Operation #PinkShirt

What Is Operation #PinkShirt?

Pink shirts don't really have anything to do it. I just wanted to call it a name and after the abuse I got from the bloggers at VMWorld about my pink shirt I thought it would be a good name for it.

After having a such a good time at VMWorld this year, I have made it my challenge to attend again next year. Nothing out of there ordinary the you might think. True, but the plan is not just be an attendee at VMWorld, the plan is be a Speaker. Once again, nothing out of the ordinary. What makes this slightly more difficult than it seems is the fact that I have a

Fear of talking infront of large groups of people

I know, I know, most of the time you can't shut me up. But it's true, ever since I had a bad experience on stage at school I've been like this. 

So I have challenged myself to overcome my fear, learn how to public speak/present and get accepted to speak at VMWorld all in one year.

Simon Long needs you!

My first step is speak at the London VMUG in Feb 2011. I have already been given a slot to speak.

What I need from you are any tips you can think of to help me prepare myself. Whether it be tips on how to calm my nerves, ways you find best to keep the audience engaged, anything like that. Anything to help me get ready for February.

If you could post any tips you have in the comments that would be great.

I'll will endevor to keep you updated on my path to stardom….Watch this space.

View Comments

  • Pick a small number of people in different parts of the audience (5 or less) and look at them while presenting.

    Act like you are at a meeting and they are the only other people in the room.

  • I'm sure you'll do great. I'll be at the London VMUG in Feb as well ;-) don't sweat it and of course practice. Anyone who can wear a loud pink shirt at VMworld should have no fears ;-)

  • hy simon,
    here is a tip i've learned when i was teached how to sing without fears:
    "think deeply and believe that people in front of you are your only family"
    this way you would feel like home and be calm and "zen"

    another one (for the fun :) ):

    "learn how to breath deeply slowly and regulary, and focus on what you like(love) the most"

    hope this would help,
    Xinity

  • I'm going to be in a similar boat ! try not to talk to everyone in the audience , concentrate on a few people and it'll help scale things down.

    Speak slowly , then speak at half that speed. It'll sound a lot faster than you think.

  • Some tips on how I approach a presentation:
    - Know your stuff. If you know what you're talking about you not only have the pressure of presenting but also the pressure of not making any mistakes
    - Know your slides, but don't learn them inside out. You should know the most important slides but definitely don't feel you HAVE to repeat every word from them. I normally know what topics or keywords will be on the slide and do my talk. Before skipping to the next slide I check if I have mentioned all keywords.
    - When you know your stuff, accept questions from the audience. It makes the session more interactive. But don't let it turn out to become a group discussion cause you could lose control and run out of time. Short to the point answers and for longer explainations take it offline.
    - For big important presentations I try to be ready one month before the date. Then don't look at it until a week before and start practicing. During practice I make small adjustments to get a better "flow"
    - No sentences on slides, only keywords or short titles.
    - Make sure you have copies of your presentation. Normally I carry my laptop and also have a copy on USB stick. For the real emergency I always e-mail it to myself on GMail so I can access it anywhere.
    - Don't wear pink

  • I know how you feel. After I accepted the VMworld sessions I asked myself why the hell am I doing this? I don't like public speaking and I guess you can say it scared the crap out of me. I think I had a similar experience as you had in school and every single presentation after that was a nightmare.

    And as you know I am most definitely not afraid to speak up in public. However, getting up on stage and having over 400 people stare at you is something different. So why did I speak at VMworld? Just like you, another hurdle that needed to taken.

    What helped me?
    - pick a topic you feel confident with
    - don't over prepare, know the flow of the presentation and just wing it. If you know the topic inside out you will come up wkth a good flow
    - use the ppt as a guideline for the flow but don't spell it out
    - remember that 99% of the audience aren't natural public speakers either, they will have respect for the fact that you stepped up to the plate

    And the final one: just do it :-)

    I did it , so can you!

    Duncan

  • Like others have said, don't spend too much time obsessing and rehearsing, just know the agenda you have; and keep an eye on timing, keep bit of paper with your key bullet points which you can refer to if you think you're wandering and look at people in the eye, look around - don't be afraid to stop and ask for an opinion/experience - ppl will need some encouragement but I think a 2-way dialog helps when you are presenting.

    Think this next LonVMUG will be my 5th in a row presenting, so need more pepole to present instead of listening to me waffle on :)

  • I gotta say that's a pretty sweet picture.

    I'm not even a great person to give advice because I'm still very new to public speaking, but practice, practice, practice. Get your presentation made and never just read from the slide deck. Practice by yourself a few times, then try to practice with a 1 person audience, either girlfriend, a collegue or just in front of the dog. Learn to have fun with it and just wing it at times. Don't worry about remembering line for line, bullet points in the slide decks always give me ways to expand upon a topic. Don't rush yourself like you're a fast speaking yankee. Take your time and have someone critique you on how many times you say "umm" because that's usually the hardest habit to break

    Best of luck

Leave a Comment