Picture this. You’re an engineer who is presenting at an upcoming technical conference. Presenting in front of people has never really been your strong suit, but you’re determined to do a good job in front of your peers. How do you prepare for the presentation? Start with the end in mind. Ever heard of a call to action (CTA)? It’s…
Umm… You know… Like… So… Filler words. They’re so common in our everyday language. Do they have a place in technical presentations, though? On one hand, some are distracted by them, so perhaps they should be minimized. On the other hand, it’s always best to be your authentic self when presenting, so if filler words are apart of that, perhaps…
I like podcasts. I like them so much I created one of my own, dedicated to technical people giving presentations. I also like listening to other podcasts, ones that can be helpful to those in the technical fields. Hopefully you’re a fan of my podcast, the Teach the Geek podcast. Below are a few other podcasts I recommend. By the…
Voice speed. Is this something you think about when giving presentations? If not, you may want to reconsider. Speaking too fast makes it difficult for people to digest what you’re saying. Speaking too slow may induce boredom or even sleepiness! What’s the happy medium? 140 words per minute. That’s how fast the average person talks. If you speak at this…
“I’m not that great at public speaking.” “I always get nervous and freeze up on stage.” “I’ll probably never be good at it.” If you tell yourself you suck, you likely will. Choose another path. Visualize success. Giving technical presentations, especially when speaking in front of a crowd, isn’t easy. Taking technical information and conveying it so that different audiences…
One of the main reasons that people choke or the main reason that people don’t do well with their presentations is because they’re distracted. Oftentimes when I think about the speeches I give, when I get off the stage after the speech is done, I’m not thinking about, how were my hand gestures? Was my eye contact the best? Did…
