Tips for giving a talk

Here are some things I should keep in mind while giving a presentation (such as a tech talk):

1. Speak slowly and clearly. Take your time.
2. How to create the slides:
   1. Minimal content on each slide: 1-2 sentences.
   2. If a picture suffices, just add that without any text.
   3. In notes section, just add brief talking points only when required. Do not add full English sentences that you want to say.
   4. Remember that even though the content-on-the-slide is small, you won’t necessarily speak proportionately. In some cases, you’ll be brief and move to next slide quickly. In others, you’ll speak 2-5 minutes.
   5. Every slide should be a single point. Just one.
3. Smile but don’t crack jokes (as I may not be comfortable with that just yet).
4. Make sure that there is enough content. For e.g., at Linux Fest Northwest, I just had 21 slides - that too, including the first two slides and introduction - and because of that I could only speak for 26-28 minutes. I should’ve had 30 or so slides instead.
   1. Try doing an early dry run, as part of the content ideation process itself.