File –> New –> Presentation: A Review

File->New->Presentation Book Cover Check the end of this post for a discount on Simon Guest’s book File->New->Presentation.

I recently gave a talk on presenting at CodemashCodemash. I blogged about that talk at “Lessons from a Grizzled SpeakerLessons from a Grizzled Speaker”. In asking for tips from from my friends, I found out that one of the best presenters that I’ve had the pleasure to watch multiple times, Simon Guest (the only man ever allowed to sign into the Microsoft network as guest), had written a book on presenting called File –> New –> Presentation.

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Speaking Tips from a Grizzled Speaker

At Codemash this year I gave a talk full of tips for speakers. At first, I was going to write a talk myself full of my own tips and tricks but then I realized that while that was a good idea, I’m not nearly as good as my whole network of amazing and brilliant speakers so I asked them for their best speaker tips. The result was a fantastic talk on speaking with some outstanding glimpses into the minds of some of the best speakers that I know. Continue reading

Collecting Speaker Tips…

What’s your best speaker tip?

I’m doing a talk on speaker best practices and would love to hear from other speakers as to what their favorite tip is for others. I know I’ve got a few outspoken friends who might have a few thoughts to share.

  • What’s the most important thing about writing an abstract?
  • How do you find inspiration when writing?
  • What’s your writing process?
  • How do you prep?
  • What’s your “pre-game” routine before a talk?
  • What’s your secret to delivering a fantastic talk?
  • What kind of follow up do you recommend?
  • What am I missing?

Josh Holmes with audience in the background

And yes, I’ll consider the comments creative commons and share and share alike with attribution. 🙂