Things That Matter Most

Things That Matter Most

A Night with Patrick Rothfuss

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I’ve read the annual Writers of the Future anthology every year since I discovered it in high school. It’s a fantastic anthology of cutting edge new fiction from yet-to-be-discovered authors.

That’s the most amazing thing, really. That the authors featured in the anthology are still technically novices. They haven’t achieved commercial success and are, as of yet, unpublished.

It was in the WotF anthology in 2002 that I discovered the work of Patrick Rothfuss. He included a single chapter from a book he’d been working on for years, and that short chapter took the grand prize for the yearly competition. It was fresh, riveting, and promised what would be a stellar novel to be published in the future.

So when I saw his first book, The Name of the Wind, at a Borders store a few years later I bought it immediately. I read it in spurts when I could find the time, devouring every fantastic page. To my surprise, though, the chapter he’d won the WotF competition with was nowhere to be found in the book; this was instead a chapter from the second novel in the series.

When that novel, The Wise Man’s Fear, came out I bought it immediately in ebook format (I didn’t want to wait for Amazon and Borders was out of stock), took an early day off work, and read the entire thing in one sitting. It was glorious!

I can count on one hand the number of authors whose work I thoroughly enjoy this much. London, Faulkner, Hemingway, Follett, and Rothfuss. 1 So the opportunity to see one of them in person at a reading is something not to be missed.

Last night, I joined about 800 others at the Newmark Theater downtown to hear Patrick talk about his latest novella. We heard some fantastic music, listened to the first few pages of the book read aloud by the author, and laughed together at some truly insane jokes and commentary Mr. Rothfuss has written – I am neither dead nor too big to matter, but hope one day to write a book worthy of one of his reviews. 2

Seeing an icon from a distance is one thing. Meeting them in the lobby before they speak is something else. Being able to realize the person to whom you look up is human and, like you, struggles with human things is inspiring. It helps remind you that yes, normal people can be just as successful.

It also makes me want to write again.

Who do you look up to who you might be able to meet or at least see speak in person? How inspiring an experience would that be for you and your career? What’s holding you back from making it happen?

Notes:

  1. Luckily, the latter two are still writing! ↩
  2. I only hope it’s better received than Roald Dahl … ↩

Three Tips for Smooth Business Presentations

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Every now and then I see a presentation or a presenter that makes me cringe. I don’t fault people for making baby steps towards refinement, but it does hurt when I see someone keynote a presentation while still making rookie mistakes.

Whether you’re just getting started or are a seasoned veteran presenter, here’s some advice to help you continue to improve your craft: 1

Practice

The surest sign of a weak presentation is not being familiar enough with your own content to deliver it quickly. I’ve seen quite a few presenters apparently surprised by the content of the next slide merely because they never ran through their slides before the big day.

I’ve also seen presenters talk at length on one slide, only to advance and realize they’d already covered subsequent material. If you find yourself saying “oh, I already covered that,” then you probably haven’t practiced enough.

Practice with People

Running through your slides a few times before giving the presentation is usually enough to polish most of the rough edges. Sometimes, though, the experience of just reciting content verses doing so with an audience is so different that a smooth in-front-of-the-mirror presentation can go horribly wrong once you’re at the podium.

Practicing in front of an audience will help you keep a tighter reign on your pace, understand timing, identify content that might move too quickly for others to understand, and most importantly get rid of “ums” in your content. When you’re speaking in private, you don’t pause too much with filler words.

When you’re demanding someone else’s attention, the number of times you say “um” or “uh” or “and” to fill the void between one thought and the next skyrockets. Have someone throw a penny at you every time you slip up during practice and you’ll be keenly aware of how often you fill the silence with distracting noises that detract from your material.

Don’t Read your Slides

I’m often criticized for having too-spartan of slides when I get up to speak. I might have a graphic, a quick animation, or a few bullet points. I also usually try to talk for at least a minute or two at each slide, even if there’s only a few seconds of material on the slide.

This is a downside for anyone trying to grok material from my presentation through just reading my slides after the fact, but it’s far more respectful of anyone in attendance on the day of. If your presentation consists of you merely turning around to read your slides, what value is there having you present at all?

Your audience can read your slides. Often, they’ll read your slide once you put it up and have moved on before you’ve finished reading it out loud. Your slides should accent your presentation, not be the sole content of it.

