How To ACE Your Public Talks?

Mike Check…Ready. Set. Speak

Public speaking can be overwhelming to many at first. Standing up in front of an audience is nerve-wracking. Time and again, you face people; networking, pitching your startup, conveying an opinion or an anecdote, explaining a case study, solving problems at work. Speaking is inevitable. So why have the fear of public speaking? Just a few tips and tricks to up your game, face all your challenges, take the milieu into your stride and STEP UP!

When you are speaking in front of a crowd you have everybody’s attention; all eyes are on you and you’re under the spotlight. And speaking of technology, your audience will have a varied knowledge of the domain you’re speaking on.

From my 3+ years of being a tech speaker, I believe that a certain different key points can make your appearance on stage look organic and you feel at ease(just as if you’re having a blast of your journey on the stage:P) So let’s get into how to ace your public tech talk straight down.

1. Research your audience

You cannot not research about your audience before getting onto the stage. Researching the audience is the most pivotal part of your prep. A subliminal knowledge of everything harms no one!

The better you know your audience, the better your performance would be. Curate your content on the basis of things your audience is expected to understand. It really matters if your audience is enjoying your talk or they are on Instagram.

You cannot teach a kindergarten kid, the Darwin’s theory of evolution

It’s all about being relatable! So, I basically recognize my audience as Beginner-Intermediate-Expert

The beginner level of an audience just require the basics. For example, in a talk on UX Design, you need to set the base right for them. UX Fundamentals, Design Flow, past-present-future of UX for more relatability. Explain to them all the why-where-what-how of the topic. A beginner level of crowd ranges from 0–2 years of experience in that particular field on which you’re delivering your talk.

An intermediate level of attendance knows the basics. Just a quick recap of the basics and start with things that they are there for. How to develop with the alternatives, best practices, tips and tricks, experience mapping — these things would excite an intermediate. They would be having an experience from 2–5 years in the field.

An expert crowd is where quality content is the ruler. They know EVERYTHING! It’s on you to polish it into a Swarovski or a Tiffany. How much of x is too much, is x better than y, designing for business, tech for B2B and B2C. The inter-disciplinary topics are welcomed too. An expert is a sure shot to have an experience of >5 years. Exceptions are always to be assumed.

And what if the audience is mixed? It’s all over the places? I like to consider such a crowd as intermediate. You include the basics, flow naturally through the process and explain 1/2 topics that the experts relate to, the intermediates would like to explore and the beginners would like to start. We’re on the stage for the good of us and them.

2. Prepare yourself

Everyday in your life is a new chapter. What are you writing today?

An enchanting confident start to your talk is the key. Your audience will JUDGE you on the opening statements itself. Make it or leave it in the first few minutes because then you don’t get a second chance to build your first impression!

Create your presentation/notes and all that’s not on the slides.

Prepare on your opening and closing statements very dedicatedly, try to learn to captivate the audience in your talk, recollect memoirs, anecdotes, stories to tell your audience.

We are aiming for relatability. Remember? DO NOT USE JARGON.

Prepare your mind to do all the things that will be following down this point on the blog.

3. Use your space

Time is not a line, but a dimension of space.

1. Personal space: You speak in two languages: Body and English. It’s how well you conduct yourself on the stage. Your body language will say it all. The right physical communication can have a profound influence on how your message is received and interpreted. Do not keep hiding behind the desk. Move around on the stage, if required step down and go in the between the audience. Connect to your audience with your body language. Back straight and chin up guys, you’re here to create an impact.
2. The Stage Space: Stepping up on the stage, you might have/not have the podium, but what you have for sure is the space. There’s an entire effin’ stage as your canvas — paint it the way you want. Own the available space on the stage.

Some good body language and space usage tips for your next talk:

• Make eye contact, but not for too long! You don’t want to appear creepy
• Don’t remain resolute. Move around freely, but not too fast — you ain't-a pendulum.
• Avoid crossing your arms, clasping your hands behind or in front of your body. That shows your nervousness.
• Don’t fiddle with anything. Keep your hands free for expressive gesticulation. (I am still working on this while I’m off-stage — not playing with my nails:’/)
• Keep a slight smile on your face and change your facial expressions according to the content or flow of your presentation.

4. Follow the 5 P’s

1. Projection: Make sure you’re audible clearly at the back of the room but don’t deafen those in the front
2. Pace: Keep a steady pace. Your nerves may urge you to speak faster to get the distress over, but that will make it difficult to understand and will dampen your message. Try varying the pace to keep things interesting. And my personal hatred for those who go an extreme slow for people to “perceive” what they speak. Your audience is not a chicken waiting to be a chicken burger. Do not outrage yourself to be too slow. The word count should be 125–150 words per minute
3. Pitch: Vary your pitch, monotonous voices are boring and difficult to listen to but don’t be over the top. Also, try not to use an upward inflection at the end of all sentences, it makes you sound like you’re unsure about the things you are saying
4. Pronunciation: Don’t mumble. Ensure that all of the syllables are clear. Practice hard to say words and phrases. Try not to sound banal
5. Pause: Use the power of PAUSE. Pausing helps the audience to absorb the information they just heard and also gives you time to prepare for your next section. It also allows a moment for you to better collect your thoughts. Pro Tip: Silence is better than the filler words ‘um’, ‘ah’ and ‘you know’

5. Include content that connects!

Connecting to your audience on a personal level is quintessential. You just can’t do a poetry recitation on the stage. Personalizing content according to the audience is heavenly feeling — the reaction you get from the audience in validation and the smiles on their faces says it all!

Include memes, stories, anecdotes, case studies, references, images and images, GIFs (BTW, are you #TeamGIF or #TeamJIF?)

Slides from my talk on Design Thinking and UI/UX Design for a beginner audience

6. Connect to your audience

Tell the audience what EXACTLY they will gain from your talk.

Tell them how good they are.

Include 1-minute games or activities if your talk is of >3 hours.

Enjoy yourself on the stage or at least make it seem like.

Ask the preferred language of use for your between-the-shots conversations.

If you have someone familiar from the audience, recollect an encounter you had with that person related to your talk and raise a toast — throw an anecdote for you to appear as an approachable, friendly speaker.

Also, after your talk ends, you are surrounded by the “fans”, being the operative word. Never disappoint anyone who approaches you. I know how much courage it takes to at least show up to the speaker. If you’re in a hurry, lend them your card or take their card and get in touch later. Networking starts here.

7. Embrace the challenge and learn each time

Public speaking is a part of the life of a technology enthusiast. And I say you should take every possible opportunity to advocate your work, learnings, explorations, and experience. What is the point of knowing 10’s of technologies if no one knows about them?

The best way to put yourself out to have a learning experience into public speaking is to embrace it; realize how it will help you and your audience, and enjoy the conversation that it sparks.

Every time you present a talk, take some time afterward to think about what worked, what flopped and what got lost.

If all went well, circumspect on what made it go well.

If it was horrible, keep your calm; analyze where and how it went wrong so that next time you can change your strategy and ensure the same thing doesn’t happen again.

Learning is the hop-on-hop-off bus you’d want to ride to see Notre Dame de Paris! (I meant the beauty of hard work xD)

PRO TIP

Always acknowledge the team and the organizers in your talk. And don’t forget to take a Groupie!!

And just like that, I aced my public tech talks. It’s your moment now. The next time you fill the CFP form or are invited to deliver a talk, these 7 points I hope will help you ACE you public tech talks. Thanks for reading:)

Happy Speaking! Cheers!

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