Public speaking

Preparing for my speech at perbit's 35th anniversary last week was once again quite difficult and time consuming. Overcoming stage fright is still quite an ordeal for me and it brought to mind once again Seth Godin's rules for presentations. So one more time for anyone interested:

1. Make it shorter. No extra points for filling your time.
2. Be really clear about what it’s for. If the presentation works, what will change? Who will be changed? Will people take a different course of action because of your work? If not, then why do you do a presentation?
3. Don’t use slides as a teleprompter. If you have details, write them up in a short memo and give it to us after the presentation.
4. Don’t sing, don’t dance, don’t tell jokes. If those three skills are foreign to you, this is not a good time to try them out.

Be here now. The reason you’re giving a presentation and not sending us a memo is that your personal presence, your energy and your humanity add value. Don’t hide them. Don’t use a prescribed format if that format doesn’t match the best version of you.

And a bonus: the best presentation is one you actually give. Don’t hide. Don’t postpone it. People need to hear from you.

It went O.K but when I see the video I know I still have much to learn. Thanks Steve.