Talk Prep Workshop

Outcomes

By the end of this workshop, you will:

1. Identify the parts of a strong talk introduction
2. Present a talk introduction that meets the criteria described in the Talk Introduction Checklist
3. Identify the parts of a strong talk conclusion
4. Present a talk conclusion that meets the criteria described in the Talk Conclusion Checklist

if time

5. Write the remainder of your talk

Objective 1: Identify the parts of a strong talk introduction

• Culture Talk Exemplar: Zero to SRE by Kim Schlesinger
  • Note: watch from the beginning to 2:15
• Technical Talk Exemplar: Test-Driven Development by Example by Toran Billups
  • Note: watch from the beginning to 2:15

Objective 2: Present a talk introduction that meets the criteria described in the Talk Introduction Checklist

Tips:

• Outline your intro
• A handful of bullet points
• What will make someone want to pay attention to this talk? Hook them.

Objective 3: Identify the parts of a strong talk conclusion

• Exemplar: Optimizing for Learning by Logan McDonald
  • Note: start at 25:15 and watch to the end
• Exemplar: Creating a Career Ladder for Engineers by Marco Rogers
  • Note: start at 31:11 and watch to the end

Objective 4: Present a talk conclusion that meets the criteria described in the Talk Conclusion Checklist

Write your conclusion...

• A handful of bullet points
• Should mirror your intro- if you were talking about how bad something was in your intro, you should be talking about how good it is with the improvements you’ve made, etc.
• Explanatory: Recap your outcomes
• Argumentative: Restate your thesis and outline how you defended it

Objective 5: Write the remainder of your talk

• Identify the steps needed to connect the introduction and conclusion
• These should align with your outcomes or the steps needed to defend your thesis- ~1 for a lightning talk, ~4 for a regular talk
• Start making nice slides

Survey

If you attended this workshop in person or remotely, please take the survey.