Tailoring your message to your audience and using relatable stories and humor can make tech talks more engaging and accessible.
Understanding cultural sensitivities, avoiding jargon, and utilizing visual aids effectively are crucial for delivering impactful tech presentations.
Researching conferences, understanding the audience, and delivering a single clear message can increase acceptance rates for speaking opportunities in the tech industry.
Deep dives
Getting Started in Speaking Tech
Heather Flanagan and Greg Gazin discuss how they began their careers in speaking tech. Heather started as a freelance consultant, wanting to share her expertise and market herself. She also became a role model for women in tech. Greg's career in speaking tech began accidentally when he started writing articles as a computer shop owner. This led to interviews, radio appearances and eventually speaking engagements. Toastmasters played a crucial role in his speaking journey.
Tips for Effective Speaking in Tech
Heather and Greg share valuable tips for speaking effectively in the tech industry. They emphasize the importance of tailoring your message to your audience and understanding their needs. Using relatable stories, analogies, and humor can help engage the audience and make complex concepts more accessible. They highlight the significance of understanding cultural sensitivities, avoiding jargon, and being mindful of visual aids like slides to enhance the impact of your presentation.
Securing Speaking Engagements
Heather and Greg discuss strategies for getting speaking opportunities. They recommend researching conferences and understanding their audience and culture before submitting proposals. Listening to podcasts, attending events, and talking to previous speakers can provide insights into what organizers are looking for. Knowing your audience and delivering a single clear message is crucial. They also suggest using feedback, honing proposals, and exploring unconventional topics to stand out and increase acceptance rates.
Crafting Engaging Presentations
Heather and Greg discuss techniques for crafting engaging presentations. They stress the importance of visual aids that enhance, not distract from, your message. Slides should have clear, concise content and consider accessibility for different devices and international audiences. Using stories, analogies, and relatable examples help make complex ideas relatable. Catering presentations to different types of speaking engagements, such as keynotes or sessions, require different approaches to entertain, educate, and inspire the audience.
Overcoming Challenges and Following Your Heart
Heather and Greg share their personal experiences and advice for overcoming challenges in speaking tech. They discuss the importance of following your passion and intuition, even when it means stepping out of your comfort zone. Heather highlights the value of embracing recorded feedback to improve speaking skills, while Greg emphasizes the significance of combining mind and heart to deliver impactful presentations. They both emphasize the value of continued learning, adapting to different audiences, and having the courage to pursue your speaking goals.
Heather Flanagan is Principal at Spherical Cow Consulting and Founder of The Writer’s Comfort Zone. She comes from a position that the Internet is led by people, powered by words, and inspired by technology. If there is work going on to develop new Internet identity standards, she is probably involved! Greg Gazin, a.k.a “The Gadget […]
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