Liveblogging IndieConf: Public Speaking 101

Presenter: Jared Richardson (@jaredrichardson)

Speak!

• User groups
• New technology
• Pitch ideas
• Inevitable

Fear of Speaking

• Outranks death!
• Hands shake
• Voice trembles
• Stomach churns
• FUN!

Learned Skill

• Not natural
• Not inborn
• Study
• Practice

Awareness and Education

• Unconscious Incompetence (You're bad and you don't know it)
• Conscious Incompetence (You're bad and you DO know it)
• Conscious Competence (You're good at it, but you have to think about it)
• Unconscious Competence (You're good at it, but you don't think about it)

Topics

• Positioning
• Delivery
• Content
• Practice

Positioning

• Hands - If you want to be humble when doing public speaking? Video tape yourself. The proper location of your hands is by your side (not your pockets, behind your back, crossed, scratching your nose, etc.).
• Arms - 
• Legs - 
• Feet - Keep your feet shoulder width

The Fig Leaf

The fig leaf is where one uses their hands to cover their fig leaf area. A no-no!

The Guard

Placing arms behind their back like a military soldier. A no-no!

Glued Arms

Keeping the elbows glued to your side. A no-no! Open up and gesture. It's ok. It's not about you.

Be Neutral
Feet shoulder width apart.

Delivery
No point on this slide.

L.I.P.
These three things are 90% of public speaking.

(L)ock eyes
Don't ever give a point unless you've locked eyes with someone. Don't look at the back of the room, there are no eyes there. Never spray the room. Locking eyes gives the audience that you're talking with them.

(I)ntonation
If you don't pay attention then you will go monotone. Take it up....take it down....give a variety of delivery.

(P)ause
When the slide screen changes, watch the eyes. They will go to the screen. Get a clicker...don't walk to the laptop after each slide. Watch the eyes. Begin talking when the eyes return back to you.

Content

• Slides -  Most presenters use slideshows. Use ONLY bullets AND pictures. NO PARAGRAPHS or SENTENCES.  When people read, you lose the audience. 
• Bullets - Shoot for three to five bullets.
• Pictures - All slides have a picture.

Pictures

• The best place to find pictures is Flickr (use Advanced search > Creative Commons license)
• Pictures engage the brain
• Gives a quick break
• If you use pictures, give credit. If not, you're stealing.
• Use a relevant picture - Does the picture add value?
• You don't want a picture that overpowers the message

Jokes and Stories

• They are awesome...use them often.
• Never, ever, ever, ever, offend your audience. You're here for the audience. Don't offend. If you're not sure about the joke or story, don't use it.
• Use your experiences to tell stories. It's a framework to hang memories on. 

The Goal

• Share
• Reach
• Change

Who is it about?

• The Speaker? No, the audience.

Practice

• Born
• University days...
• Dream job
• IndieConf!

If you do not lock eyes, the spacer words (UM and UH) find their way in. Locking eyes take those away spacer words away. This also happens when one looks at the slide.