My learnings from my first large scale public speaking

mahmood-eo-manila

 

  • Reading from a teleprompter is much harder than it looks, it needs practice – and proper height adjustment
  • This is amplified even more when it stops working and is mis-synced with TV repeating monitors
  • At this stage, ignore prompter and screens and either follow the printed script, or as a last resort, wing it
  • This is where having had a rehearsal is so important!
  • Rehearsal will give you the opportunity to time the presentation AND ensure that the slides are correctly queued AND the other technological widgets work too
  • Repeat the above steps as many times as you need, this prevents – or at least lessens the chance of making a fool of yourself in front of hundreds of your peers

I didn’t do any of these things last night and got to make a fool of myself.

What I learnt? All the above will be my constant checklist for any other public speaking engagements and practice does make perfect.

It was a fantastic learning experience. Trial by fire it was. I’m better for it and here’s the thing: I can only get better. I’m looking forward to the next opportunity 😉