Public speaking for normal people

Definitely don't be the "Um" guy. To wit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?list=FLmguqPI1EssJ48_VdAtl9nA&#....

Just recognize the reason why you are saying "Um" all the time, since there is properly a good reason for it. "Um"s are awkward, replacing them with a few seconds of silence isn't - oftentimes, it actually helps keep the audience focused.

I recommend Winston's "How to Speak" video: (http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=9F536001A3C605FC) FWIW, he's an AI prof who wrote a book on Lisp.

Also, I do like to say my speech out loud multiple times, when I'm alone. It engages verbal forms of thinking, and helps me get at the root of an idea. I sometimes have a "breakthrough" moment where I seize upon an idea that wasn't at the center of the subject, and reconceive everything so it is.

But that's not quite "memorizing"; depending on what I sense in the room, I'll reduce the time on some parts, or expand on others.

Also, it's important for me to feel it's my job to present the audience with something interesting to them. To somehow transfer representations in my mind to theirs. I wish to do a good job for them, and that outweighs other considerations.

That said, as an audience member, it's important not to get too impressed by delivery; maybe good hygiene to think more highly of a plain talk, and less of a charismatic one.

Good advice - especially like the talking to 2 people. Some other things that work for me (you'll have to take my experience as given);

- Make sure you know what you're talking about. Perhaps an obvious point but the confidence you have in the subject will carry you through more than anything. If it's your field of expertise, hopefully no problem but if you're in a position of giving a talk about something you're not an expert in, it's worth investing time and researching the topic well beforehand, preparing for questions you might be asked. At the same time, if you don't know the answer to a question, be honest "I don't know but I'll get back to you when I do."

- Talk to yourself beforehand. Run through the talk a couple of times in private, preferably standing not sitting but mumbling is good enough - no need for full volume. Helps to get a clear idea of what you're going to say and what the main points are. It also helps avoid those moments where you suddenly run out of words - your arguments are always on the tip of your tongue.

- Less is more. Few people can concentrate on listening to someone for more than 45 minutes and the more complex the topic, the harder it will be to follow. Boil it down to the main things you're going to say and focus on those. Also time it roughly while you're talking to yourself - this is the best way to identify the places where you're rambling or spending too much time on something that isn't really important to your focus.

Speaking as someone who did a lot of competitive public speaking back in the day, the frisson of "panic" just before you start is your friend. I'm worried if I don't feel it.

As for the rest of the advice, it's probably good advice on how not to royally suck, but not on how to actually be great. That said, your competition will probably not be that good. (The fact that Steve Jobs's keynotes are/were held in such high regard is due in some part to how lousy the competition is).

What works for me (and I have no idea if it will work for you) is to write out the entire speech, practice it a couple of times (making corrections as required), then reduce it to points, and speak from the points. That way you are, in a sense, winging it, but you aren't tempted to read the entire thing and you have -- somewhere in the back of your brain -- a strong articulation of the points you want to make.

I don't think any great speech you can think of ("I have a dream", "ask not what you can do for your country", "we shall fight them on the beaches") was "winged" and Steve Jobs famously rehearsed like crazy (as did his hero, Edwin Land).

The fact Jobs's performances came off as pretty natural was no accident. It's one thing to "embrace your ums" if you're a tiny startup, and another if any tiny thing you say will be analyzed by pundits for the next ten years. (Consider how few misstatements Steve Jobs made in all his enormously publicized "keynotes" -- and interviews for that matter.)

I think that the "death to Powerpoint" point is too absolutist, because it may guide one towards talks that value entertainment over content. In particular, I tend to give highly technical presentations; it is essential that my slides themselves contain sufficient content to convey the core of my meaning. (It should also be said that I am an infamously fast talker -- having slides behind me can be a kind of solace to those who may be feeling as if under aerial bombardment.) The emphatic point to make, though, is this: don't read your slides to your audience -- ever. Instead, your spoken narrative should be just that: a narrative that, over the course of a minute or two, winds its way through the bullet points on the slide. Especially if your content is highly technical, this narrative is an opportunity for the less formal (and arguably, more engaging) story that surrounds your work. Reveal your humanity: don't be afraid to disclose pain, agony, excitement, euphoria or disappointment -- if the audience empathizes with you, they will naturally engage with your content. In short, use your narrative to put flesh and blood on the skeleton of your slide, and you will have a presentation that is compelling yet still rich in technical content.