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Ask HN: First time giving a speech at a conference. How do I prepare best?

22 points by hemling ↗ HN
Dear HNlers

I recently submitted a proposal for a conference without expecting anything to happen. To my big surprise I got accepted and after the first excitement has settled I'm slowly getting the chills ;-)

The conference is in a significant niche for what I do so I'm going to meet and present to people who could be quite important for me.

To those who have done this before, how did you prepare yourself for the experience? I'm talking less about the content of the speech but everything else.

Any tips highly appreciated, many thanks in advance!

16 comments

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ankurdhama
Try to present your ideas/content in form of "storytelling".
colincarter41
Be well prepared in Advanced, Also prepare a list of questions that you might think asked at conference, so this will help you to get relaxed.

Just be relaxed and dont get excited during your speech.

lakkal
Try giving your talk at a smaller, local meeting (if possible) for practice.
nailer
What I do:

1. Know the shit out of the topic and your slides.

2. Present to your $Town $Technology User Group first.

3. Listen to something by Lonely Island before you get on stage - you want to feel energetic but happy.

tixocloud
Know that everyone gets stressed when presenting - it's normal. Take deep breaths, practice, and visualize it as a conversation between you and your audience. They really want you to succeed and want to hear you speak.
mydpy
Prepare early. Present often to someone else and get feedback. Be honest about what you know and what you don't. Know your audience and engage with them. Make your slides and code available online and tell people that so they pay attention.

Good luck!

johnmc408
I just gave a presentation at a local show, here is what helped me:

1) Finish the presentation long before your talk

2) Practice the presentation out loud and make final tweaks to the slides

3) Want to add something "funny"? Yep, plan it out

4) Once locked down, practice the presentation once a day (7 times?)

5) On the day of the presentation, don't review the slides

6) Show up early and stand on the stage and watch people enter

7) You are ready. Start on time.

lostdog
Record yourself giving the talk a week beforehand, and watch the recording.
JacobAldridge
If at all possible (and it's not always), watch the earlier speakers and their presentations. At most conferences there's an overlap in themes, and few things are more annoying for an attendee than a speaker who blindly repeats what a previous speaker said.

If you've seen them, you can reference them. You may still be a little repetitive, but use this to reinforce the point - as X said earlier, etc etc; or Y said this earlier, and I disagree because etc etc. You look like you really care about the conference, not just yourself (and other speakers love being name-checked, so it will help you build relationships at that level too).

Lastly, don't be surprised if there's minimal feedback. I often find myself coming off stage on a high, only to have 1-2 people proactively speak to me for the rest of the event. What really amazes me is how many people remember you - I got introduced a few months ago to a business owner in another city, and his first comment to me was "I saw you speak at a conference in 2008 and you gave me some really practical tips on XYX". Blew me away. Good luck!

joeclark77
In addition to the other great comments here, I would add: have some extra material. The worst thing would be to get through all of your slides in 10 minutes when you planned for 30. On the other hand if you only get through half your slides, skipping over some in the middle, no problem! If there's a Q+A session, people will naturally ask you to elaborate on certain points, and you'll then be prepared.
usermac
Having done this many times myself I can tell you to check in-advance, what tech they have and then asked what backup they have. If they don't have a backup, think of what you can bring. As for your talk, whatever it is, a narrative say, make sure you have 2 copies, 2 devices ready to serve you. Handouts. I know it sounds old-school but it is nice. Also, bring business cards to hand out. Oh and about that handout. Get some really great feeling folders to put them in. I wish you the best.