This document contains tips from various speakers on how to prepare and deliver presentations. It discusses the importance of passion for the topic, writing the talk to focus on a single idea, rehearsing extensively including recording oneself, being prepared with backups, practicing delivery skills like movement and vocal warmups, keeping demos concise, and putting demo materials online for audiences. The overall message is that thorough preparation, practice, and passion are key to engaging audiences effectively.

1. Tips from a Grizzled
Speaker
Josh Holmes et all
http://www.joshholmes.com
@joshholmes

2. About
I blogged this entire presentation with all of my speaking tips at:
•
http://www.joshholmes.com/blog/2014/01/17/speaking-tips-from-a-grizzledspeaker
@joshholmes
•

3. Why do you want to
Present?

4. Passion
•
Be passionate about the subject or change it.
@joshholmes
- Adam Tuliper

5. No, seriously, passion.
Be passionate about your talk or your audience will see that and doubt your
credibility.
- Carey Payette
@joshholmes
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6. Believe what you are saying
Really believe in what you are saying:
Don't try to spoof/chance your way through something you really don't
know, really don't believe or really don't care about. The audience will always
see through this and not enjoy the experience.
- David C
@joshholmes
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7. Present less
Present less. Only present when
•
(a) you really have something to say that is relevant/anticipated by your
audience and
•
(b) a presentation is the best/only way of imparting that something. Far too
many self-indulgent presos out there, which could have been circulated by
email, phone, or by sitting around a table with a document.
- Rowan Manahan
@joshholmes
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8. Start local
Be realistic about your speaking and where you should be speaking.
•
Start at local user groups, build up to conferences.
- Corey Haines
@joshholmes
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9. How do I write the
talk?

10. Tie back to a single idea
"What do you want them talking about over lunch?" Everything you do needs to
tie back to this single idea.
- David Leslie
@joshholmes
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11. Write it down
•
Pick one objective and write it down. Tie everything back to it.
@joshholmes
- Mike Levy

12. Understand your talk before writing
Understand your talk before you open Keynote/PowerPoint/Impress. Mindmaps
/outlines on paper or in text editors work wonders for the clarity of the points you
are making when you actually come to deliver the talk.
- Rob Allen
@joshholmes
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13. Map it
Do a concept map, not a hierarchical map because that’s an outline
•
Free association works really well
•
Plot a course through the map the you want to hit
- Jim Weirich
@joshholmes
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14. Slides are for the audience
If you are using slides they must be 100% for the audience's benefit and 0% for
yours. Anyone using slides as a crutch or a roadmap for their talk should be
mercilessly eviscerated on Twitter.
- Rowan Manahan
@joshholmes
•

15. Font size matters
•
You can only get 10 or so lines of code onto a slide.
@joshholmes
- Rob Allen

16. Contrast is a good thing
Projectors have less contrast than monitors; nobody can see pastel colours on a
projector.
- Rob Allen
@joshholmes
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17. Kill your darlings
Block out way more time than you think is reasonable for your authoring. "What
is written without effort is read without pleasure." Write 2x what you need and
then start killing your darlings.
- Rowan Manahan
@joshholmes
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18. Speak your mind
•
Don’t say what you think the audience wants to hear.
@joshholmes
- Leon Gersing

19. Rule of 3
For any talk less than an hour or so, the audience will remember three things.
i.e. don't try to cover too much.
- Rob Allen
@joshholmes
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20. Don’t divide the audiences attention
The audience cannot listen to you and read the words on your slides at the
same time. Limit the number of words on the slides.
- Rob Allen
@joshholmes
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21. Listen to standups
Listen to standup comedy and listen to how standups think about how they do
what they do. It's oddly close to the same thing.
- Benjamin Day
@joshholmes
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22. Come to the darkside
Blank the screen when you want to make a point to make sure that your point
land.
- Scott Fuller
@joshholmes
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23. Content is king
I once thought entertainment is the most important.
•
Then I went to a talk by a speaker that everyone was telling me was horrible.
Monotone, quiet, slow.
•
The content was good but everything else was abysmal
•
But after the talk, a large number of people came up to her and told her it was
the best talk of the conference!
•
Content is the most important thing.
•
To have both content and entertainment is the best of both worlds.
- Jim Weirich
@joshholmes
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24. Tell them…
Tell the what you’re going to tell them
•
Tell them
•
Tell them what you told them
- Josh Holmes (and the Toastmasters)
@joshholmes
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25. So how do I get
noticed?