Notes:

  1. Keep in mind, this advice is intended for both rookie presenters and experienced speakers. It’s also a set of tips that I try to keep in mind every time I prepare and deliver a presentation. ↩

Don’t be that guy: A Lesson in Conference Etiquette

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The summer conference season is in full swing, and it’s more important than ever to remember some important do-s and do-nots as you’re getting ready for the next meeting. Here are a few I’ve discovered through my (sometimes painful) personal experience:

Do-s

If you’re speaking, be sure to be prepared. Impromptu presentations are great for informal settings, but no one in a room full of paying attendees wants to see you give an off-the-cuff speech. Take time to build your slides in advance. Run through the talk a few times. Make sure everything is timed so you can get through you material in the allotted time and, consequently, not run out of material before time is finished.

If you’re listening, be sure to take notes and ask questions. Often, a speaker covers a lot of ground in their talk and questions you have in the first 5 minutes are lost by the time they’re done presenting. Speakers hate the awkward silence that follows “any questions.” Taking notes early on will help resurface and clarify any ambiguous points they made earlier without pulling teeth to find questions in the audience.

Thank the organizers and the speakers when you leave. Everyone involved in putting on the conference has invested significant amounts of time and effort into putting on the events – with community events like WordCamp, this effort is entirely unpaid. A simple “thank you” will make their day and drastically increase their chances of contributing in a similar fashion next year.

Do-nots

The people sitting behind you are paying to hear the speaker, not to watch you play World of Warcraft. Leave the gaming at home where it belongs.

The people sitting behind you are paying to hear the speaker, not to watch you play World of Warcraft. Leave the gaming at home.

If you’re going to have a laptop out during a talk, be taking notes or following along with the talk. Do not sit in the front row of an auditorium and play video games. You might be happy wasting your conference fee to sit in a room and play, but the room full of distracted people behind you will not be so pleased. Be respectful of the venue and your fellow conference-goers; leave the games at home.

Conferences often provide beverages and light refreshments throughout the day. It’s great to use these services, but do not leave a mess behind. The half-eaten pastry you leave in your seat will not look good when it’s sat on by someone else. A glass of water left on a table can be catastrophic to the large number of computers that frequent tech conferences. Clean up after yourself and everyone will be happy.

The conference might be long, but resist the urge to duck out early if there’s still more on the agenda. Both the first and last speaker of the day often speak to half-empty rooms as attendees either haven’t made it to the venue or have decided to head home early. If you have an appointment, by all means make it. But if you can stay you should, even if just out of respect for the woman on stage who’s invested the better part of a week (or more) putting together her talk.

This is by no means an exhaustive list, just a few high-level items to help you make the most of your next conference. Everything here is rooted in one simple concept: respect. Respect the speakers, respect the organizers, and respect your fellow-attendees. Follow this simple concept and everyone will be happy.

Why Speak?

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Speaking experiences at conference vary almost as much as attendee experiences. Some conferences come with significant speaker bonuses – software, backpacks, other swag. Some consider paying for airfare and lodging to be enough of a perk.

Others still require the speaker to not only pay their own way but also pay for their own ticket. I’ve been to more than a few conferences where I’ve not only presented, but paid for a ticket and my own travel.

The quality of a conference is also established by how the speakers are treated when on site. Some conferences have been so kind as to meet me at the airport, give me an impromptu tour of the city, and check in with me the morning of the conference to make sure I’m OK. Having a dedicated “speakers room” also gives time for speakers to meet one another and get to know organizers.

Nothing makes a speaker feel quite as out of their element, though, as traveling for a conference and being utterly ignored by the organizers of said conference.

Here you have an individual giving up a significant portion of their time, often of their bank account as well, and no one makes an effort to introduce him or her to the team and make them feel welcome. It makes me wonder why we bother to volunteer as presenters in the first place.

Why put up with it?

Speaking at a conference isn’t about the speaker at all. It’s about the speaker’s ability to present on a topic about which they have expertise. It’s about what they can bring the audience in the way of new information or knowledge.

It’s, in the biggest way, about giving back to a community that helped educate and build up the speaker in the first place.

