Just Have Fun With It

Written by on Feb 18 2013

Over the years I’ve traveled all around the world giving talks. Some technical, some inspirational. Some to as few as ten people and some to as many as 2500 people. I’ve given a lot of good talks, some great ones, and at least one that was very bad. Through it all I’ve learned one thing about giving a good talk: Just have fun with it.

Many people get nervous about looking foolish or not having great content, but none of that matters as much as you’d think it does. You can have the most amazing, insightful information but if you deliver it dry mouthed and monotone, it is a terrible talk. You can stumble over your words and make mistakes, but the recovery is having fun and embracing it, you can still make it a good talk.

Think back on any good talk you’ve ever heard and the one thing they all have in common is they were fun. Remember that when you’re talking to a group your job is to entertain, regardless of how technical or silly your topic is, you are the center of attention and every one wants to be entertained.

So how do you make your talk fun? By having fun. If you’re having fun then your audience is having fun. If you’re not having fun then neither are they. The audience will empathize with you 100% (unless you’re talking about eating babies). They will feel what ever you’re feeling, they want to go with you on your ride. Have fun and they will too.

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Steven

Hi I'm Steven,

I wrote the article you're reading... I lead the developers, write music, used to race motorcycles, and help clients find the right features to build on their product.

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