26. Tailor your abstract
Building your abstract is much more then just writing a description, tailor it to the
conference, make sure is expresses the values that the conference is interested
in and it describes the talk to the correct audience.
- Rafael Dohms
@joshholmes
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27. Avoid the trendy titles
“Getting X in the backdoor”
•
“Blackbelt”
•
“New and improved”
- Scott Fuller
@joshholmes
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28. Proof it
•
Proof read your slides because your audience will
@joshholmes
- Eric Burke

29. Who?
•
Tell me who you are. Match your bio expertise to the topic.
@joshholmes
- Jason Gilmore

30. Suggest something
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Don’t ask me what you should to speak about.
@joshholmes
- Jason Gilmore

31. Watch Your !@**!@#$ Language!
•
Do not use profanity in your abstract
@joshholmes
- Jason Gilmore

32. Grok the conference
Review previous conference sessions to understand what appeals to that
conference’s panel
- Jason Gilmore
@joshholmes
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33. Spek Anglosh
•
Proof read your abstract. Spelling and grammar matter.
@joshholmes
- Jason Gilmore

34. The title might be all you wrote
Come up with an appealing but too cute title. Needs to describe what the talk is
about. The panel, and the audience, might only see the title. Going through
700+ abstracts means that poor titles dramatically lower their chances. Also,
good chance only titles are printed on the show bill.
- Jason Gilmore
@joshholmes
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35. Are you prepared?

36. Go deep whether or not your talk does
Dig deep during prep into the inner details 'why does this work this way' as
someone will inevitably ask. Close with something really cool. Remember right
after the cool part to ask people to fill out evals :)
- Adam Tuliper
@joshholmes
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37. Join Toastmasters
Toastmasters clubs offer a great venue to practice your presentation and to get
supportive feedback and tips. Joining Toastmasters also helped make me a
ruthless editor as every speech is timed.
- David Leslie
@joshholmes
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38. Identify difficult sections out loud
Deliver your entire talk in advance, speaking aloud, and standing or sitting as
you will when you deliver it live. This will identify the points you have trouble
articulating. If possible, record this practice presentation and view it after to see
how it flows.
- David Giard
@joshholmes
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39. Rehearsal brings tranquility
Rehearse at the very least once before the talk, even if you have done it
hundreds of times, it gives you a lot more tranquility, every talk is unique every
time you present it.
- Rafael Dohms
@joshholmes
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40. •
Block out way way more time than you think is reasonable for rehearsal. And
before anyone says, "I don't like being over-rehearsed, it makes me sound
stale" I would just point out that an average stage production run of 6-8 weeks
will only happen after 8-10 weeks of rehearsal. If you want to make this thing
worth coming to, if you want to change or open people's minds, get over
yourself and rehearse. Standing up. Out loud.
- Rowan Manahan
@joshholmes
Block time for rehearsal

41. Record yourself and watch
Record yourself and watch yourself.
People try to self assess their talks, but it goes very different from an outside
perspective. If you are bored watching you so is the rest of audience. also, that
cringe you feel while watching, that is the suck leaving your presentation.
- Llewellyn Falco
@joshholmes
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42. Prepare and Practice
Prepare, prepare, prepare and practice, practice, practice:
The more you prepare, the less nervous you will be, the more authentic you will
sound and the more chance you will have of engaging the audience.
- David C
@joshholmes
•

