http://mattbalara.com/2008/05/first-next-notes-of-a-public-speaking-n00b.html A blog about interfaces, design and doing things better. Mon, 08 Sep 2008 01:35:04 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6 http://mattbalara.com/2008/05/first-next-notes-of-a-public-speaking-n00b.html#comment-9785 Stephan Mon, 19 May 2008 10:01:41 +0000 http://mattbalara.com/?p=146#comment-9785 First: you did great, so don't worry. :) I once spoke at a conference at the beginning of my career (my boss forced me :-). I didn't have much experience on the subject nor on presenting. I thought I'd wing it somehow but failed horribly. I stuttered, talked nonsense, saw people shaking their heads in disbelieve. It was horrible. But it taught me a very valuable lesson. Since then, whenever I talk in front of an audience (however big/small/important or not) I remember this day and I force myself to practice, practice and practice again. Some people assume presenters just have a natural talent which allows them to seem witty and smart. But the truth is they "just" practiced a lot. Nobody just wings a presentation. Another tip: Most people in the audience don't notice how nervous you are. So don't beat yourself up. And: If you pause to collect your thoughts it may seem you're not saying anything forever when in reality it was just a few seconds. So pause, think about what you're saying, give your audience time to reflect on what you just said. But in the end: practice! First: you did great, so don’t worry.
I once spoke at a conference at the beginning of my career (my boss forced me :-). I didn’t have much experience on the subject nor on presenting. I thought I’d wing it somehow but failed horribly. I stuttered, talked nonsense, saw people shaking their heads in disbelieve. It was horrible. But it taught me a very valuable lesson. Since then, whenever I talk in front of an audience (however big/small/important or not) I remember this day and I force myself to practice, practice and practice again. Some people assume presenters just have a natural talent which allows them to seem witty and smart. But the truth is they “just” practiced a lot. Nobody just wings a presentation. Another tip: Most people in the audience don’t notice how nervous you are. So don’t beat yourself up. And: If you pause to collect your thoughts it may seem you’re not saying anything forever when in reality it was just a few seconds. So pause, think about what you’re saying, give your audience time to reflect on what you just said.
But in the end: practice!

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