We might not always be greeted at the airport. We might not have a swag bag waiting when we reach the conference. We might not ever meet the entire organizing team. But we volunteer to present regardless because we care about the community and sharing a tiny bit of the knowledge we’ve gleaned from that community with others.

Not every speaking opportunity will encourage or inspire me to sign up a second time. But I will.

Conference Scheduling Fiascos

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I really enjoy attending tech conferences. They give me the ability to learn new skills and techniques, network with other engineers in the web-based tech space, and find new ways I can be involved in the community.

I understand how difficult it is to plan large events, so my thanks goes out to the organizer community. Unfortunately, I also feel that the web engineering organizer community has dropped the ball when it comes to putting on a conference.

Scheduling

I select conferences to attend based on several factors:

  1. Location
  2. Time of the event
  3. Content

The third factor, the content of the conference, is actually the most important to me. If I can’t see who will be presenting about what before I buy a ticket, I probably won’t go. Yes, I understand a large part of the conference is the networking opportunity and being involved in the community, but there’s something that organizers don’t understand.

I give up a large chunk of my week (weekend or weekday, it doesn’t matter) to attend a conference. For many, there’s also a significant financial investment (either in the cost of the ticket, the cost of travel/lodging, or both). Considering the number of conferences on which I’ve gambled and bought a ticket in spite of a schedule filled mostly with TBA sessions – and been utterly disappointed – there’s little chance I’ll continue to gamble.

If you sell tickets before the speaker list is announced, I will not buy them. If you sell out of tickets before the speaker list is announced, I will not attend.

Speaking

I love to speak at conferences. A selfish part of me loves to be the center of attention for 15, 30, 45, 60 minutes. A selfless part of me loves to give back what I’ve learned to the community – and continue learning through feedback in return.

But I also love speaking because it often means I get to attend a conference that would be otherwise unreachable for me.

Just last week I received, however, my latest rejection letter from a conference. This time it was a local conference, so I wouldn’t need an expensive visa or airfare to make the trip – just a bus ticket downtown. Unfortunately, the conference sold out of their $400 tickets days before the acceptance/rejection letters started going out. Also, despite the contacts having begun to flow, the conference agenda is still TBA.

I was offered a “last chance” ticket to thank me for applying (I’d still have to pay to attend, but could still attend). But with a completely empty schedule, there’s little reason for me to go. What will I get out of my $400 ticket and two lost business days attending the conference?

I have no idea …

Choosing a Conference Topic

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I like speaking at conferences all over – local meetups, nearby WordCamps, and distant JavaScript conferences.

Sometimes I’ll submit one topic, sometimes I’ll submit many – and people often ask me how I choose my topics.  I want to give away my secrets.

What are you good at?

I’m really good at a handful of things.  I’m passable at quite a few others.

When I approach a WordCamp or any other conference, I start with a list of things I’m capable of and want to share.  Often, this list looks a bit like the editorial schedule for my blog as well.

Picking what I want to talk about from this list is fairly easy:

  • I’ll grab the topic about which I know the most but haven’t spoken in a while
  • I’ll pick the topic about which my colleagues have asked about recently
  • I’ll flesh out a topic I’ve covered on my blog that’s received a lot of comments

If you make such a list, I can guarantee you’ll be able to suss out at least one topic for your next conference proposal.

What do you want to be known for?

In the WordPress community, people know me as a hard-core backend coder.  That’s fine, but I’m much more than that and don’t like to be pigeon-holed by any certain definition.

I’m also a writer, so I’ll speak about writing.

I invested quite a bit of time and money earning a degree in business.  I also happen to enjoy marketing.  So I’ll speak about business and marketing.

How are you known in the community?  How do you want to be known?

What do you want to learn?

Sometimes, I’ll do something that terrifies me: I’ll submit a talk proposal on a topic I know nothing about.  If I’m selected to speak, it forces me to double down and learn something new in order to put the talk together.

I hold myself to very high standards, and I will never give a half-hearted presentation.

I’ve given 40-minute talks that have taken 40+ hours to flesh out – not because I’m preparing material, but because I’m learning the material first and then teaching it.  Knowing I’ll have to stand in front of my peers and make a presentation gives me the incentive to learn the topic inside and out.

Otherwise, I’d just dabble and likely learn nothing.

These are my three tricks for devising a talk proposal idea.  How do you pull your list of proposals together?