Public Speaking: Thoughts from dConstruct

I went to dConstruct last Friday and wanted to quickly capture some of my thoughts, before they fade. I discovered all kinds of interesting factoids, but many of my thoughts were related to the act and skill of public speaking.

What did I learn?

• I like energetic speakers. It’s nice to be enthused and inspired.
• It helps if a few jokes pepper a presentation.
• I like real-world examples to counter the confusion of theoretical chatter.

And the not-so-good stuff:

• Big words should stay at home. Speakers can lose an audience in a maze of esoteric language. What’s the point of speaking if nobody knows what you mean?
• A presentation benefits from a point. A big, juicy point that is clear and understandable. Just chatting about something you know is fine for you but less wonderful for the 600+ people listening.