Are you sometimes
bored or think, you would like to try something new? Something that
challenges you?
I was bored, so I
submitted a last minute abstract for
Apex Connect 2016 last november. You just have to write a little text about
what you would like to talk about. We all have something to talk about, right?
So that part was easy. And the conference was scheduled for april 2016. You
probably think… That is a loooooong time. Lots of time to finish the project,
prepare the perfect presentation and practice your speaker skills. Think again!
Deadlines have a
habit of sneaking up on you. So...
Tip No. 1 : Start right away!
If it is not part of
your usual work anyway, schedule some time every week to work on your project
and/or presentation.
You might also want
to think about some presentations you can do to practice your speaker skills.
We have a regular thing called "DevTalk", where anyone can speak
about stuff they're working on. Another opportunity could be a meetup or a smaller conference in your area. Keep
your eyes open for things like that. It really helps.
Tip No. 2: Keep it simple!
While preparing your
presentation you should keep in mind, that you usually only have 45 minutes
time for your presentation. You don't have time for all the interesting little
details you might want to talk about. So try to do an overview, so everyone gets
an overview of the topic and has a place to start to dig in. You can always
prepare an additional paper or some blog posts with more detailed information.
By the way… you
don't have to keep an eye on your watch the whole time. There will probably be
someone there, who will give you a sign, when your time runs out.
Tip No. 3: "Testdrive" your final
presentation!
Hopefully you are
done with your final presentation at least two weeks before the conference. I
did a trial run of my presentation for my colleagues. I got some great feedback
and i had a feeling how much time i really needed. I ended up changing a few things
and delete a view slides, since the presentation took a bit more time then i
had anticipated.
Tip No. 4: Don't do last minute changes! (except of
course you really have to)
It's the day before
the presentation and you are probably quite nervous by now. At least i was and
i was constantly going over my slides. And every time i found something, that i
thought i could have done better. But I decided to leave it as is. I only did
one change. I added a slide with a quote I found on linkedIn earlier that day.
"No matter how
many mistakes you make or how slow you progress, you are still way ahead of
everyone who isn't trying."
I felt, that this
quote sums it up very well and it actually helped me to...
Tip No.5: Have a good nights sleep!
So, not much to say
about this one…
Tip No. 6: Don't freak out! Murphy will have his way,
anyway…
So, it is the day of
the presentation. You might fell like running the other way right now. I sure
did. I never was good at speaking in front of a crowd. Especially a crowd, i
did not know. So this was the moment i thought: What were you thinking???? The
hour before my slot i used to go over my presentation one more time and prepare
all the tools i would use in my demo. I felt really well prepared. And then
this happened….
I went into the room to set up my laptop, but the projector did not work. The tech guys got on it
right away but they did not get it to work before the talk was scheduled to
start. Since i knew exactly how much time i needed for my presentation i
decided to start without my slides. You usually have some introduction stuff
you can do without slides. So i hoped for the best and went on with it…
A few minutes into the presentation the doors opened and a really huge ladder was set up right in
front of me… it was kind of surreal, but funny at the same time… they worked on
the projector and finally got it to work. So i could move on and finish my presentation
with my slides and the demo.
— Roel Hartman (@RoelH) April 26, 2016
Real Hardware issues on the software conference #APEXconn16. And still calm: @anjeli2001 congrats! pic.twitter.com/4ahCZzh5gn— Stephan La Rocca (@StephanLaRocca) April 26, 2016
Did i mention that
this was the room where all the presentations where filmed. So there is proof
of this story somewhere.
What I'm trying to
say is… No matter how well prepared you feel, there are always things that can
and probably will go wrong. In that case: Don't freak out, just smile and talk
through it!
Tip No.7: Relax and give yourself a pat on the
shoulder!
You've done it! You
made it through your very first conference presentation in one piece. Be proud
and enjoy the moment.
So, there you have
it. My tips to survive your very first conference talk. I actually enjoyed the
experience enough to submit 3 abstracts for DOAG 2016 right away.
What about you? Any
fun stories about your first public talk?
