Programmers and presentations
How to improve my presenter skills
Introduction
If I were a hunter, I wouldn't buy a rifle from a manufacturer who has never been on a hunt. I wouldn't heed the advice of a financial consultant who hasn't managed to accumulate wealth on their own. It's a waste of time to listen to the stories of influencers trying to teach me how to be a successful entrepreneur when they haven't achieved anything in their own lives.
Reading the book "The Seven Laws of Teaching," I began to clarify my thoughts about education, and in this material, I will briefly present the first law: The Educator's Law, translated into our field, I would say "The Presenter's Law."
You don't need to have the title of a teacher to teach. We are educators every day, whether we want to be or not. The more we advance in seniority, the greater the responsibility to teach others.
Why do I consider the subject of learning or teaching important for a programmer? Why am I bringing this topic to you?
A programmer who practices and develops the art of presentation has three strategic advantages.
Firstly, when you give a presentation, you are forced to organize your thoughts, extract essential things, and think much more deeply about the subject you are teaching. You develop personally.
The second advantage is that you will be able to raise the level of your team, those you train. The better your team is technically, the higher the quality of projects you will be able to accomplish, and you will win bigger battles.
And the third advantage is that you will gain positive visibility. The more you contribute to educating your team and colleagues, the more you will gain the trust of those around you and progress professionally more easily.
Parenthesis
But before we begin, I would like to tell you a little about my materials and how you can help me. If you've been following my previous materials, you've noticed that I don't come with specific tutorials. I won't try to teach you about microservices, data streaming, or new and shiny technologies. There are so many high-quality materials that do that much better than I could.
My attempt is to share my observations and thoughts on the programmer's journey. A normal programmer, one you can probably relate to. I tell and analyze situations from the grassroots. I try to look back and understand what was good and what was wrong. I try to extract lessons and insights to avoid repeating mistakes and progress as quickly as possible on this path.
I'm also interested in your feedback. If you've seen any benefit, no matter how small, from the materials I've presented, if at least one idea you heard motivated or helped you take a step forward, then it would encourage me to know that. I appreciate it if you give a like, subscribe, and share.
Let's get back to today's topic.
The first law of teaching, of imparting knowledge to others, is to know what you're talking about.
"The Teacher must know that which he would teach."
Knowledge of the subject has several levels of depth:
1. Superficial recognition of the subject; it's difficult to formulate something about it.
2. You can recall and describe the subject in general.
3. You have the ability to explain, prove, illustrate, and apply the subject.
4. You know the subject so well that you are immersed in it; it affects your life, you act in its direction, and you apply it in your life.
You can try to teach at any level you are, but the deepest and most effective learning happens when you are at the last step, when you live what you teach.
A truth or an idea is easiest understood through similarities, in the light of other ideas. Those we teach must see the idea in the complete landscape, easily recognize connections with other concepts they have already acquired.
Here, the power of illustration is enormous. Illustration is the most valuable tool in the art of teaching. This power comes only after a clear mastery of knowledge.
When I have a good command of the knowledge I teach, I gain a certain freedom to detach from the content and observe the audience. If I'm giving a presentation to a physical audience, I can dedicate part of my attention to understanding if the participants are connected to what I'm saying and if they are with me on the learning journey. From the looks of the audience, you can understand if you need to emphasize one subject or another, or if you need to go back a few steps and review something lost.
The audience gains confidence when it is evident that the presenter knows the subject they are talking about. As humans, we open our expectations and confidently follow the guide with great experience in the field we want to explore.
The ability to inspire others or charisma is essential. Some people have charisma in their blood, and whatever they talk about seems to animate those around them. Others are colder, more reserved.
I believe that both those with natural charisma and those more reserved can be good presenters with one condition: to show the passion for the field they are presenting. To inspire others to take a step forward in knowledge.
Presenting a subject without providing a broader vision, an interesting path, will not awaken the curiosity of the listener.
I would like to leave you with a list of specific points that can help you in preparing a presentation.
In preparing the material, use the help of the best thinkers in the respective field. Read the best books, discuss ideas with an intelligent friend. Exchanges of opinions always bring more light.
Build the presentation in a natural order. In any subject, there is a natural path from simple notions to the overall vision. Tell a logical story that listeners can follow; don't just string together unrelated information.
When preparing the material, use the three questions: What? How? Why?
Complete mastery of only a few subjects is worth more than superficiality in many subjects. It's more important to speak well about fewer ideas than to babble about many ideas.
Look for analogies between the subject taught and common truths from real life that everyone understands. Here you can extract the illustrations you can use. Illustrations will give color and flavor that will remain in the audience's mind.
Find the connection between the presented subject and the people in the audience. When presenting to managers, you need to eliminate details that only a developer can understand; you need to bring the information to the audience's level. If you miss this part, the risk of losing the audience is very high.
Study and repeat the presentation until it becomes a familiar language. When the line of thought is clear in the presentation, the words will easily align in this direction.
Here are some mistakes to avoid:
Don’t underestimate your audience. You might think that if the audience is ignorant of the subject you are presenting, it excuses you from rigorous presentation preparation. Usually, such an attitude is immediately felt by the audience, and you've lost them from the first moment.
Don't be superficial in the final preparation of the presentation. You might look at the plan a bit and tell yourself that it's okay, you know the main things, and you'll manage to fill an hour; you add a few jokes and stories from yourself to make the hour full.
Don't hide your lack of knowledge behind pompous phrases, thinking they will create the impression that you know the subject.
Arrogance. The tone and ideas conveyed can easily reflect the mindset you have when giving the presentation. If you treat your audience with a tone of superiority, the effect will be unpleasant on both sides. On the other hand, the presenter's humility has never failed.
Maybe you're a programmer just starting out, you haven't done public presentations, you feel nervous, and you're not sure exactly how to tackle this animal called a presentation.
Here are a few ideas that can help and encourage you to start:
It’s normal to have emotions and even make mistakes. It's good to make these mistakes when you're just starting out. We are more forgiving of those who are starting. Don't wait to become a senior to start presentations.
Start with small presentations in front of a restricted audience. Even a 10-15 minute presentation can be a step forward. Learn a subject well and present it to your team.
Repeat the presentation thoroughly beforehand; you can even have the plan written down and memorize it; it's a start.
The most important aspect is to learn from past mistakes. After a presentation, try to make a list of what went well and what didn't. Ask for feedback from someone more experienced.
You may not have the courage to start in front of an audience. But you can start by writing a short article. