On Public Speaking

Credentials

For an introverted nerd who does not know how to behave in social situations, public speaking is a challenging task. You come up in front of a room of people waiting to judge your presentation and grade it. It rarely goes well, to be honest. I do not claim to be good at this, but there are ways I found to suck less while not distracting myself too much from my nerdy work.

The Setup

I usually speak bi-yearly at the local conference which is part of my curriculum and required for getting a degree. There is usually a small audience of 20-30 people that ask questions and grade the talk. Most scientific conferences look quite similar to this and pose a significant challenge for people not experienced in presenting. There are a few ways I came up with over the past four years that improved my ability to speak in front of other people and I would like to share them. These are mostly intended for an introvert unskilled in presentation.

Practice Makes Perfect

Find a few people to talk to. Just the act of talking, looking at the other person, and communicating the message to them makes life easier. It usually improves presenting skills by default as talking to a room full of people is not that different from talking to one person. Try explaining whatever it is you do to others. Be careful to not bore them too much, keep it simple and short. This will give a good idea of difficult parts and topics.

Practice writing as well. Your thoughts always feel more fluid and quick than your words, and written words are far more demanding than spoken ones. Write down the main theses of the presentation, expand on them. See if there are unclear points if the sentences are too convoluted and break them down. Do not learn the text, but make sure there are a few paragraphs you can draw on while talking.

Preparation Is Key

It takes a few weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech. Do not make your presentation the day before the talk, give yourself at least three days. Write down the main points of each slide, put the paper in front of you, get the stopwatch and do a run of the presentation. If it’s too long (it usually is) – combine some slides or remove them altogether and do another run. Repeat until you are within the suggested timeframe minus one minute, to give some space for stuttering and an occasional nervous cough.

If you have a study group, show the presentation to them. It is easier than ever to do over discord or zoom. They can ask questions and give valuable feedback on slides. If you know other people participating in the same event, ask them. After this step, a presentation is good enough for public appearance, but there is more to do.

Confidence Is Competence

Faking confidence is difficult. Creating confidence is even harder but yields long-term results and is better in the end. Go through your slides and what you are about to say. And now examine each word and every picture there is. Recall definitions, check all the axes and titles on plots, references to sources, make sure there are no gaps in your knowledge. The idea is not to give a flawless talk, the idea is to make sure any questions will be answered with ease and confidence.