tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12467669.post6914915140149886035..comments2023-04-29T07:23:25.825-04:00Comments on Jay Fields' Thoughts: Presenting Lessons I've LearnedJayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14491442812573747680noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12467669.post-38966628428283486932010-02-09T12:32:51.554-05:002010-02-09T12:32:51.554-05:00Nice Article!
A couple of thoughts:
I have more ye...Nice Article!<br />A couple of thoughts:<br />I have more years teaching than the ones I would like to remember. Still, each semester I face a completely different group!. So, the same old tricks doesn't seem to work always.<br /><br />I would add:<br />1. Yes, use intelligent graphics and charts, it will make better impression in memory. Still, if you offer the slides post-conference, try to add some text since the readers will not understand the charts alone.<br /><br />2. Be natural. Jokes are not only silly things nor making fun of attributes, but also remarking serious things out of context, or stating whatever the rest of the world is saying, but as if you just discover it. You can be serious and be funny at the same time.<br /><br />3. Know what you speak about. Even related topics that will not show. Have ready some anecdotes, experience, tales, at any moment someone may ask or mention something and you should demonstrate you know what you are talking about.<br /><br />4. Always measure your audience. Look them at the eyes. You can find if they are tired, interested, looking at the wrist watch, asleep, or looking at the door. Be ready to change your tone, speed, vocabulary, anything to get them on track again, interested. If someone is lost, approach him for a second, look at him directly for a second, that will drive his attention to you. <br /><br />5. I do use my arms a lot. But not waving them all around. Move them as you speak, to drive attention to the slide, to remark a point, to close a sentence. Raise them and people will follow, then move the hands to you face, open the eyes, and people will look at you. A slow sentence at this point makes a great impression.<br /><br />6. Use analogies. Many people will remember the idea of an orange more than remembering a complex sentence full of IT Jargon. Even if they understand the words, it makes an improved impression and helps remember you (hey, that's the guy of the orange!).<br /><br />7. Practice to get the structure, but try not to learn by heart the words. Be agile. You know the topics, but saying the words out loud is boring to people. Be prepared to change the words at any time.<br /><br />8. Practice the voice inflection. Be varied. Saying the phrases with the same musical flow every time tends to make people drowsy.<br /><br />9. Going fast is not that bad. Use it to show dynamism, and later on give a summary: you will see people will pay more attention when you repeat, will be keener to what you say.<br /><br />I repeat, great article!<br />Cheers.wmartinezhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17004171722394842899noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12467669.post-46169237157866115122010-02-04T17:15:00.077-05:002010-02-04T17:15:00.077-05:00Luiz, definitely, please let me know when you'...Luiz, definitely, please let me know when you're done.<br /><br />Cheers, JayAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12467669.post-44585688206895340062010-02-04T15:42:07.902-05:002010-02-04T15:42:07.902-05:00Hi Jay,
I loved this post. Can I translate it to ...Hi Jay,<br /><br />I loved this post. Can I translate it to Portuguese and publish at my blog. I'll reference your name and your blog, of course!Luiz Esmiralhahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03084205350764725965noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12467669.post-15843490327537237112010-01-04T14:36:14.188-05:002010-01-04T14:36:14.188-05:00Jay, you flatter me. ;-) On that topic, if you a...Jay, you flatter me. ;-) On that topic, if you are going to do live coding, here are some extra-special tricks of the trade you need to keep things moving smoothly:<br /><br />* Practice your code sample 10 times. Then, 10 more. Then, 10 more. You WILL forget syntax. More practice means less forgetting.<br /><br />* Stick to live code samples whose compile-time is < .1 seconds. If you are doing stuff that has to get jarred and warred and cold-started, have your output pre-canned. You can code then show the pre-compiled sample and the effect is almost the same. Never make the audience watch you compile.<br /><br />* PROTIP: Textmate has an opacity setting for editor windows. If you set it to a white background with black text, and make your Textmate window 40% transparent, you can put a cheat sheet beneath that window which will be visible to you on your laptop but hidden to the audience because 98% of projectors don't handle transparent whites very well and just show it as opaque. This isn't cheating.....much.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12467669.post-24893808807647804342010-01-01T19:17:19.878-05:002010-01-01T19:17:19.878-05:00Bullets often lead to a bunch of text, which leads...Bullets often lead to a bunch of text, which leads to people reading text instead listening to you.<br /><br />Cheers, JayAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12467669.post-2967675747104796312009-12-30T15:34:39.865-05:002009-12-30T15:34:39.865-05:00"No Bullets - If you must you text, avoid bul..."No Bullets - If you must you text, avoid bullets. Instead, show one line at a time and hide or shade the other lines."<br /><br />Why no bullets? Because they're cliche?Joe Grossberghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16355362807496413582noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12467669.post-18818475380526964962009-12-29T16:39:33.848-05:002009-12-29T16:39:33.848-05:00Hi Jay, sure, feel free to add them to the origina...Hi Jay, sure, feel free to add them to the original.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05290344629915279127noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12467669.post-49040291311943405032009-12-29T15:29:11.944-05:002009-12-29T15:29:11.944-05:00Great article :)
will try to think of all that nex...Great article :)<br />will try to think of all that next time I do a presentation!Damien Le Berrigaudhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09389427751331091921noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12467669.post-53165107695039293922009-12-29T13:22:38.755-05:002009-12-29T13:22:38.755-05:00From lots of experience: cut at least half your t...From lots of experience: cut at least half your talk before you begin. If you have 50 minutes, create a 2hr talk and the squish that content back down to 50 minutes by cutting redundant stuff.jfmiller28https://www.blogger.com/profile/18084888217165201690noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12467669.post-34405593851000522642009-12-29T11:49:32.869-05:002009-12-29T11:49:32.869-05:00Thanks Steve, those are good additions. Do you min...Thanks Steve, those are good additions. Do you mind if I add those to the original post (with credit to you of course)?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12467669.post-3385936495970452192009-12-29T11:36:43.796-05:002009-12-29T11:36:43.796-05:00Very good advice, Jay. I'd add the following:
...Very good advice, Jay. I'd add the following:<br /><br />* Always repeat any questions asked of you before answering them. This is important not only for the audience in front of you, but also especially for any audience viewing a recorded session at a later time.<br /><br />* Don't be afraid to answer "I don't know" if someone asks you a question you don't know. The audience would rather hear honesty than some made-up BS. Presumably you possess specialized knowledge or wisdom, otherwise you wouldn't be up there speaking, but that doesn't mean you know everything, and frankly the audience doesn't expect you to.<br /><br />* Ask the audience questions. This helps keep them engaged. Remember, your talk is really more about them than it is about you, so gauging the audience and adjusting accordingly can help maximize the value of your message to them.<br /><br />* Should you encounter an audience member who wants to challenge you and argue with you, just politely decline to engage by saying you'll be happy to discuss the issue with them after the talk. Back-and-forth arguments with an audience member lose and annoy most of the rest of the audience almost immediately, and since you're probably not repeating every statement the arguer makes, anyone watching a recording of the argument hears only half of it and you lose them immediately.<br /><br />* Above all, respect your audience and they'll respect you. Except in extremely unusual circumstances, they want you to succeed because that way they'll get the most out of your talk. If you're a new or nervous speaker, keeping that in mind can help put you at ease.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05290344629915279127noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12467669.post-28892735019618252322009-12-29T09:22:37.542-05:002009-12-29T09:22:37.542-05:00Jokes that are entwined with your content are much...Jokes that are entwined with your content are much better than unrelated jokes. A scripted joke in a slide or a scripted riff that's related to the project can work very wellMike Harrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06620464503288890149noreply@blogger.com