Truths About Speaking At A Tech Conference

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to give a talk at the DroidconKe conference. Deep down, I knew it was a way out of my comfort zone. I mean, everyone knows that public speaking is not for the weak. Look, in this article on Forbes, Obama is talking about the motions he’s going through as a public speaker.

I discovered some truths that I thought would be important to share, especially those planning to give their first-ever talk soon.

Truths? What truths?

As a speaker, it’s important to remember the following:

1. Don’t fret, public speaking is an art — Learning how to speak before an audience is something that needs some time of practice and even training if need be. No one is born an eloquent speaker, so don’t expect to sound like Michelle Obama in your first attempt. Key thing is to keep at it and allow yourself to grow.
2. For those few minutes, you are the expert in the room — It’s essential to understand that people are taking time to listen to what you have to share because it really matters to them. Otherwise, they would easily be elsewhere, not seated in a room waiting to gain insights in whatever topic you are speaking about. You can’t afford to give false or forged information, your research has to be thorough. If you must mention numbers, it’s only fair that you be accurate.
3. By all means, avoid death by PowerPoint! — No one, absolutely no one wants to sit for your talk and spend time reading definitions you pasted in your slides from Wikipedia and then listen to you recite them. Take time to use creative slide templates that engage with the audience and use minimal wordings. This article explains it in depth.

In the end of it all, enjoy the experience. You will soon realize the few weeks of preparation come to and end in just a few minutes and it has to be worthwhile.

Below are a few helpful links as you get started for your first talk. All the best!

• For simple slides templates, check out https://www.slidescarnival.com
• To upload your complete slides, use https://speakerdeck.com/

This is me getting appreciated for giving a talk!

A few claps go a long way!

What are some of the awkward experiences you had while giving your first-ever talk?