Tips for conference speakers
Jump right into your talk. Don’t introduce yourself — someone else just did.
Don’t talk fast. Adopt a school zone speed.
Try and stand on stage beforehand to get comfortable.
Be 5% vulnerable and 0% arrogant.
Don’t forget to breathe.
Talks are a lot of work. Put your time and energy into the right parts.
Easy on the GIFs, especially if the slide stays up for more than 15 seconds. It’s distracting.
Ignore the people on their laptops and phones. They’re tweeting about your awesome talk.
Figure out your style. Gut check that style with someone you trust. Then own that style.
What things can you only convey in person? Focus on those things.
Practice the whole talk out loud. Multiple times. Really.
“Then we did a thing and a second thing and then another thing” is not a story. It’s a grocery list. Spend time thinking about the story you’re telling.
The larger the audience, the more prep required.
No, really, you’re still talking a bit too fast.
Don’t be funny if you’re not funny. Most people aren’t funny. Most great talks aren’t funny.
Don’t over or under explain.
Start with a point form outline in a word processor or on a piece of paper. Don’t start in Keynote or PowerPoint.
Speaker notes are neither friend nor foe.
Learn to do the basics before you worry about the wow factor.
The organizers should help you focus on the stuff that matters and ensure you ignore the rest.
Turn off Slack, Google calendar, and anything else that puts notifications on your screen.
Make the words on your slides big and high contrast so the people at the back of the room can read them.
Put the most important stuff in the centre of your slides.
Don’t rely on conference wifi for anything.
Your slides should be beautifully ugly and incredibly obvious.
Restate your main point at regular intervals.
Know your audience.
You’re given lots of audience goodwill when you step on stage. Spend it wisely.
TedX talks are like supermodels — nice to look at, impossible to emulate.
Tuck all the great stuff that didn’t fit into your talk in the appendix and share the deck online.
End a minute early. No one will mind. Trust me.
