I like to give public speaches, but I organize myself completely differently. I spend much time making Slides that are easy to follow and logically ordered, and in each I know that I can say a little more or a little less without disrupting the message. I know that I can count on 1 slide = 1 min. Unless lots of images.
I don't rehearse as I know that I prepared well my slides. Then during the talk I add more or less informations naturally depending on the time left and on the facial expressions of the audience. I usually finish exactly on time.
Usually I read my slides and think about what exactly to say only just before the talk.
I find this way more natural, and less scripted, and I usually get compliments on my presentation and naturalness. I think rehearsing removes much of the naturalness of a talk, unless that aspect is worked extensively, but that could sound a little too scripted for my taste.
One trick that I use often if I tend to forget some information that is important to say, is to put one word that trigger the information IN the slide, but in very light Grey, and in a natural place, like close to an image. So if I ever forget what to say, I have my landmarks in each slide to guide me.
I guess everyone is different in regards to handling the pressure when talking in public, but I do agree that you can feel it, most of the time, when someone rehearsed too "scholarly".
All that said, an overly-rehearsed talk can come across as stilted/reading from a script.
When what you’re presenting is something you have actual knowledge about, it can be easier to say what you think rather than stress about “sticking to the script.”
True of public speaking just as much as interviewing.
Many people unnecessarily stress about public speaking because they believe the script is the only thing that matters.
Though I admit there is no one size fits all when it comes to speaking.
But, to your point, I agree that your method is the best way if you know the subject matter. When I practice it's mainly for transitions/flow and not the information.
Besides that, i guess schools/student groups that seek professionals. Non-profits works as well, I did that when I was younger (advocacy).
Another comprehensive guide for tech-speakers is https://speaking.io/ by Zach Holman.
It's as though the natural state of the machines and tech is so fast, that we're trying to keep the information transmission as dense as possible so we can end the call.
Side note, I was watching an interview with Cory Doctorow and because of the tv segment style, both he and the interviewer were BLASTING through their talking points.
I wonder how much of our speech is being affected by the "say as much as you can before commercial break" model.
That said, I have recorded some podcasts with people where I felt I really needed to go into Audacity and have it automatically cut out a bunch of pauses because there were just too many of them.
I've also found that having both video and audio of yourself is a great way to uncover both visual and audio quirks.
I also remember a senior IBM exec who, during Q&A at analyst conferences, would make notes (or seemed to) which served a few purposes including just taking a few seconds to collect his thoughts.
It seems to me that the problem isn't speaking fast per se, but almost speaking where you're tripping over yourself unconfidently. Bryan, for example, often does trip over his words, but he's confident in what he has to say and enunciates very clearly (he's basically yelling).
During the pandemic I made a few Youtube videos, basically public speaking without an audience. I was amazed at how hard it was, I spend hours and hours trying to speak with any confidence. Funnily enough though, at tech meetups, I'm pretty comfortable presenting in front of everyone even though I see others struggle so much. Not sure what's the difference.
drsim•7h ago
Went to my local group last week and was pleasantly surprised with the quality of speaking.
robaato•5h ago
euroderf•3h ago