| Technical Talk Tips |
| Problem |
Technical writing, where the audience can... |
Technical speaking, where the audience must... |
| STRUCTURE |
Read in any order. |
Listen in the speaker's order of presentation. |
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- Plan your scope/depth tradeoffs early
(use either broad and shallow treatment or narrow and deep).
- Reveal (overtly summarize) your talk's structure
(the audience cannot see your mental outline or table of contents).
- Announce structure milestones as you pass them
(use verbal headings ["the third problem..."] and
proleptics ["by contrast..."]).
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| REVIEW |
Reread any passage. |
Rely on the speaker to repeat if appropriate. |
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- Remember the slogan "tell them what you're going to tell them,
tell them, then tell them what you told them."
- Identify and manage your topic transitions
carefully, usually with planned repetition of structure cues.
- Practice to avoid pointless, accidental repetition.
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| UNDERSTANDING |
Study and gradually understand. |
Understand on the first hearing. |
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- Choose your vocabulary, examples, and comparisons to control
your technical depth.
Adjust to suit:
- Your audience's background.
- How your talk unfolds.
- Manage your data density:
- Control your amount of supporting detail.
- Supplement your talk with detail-bearing handouts
(references, for example).
- Use visual aids (slides, models) to carefully increase
data density without increasing confusion.
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| DELIVERY |
Read at any pace. |
Listen and absorb at the speaker's pace. |
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- (Before talking) spell out your list of claims
(to confirm just
how many claims you have).
- Rehearse privately:
- With your notes (to tune self-prompts).
- Before a mirror (to practice eye contact).
- With a clock (to check pace and length).
- Avoid saying one thing and showing another
(plan and practice speech/slide coordination).
- Maintain audience interest:
- Use short, direct sentences.
- Show (appropriate) enthusiasm.
- Attend to audience needs (confused? can't hear? questions?).
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