Confessions of a (nervous) public speaker

When I moved into Developer Relations, public speaking became my job despite finding it terrifying! Here's all I've learnt about managing speaker anxiety after four years in the role.

1. CONFESSIONS OF A (NERVOUS) PUBLIC SPEAKER JAMES THOMAS, DEV ADVOCATE @ IBM ☁
2. me = " " " " beginning of my advocacy career…
3. HOW CAN I KEEP DOING THIS?
4. " Everyone gets this! # Not about getting rid of it. $ Does get better.
5. BE PREPARED BE PREPARED.
6. % Practice, practice, practice. & No surprises. ' Prepare for failure.
7. QUESTION TO ASK THE ORGANISER…. ▸ Display Connection: HDMI, VGA, Apple TV ▸ Internet: wireless, wired or none. ▸ Screen aspect ratio: 4x3 or 16x9. ▸ Microphone setup: lapel, hand-held podium ▸ Session details: when, where, length, Q&A ▸ Introductions: MC or self-introducing?
9. Three points of contact. Three points of backup. ✅ Laptop ✅ USB ✅ Cloud
10. AT THE CONFERENCE
11. % Distraction. & Mindfulness. ' Talk to someone.
12. HERE WE GO… "
13. ) Start strong. * Manage the symptoms. + Find the “nodders”.
14. , ,
15. DEMONSTRATION TIME
16. - Record video backups . “Minimum Viable Demo” ✂ Minimise “moving parts”
17. DEMONSTRATION TIME Q & A
18. 0 Just say no.
19. Dealing with difficult questions… 1 “I don’t know” 1 Deflect or bridge. 1 “I’m not here to talk about that”
20. …and relax.
21. " Being nervous is normal. . Focus on management. 2 Just hang in there.