43. Should not be the first time for a
presentation
Practice. This is especially important if you are speaking at a big conference.
You should not be doing a 1st time presentation there. Practice at your local
code camps & user groups. I have found that an audience of 2 is just as good as
an audience of 200 for delivering and refining my talks
- Llewellyn Falco
@joshholmes
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44. Practice out loud
Practice your talk out loud. Can't stress this one enough. It's the only way to
know where the talk doesn't flow quite right and give you an idea of its length.
- Rob Allen
@joshholmes
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45. Time it
Some people think it’s 15 minutes and it’s really 2 hours.
•
Use Camtasia to time it!!!
- Betsy Weber
@joshholmes
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46. Practice in front of people
•
Practicing in front of people changes how you deliver.
@joshholmes
- Adam Ryder

47. Practice just enough
Don’t over practice until it’s stale. You have to find your own point here. Some
people do better thinking on their feet, others need to practice until it’s as close
to perfect as they can get it.
- Jim Weirich
@joshholmes
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48. Are you ready?

49. Prep in advance
Prepare your slides in advance. Make a copy on a flash drive and on the
Internet before you even leave for the conference.
- Anna Filina
@joshholmes
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50. Backup
ALWAYS have a backup adapter (if needed) and/or second system to do
presentation from.
- Adam Tuliper
@joshholmes
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51. COFFEE!!!
Careful about the amount of coffee, red bull, … that your consume before you
speak. Remember you’ll be on stage for a long time.
- Josh Holmes
@joshholmes
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52. Agua
•
Bring a bottle of water because you will get very dehydrated from talking
nonstop and might lose your voice.
@joshholmes
- Anna Filina

53. Own the room
Get into the room in advance of your preso and know the space. Learn how the
lights work, the AC, the seating, where you can be seen and where you can't.
Project your slides while sitting at the back and see what works and what
doesn't. If they can't see it, they can't be persuaded by it ... Own the room.
- Rowan Manahan
@joshholmes
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54. Batteries
Be sure to check batteries on everything and carry extra. I always have at least
4 AA in my bag.
- Mike Wood
@joshholmes
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55. Power is a good thing
•
Bring a power cord/adapter for the target region and plug in your laptop before
you start speaking.
@joshholmes
- Anna Filina

56. A little music
Play some kind of music into the room before you talk. It's like having a warm-up
act and it makes it easier to win over the audience.
- Benjamin Day
@joshholmes
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57. Talk to your audience before hand
I usually make subtle adjustments tailored to each audience. My "trick" is to
arrive early and talk to potential attendees (the night before is ideal). These
conversations help me adjust my pace, tone, content, and language for the
individuals in my audience.
- Alan Seiden
@joshholmes
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58. No bling
•
Remove distractions
- Michael Eaton
@joshholmes
 Badges
 Watches
 Phones

59. XYZ
Examine you zipper. It’s a simple thing but many speakers miss that and it’s just
a touch embarrassing.
- PJ Hagerty
@joshholmes
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60. No naked gun moments
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Check that your mic is off before going to the restroom.
@joshholmes
- Mike Levy

61. Rubber Baby Buggy Bumpers
Warm up your mouth before you start
•
Red Leather, Yellow Leather
•
The sixth sick sheik's sixth sheep's sick.
•
Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
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She sells seashells by the sea shore.
•
Freshly-fried flying fish.
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I slid a sheet, a sheet I slid. Upon the sliden sheet I sit.
- Josh Holmes
@joshholmes
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62. Let’s Get Physical

63. Use a remote clicker
Get a remote clicker, preferably not infra-red, it gives you a lot more freedom
and fluidity, allowing you to move.
- Rafael Dohms
@joshholmes
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64. Be excited
Trying to hide your nervousness just makes it worse. Instead switch "I'm
nervous" with "I'm excited" and tell your audience.
- David Leslie
@joshholmes
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65. Breathe from your diaphragm
•
Nervous people breathe from the shoulders
@joshholmes
- Leon Gersing

66. Be yourself
Be yourself and say it your way:
•
The actual words you speak are only part of the communication with the
audience. The real connection is with what comes from inside you.
- David C
@joshholmes
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67. Be happy
•
Let your inner humor come out. Be quirky in a funny way :) Smile.
@joshholmes
- Adam Tuliper

