Talks by Colin Dean

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Introduction

This repository is an archive of the various talks I am writing, have written, and/or have delivered. All talks are original unless noted in the talk or its directory.

Each talk is in its own directory, and I'll try to remember to tag whenever I've finalized a talk I delivered.

Contributing

Posting my presentation work online for the world to see has its benefits!

Did you find a bug in example code? Did you find a typographical error? Did you find a factual error? Please submit a pull request or file an issue.

Colophon

I generally use either Apple Keynote or Pandoc + Reveal.js for my presentations. Sometimes, I'll use Google Slides if I need something fast or I start it on a mobile device.

For exporting PDFs, I generally use the built-in functionality of Keynote but I've heard that better-keynote-export works well. For browser-based systems, I'll simply print from the browser or use a headless browser to export.

For older presentations, I've used

Rabbit, presentations written in Markdown using Rabbit's special syntax
Marp or Marp Next, a batteries-included tool for Markdown-formatted presentations

CLI Demonstrations

When necessary, some tools are available to facilitate this:

asciinema - produces asciicast files for character-perfect playback
svg-term-cli - convert asciicast to SVG, for gorgeos web-based playback
asciinema gif generator (agg) - convert asciicast to GIF, reduce filesize with gifsicle

Always prefer asciinema to a screen recorder for presentation capture. Embed the gif or a video version of it (gif2mp4?) in fancier slides apps that don't have asciicast integration.

Principles of Authorship and Delivery

Abstracts

Abstracts should be written in inverse pyramid style. That is, the first sentence or paragraph should have as much information as possible while the last sentence should be ancillary information that almost could be omitted.

Slides

If there is a sentence on a slide, it is the only sentence on the slide.
No numbered lists greater than 10 items, exceptions for steps or outlines
- List item text may only wrap if there are fewer than four items in the list
No more than one graphic per slide.
The complexity of a graphic indicates how long it should be displayed:
- Memes (avoid, in general) - long enough for a laugh, but if you have to explain it, it's not appropriate
- Graphs and charts - It's OK to show it quickly if only demonstrating a trend and not pointing out specific features of the graph. The figure must still be proper, with a title, legend, axis labels, etc., to stand up to scrutiny.
Title slide should identify the speaker, a URL, and relevant contact info.
End slide should identify the speaker, a URL, and relevant contact info.
The URL for the talk should be its directory within this repository.
The contact information should include Twitter handle, event hash tag, and a talk hash tag.
The color scheme must be readable at no less than 30 ft away.
The color yellow shall not be seen, except when grouped logically with red and green.
The slides shall be numbered, but the total number of slides shall be optionally displayed.
Slide text should be no smaller than 40pt if it is the main text on the slide. Smaller sizes can be used for footnotes useful for those reviewing the slides later.
Contrast must be visible on crappy projectors.
- Gray on a black background shall be no darker than 30%.
- Gray on a white background shall be no lighter than 70%.
- Avoid using black and gray to distinguish text, instead use capitalization or a different font, i.e a serif and a sans-serif font together.

Audience Management

Do not take questions during the talk
Do not take questions after the talk, unless there are more than five minutes remaining in the session.
- Take no more than one question per two minutes available.
- Do not be afraid to respond with "That's a great question, but I cannot answer it succinctly in the time available."

Demonstrations

Avoid live or replayed CLI demos because it is too easy for the audience to miss some key detail or lose the signal amid the noise of log output.
- Live demos can go horribly wrong out of human error or remote service unavailability.
- Playback of recorded demos must nearly always be accelerated because— let's be honest— watching CLI is often like watching paint dry.
Pre-record always when demonstrating something. There's no shame in producing a pre-baked cake when all you're saving the audience is time for chemistry and physics to do their thing.

Choice Quotes for Inspiration

If you can’t write your message in a sentence, you can’t say it in an hour. Dianna Booher

There are always three speeches, for every one you actually gave. The one you practiced, the one you gave, and the one you wish you gave. Dale Carnegie

He who wants to persuade should put his trust not in the right argument, but in the right word. The power of sound has always been greater than the power of sense. Joseph Conrad

Best way to conquer stage fright is to know what you’re talking about. Michael H Mescon

90% of how well the talk will go is determined before the speaker steps on the platform. Somers White

Great is the art of beginning, but greater the art is of ending. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Criticism comes easier than craftsmanship. Zeuxis

Choice Articles on Process

License

Unless otherwise stated in a talk's individual directory, each talk is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/.

Any code examples included in the directory for a talk, but not embedded in the talk itself, are licensed under the terms of the MIT License.

Special Note

The opinions and recommendations presented in these talks are my own, and do not necessarily reflect the beliefs or recommendations of my employer(s) past, future, or present.

colindean / talks

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