Steps

• STEP 1: Prepare the “tech”

• STEP 2: Prepare the “talk”

Five Cardinal Sins

(from “Presenting to Win” by Jerry Weissman)

• No Clear Point

• No Audience Benefit

• No Clear Flow

• Too Detailed

• Too Long

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

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

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.

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?

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

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?

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

You are Not Steve Jobs

• But that’s okay!

• Steve is a brilliant speaker

• … but remember to find the right level for your audience

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)

How long should it be?

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?

5. Delivering your tech talk

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

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

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.

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)

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

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

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

Some Classics

• Know thy audience– Not entirely a “Delivery” concern

• Dress for success

• Know the physical space

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.

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

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?

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

6. How to Get Better

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

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 !]

You can observe a lot by watching

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

7. Action

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/

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?

Let me know when you’ve given your first Tech Talk

Questions?Or feedback for me?

Check for posted slides, any other follow-up at:

http://blog.codingoutloud.com

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?