68. Barriers between you and the audience
That's called a lectern ;-) and you shouldn't hide behind it, since it only creates a
barrier between you and your audience. Two barriers, actually, if you count your
laptop screen.
- Dirk Haun
@joshholmes
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69. Move on purpose
I always talk to speakers about their movement on stage. Most people either
don't move frozen behind the podium or they wander like lost puppies on stage.
Speakers should move with purpose on stage. When you are moving, make
sure that it's to emphasis the point you are making or at least it's not detracting
from what you are saying.
- Josh Holmes
@joshholmes
•

70. Face your audience
•
Face your audience.
@joshholmes
- Rob Allen

71. Don’t point at the screen (or screens)
While onstage, don't turn and gesture at the screen, to emphasis a idea or to try
to point out a line in the slide. This is a bad idea in general, but is especially
useless for bigger audiences where your computer screen is projected on
multiple big screens and monitors around the room. Whatever screen you point
at, there is a substantial portion of the audience looking at another screen.
- Walt Ritscher
@joshholmes
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72. Your audience can read too
•
"Do not read from the slides" - Best advice ever given to me !
@joshholmes
- Erik Hougaard

73. Posing Power
Great TED talk on the power of power poses. Take a strong powerful pose for 2
minutes and it will make you more confident.
•
Hands on hips with chest up and chin up.
•
Arms up in celebration
•
Hold for 10 seconds to 2 minutes!
•
Search “Ted talk power pose”
- Abby Fichtner
@joshholmes
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74. Do you demo?

75. Be concise
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Be concise and specific in your demos.
@joshholmes
- Eric Burke

76. Cheat
•
Don’t sit and write code, use snippets
@joshholmes
- Eric Burke

77. Always backup
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Have a ready to use final version.
@joshholmes
- Carey Payette

78. Julia Childs
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Have a before and after demo version ready.
@joshholmes
- Eric Burke

79. Show it, don’t tell it
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Run it and show what it does
@joshholmes
- Eric Burke

80. Simple steps
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If you need to do a lot of things, do one at a time and run in between
@joshholmes
- Eric Burke

81. Right zoom
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Zoom the font. There’s a lot of great tools such as ZoomIt out there
@joshholmes
- Eric Burke

82. Put the demo online
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Put it on github and let me pull it so I can play with it myself.
@joshholmes
- Eric Burke

83. Avoid live demos
Don’t do live demos unless you can’t avoid them. If you have to do a live
demo, increase your practice 3x. Make it so that you’re not dependent on any
third party such as networks or anything that runs in the background.
- Jim Weirich
@joshholmes
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84. Prop me
•
Bring a robot… (only he can get away with this in every presentation…)
@joshholmes
- Scott Preston

85. Can you say it?

86. Set expectations
Set the audience's expectation of what level your talk is aimed at in the abstract
and at the beginning of the talk.
- Rob Allen
@joshholmes
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87. Open Strong
You’ve got 30 seconds to sell your pitch or it’ll be the Charley Brown teacher…
Wa wa wa wa
- Carey Payette
@joshholmes
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88. Don’t put yourself down
Don’t undermine your own credibility as you are speaking because if you don’t
believe in yourself, why will your audience?
- Carey Payette
@joshholmes
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89. Enunciate
•
Be clear with your diction and enunciate your words
@joshholmes
- Eric Burke

90. Eye contact
Connect with your
@joshholmes
•

91. Interact
Ask questions of the audience for feedback and give stuff away for answering
questions
- Eric Burke
@joshholmes
•

92. Your audience wants you to succeed
Start strong with energy and confidence. Whether they realize it or not, the
audience wants to feel like you've got this presentation nailed. If you're
nervous, then they're nervous.
- Benjamin Day
@joshholmes
•

93. Audience can’t download you
You can put your slides online for download. You can put your notes online, and
your sample code.
•
What you can't put online is your audience, so make them and their questions
your priority. Don't let them derail you to a different topic entirely; but the live
experience is a unique opportunity for them to let you know if your message is
getting across, and to change course on the fly if it's not.
- Martin Shoemaker
@joshholmes
•

94. You are the tailor
If you are going to do the talk as it is and no variation, you might as well send a
video. The reason you are in the room is to tailor it to your audience.
- Josh Holmes
@joshholmes
•

95. Tell a story
OMG...for the love of gawd...know what you want to say and say it EARLY. Get
your story figured out and then hang the rest of your talk off of that story. If you
don't have a story, at least create a Top 10 list.
•
Top 'n' lists are instant story. What's easier to understand than 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc?
- Benjamin Day
@joshholmes
•

96. •
Stories and Examples over bullet points and abstract concepts. If you really
want to connect with people you are going to need a story or an example to stick
with them. No one is going to remember your bullet points. Give a talk called top
10 ****** and then ask someone to name 3 of the 10 things 1/2 hour later, much
less when they need your talk a month or two later. But tell an interesting and
engaging story and people can remember it years later.
- Llewellyn Falco
@joshholmes
Stories and Examples

97. But have a POINT
Make sure that the story has a point rather than just talking about the fish that
you caught last summer.
- Carey Payette
@joshholmes
•

98. •
I usually pick a few faces in the crowd to try and measure how I'm going, pick
like 5 and watch them, if most of them look bored I try to switch up, or slow
down, basically I adapt my style to the reactions I get. But also, be sure to
understand audiences. For example, in the US the audience is more
reactive, they will nod, comment, even make public remarks if the ambient
allows for it (woots and amen and such), where as the Dutch audience will look
like your talk is boring, only to tell you afterwards "it was the best talk i ever
saw".
- Rafael Dohms
@joshholmes
Watch your crowd

99. Read the room
Don’t barrel through, stop and look at your audience and make sure that they
are still with you.
- Scott Fuller
@joshholmes
•

100. Be impactful without slides
Write your talk so that it is impactful without slides. Stories and anecdotes.
Slides should be an optional impact multiplier.
- Josh Walsh
@joshholmes
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101. Slides follow you
The best presenters talk and their slides change seamlessly behind them average and crappy speakers change the slide, look at what's up there and start
talking. Slides follow you - not the other way around.
- Rowan Manahan
@joshholmes
•

102. Avoid reading the big screen
You should not need to ever look at the big screen, unless you are deliberately
turning your back on the audience to make them look there for a vid or similar.
- Rowan Manahan
@joshholmes
•

103. Look at your screen the right number
of times
You should not need to look at your comfort screen, except the occasional
peripheral vision glance - that's what rehearsal is all about.
- Rowan Manahan
@joshholmes
•

104. Laugh it off
When something goes wrong, be sure to laugh it off. Even acknowledge it to the
audience and get them on your side with humor rather than just muscling
through it and loosing your passion.
•
Abby told a great story about how she went on auto-pilot while trying to fix an
issue rather than stopping, laughing and fixing.
- Abby Fitchner
@joshholmes
•

105. Now what?

106. Close strong
Close with something really cool. Remember right after the cool part to ask
people to fill out evals :)
- Adam Tuliper
@joshholmes
•

107. Don’t dine and dash
Do not swoop in and do your talk and run away. The conference organizers and
attendees want the speakers to hang out and mingle. If your schedule doesn’t
allow that, maybe reconsider submitting.
- Jason Gilmore
@joshholmes
•

108. Relax
To many speakers obsess. Don’t rush to get the evals and go looking through
because you’ll find one that’s negative and it’ll piss you off.
•
Don’t do that. You just got off stage, enjoy that moment. Relax.
- Josh Holmes
@joshholmes
•

109. Revise
Revise your talk while it’s fresh. Once you get a couple weeks out, the parts that
didn’t flow or felt off topic or were a little awkward for some reason will be
forgotten and the next time you’re giving the talk you’ll trip over that same
section again…
- Josh Holmes
@joshholmes
•

110. Books on presenting
•
Dirk Haun
 Presenting for Geeks
 http://bit.ly/presentingforgeeks
Simon Guest
 File -> New -> Presentation
 http://bit.ly/joshbookoffer and enter the code: 9DU2GFJP for a 15% discount
•
Scott Berkun
 Confessions of a Public Speaker
 http://bit.ly/confofpublicspeakerbook
•
Cliff Atkinson
 Beyond Bullet Points
 http://bit.ly/beyondbulletsbook
@joshholmes
•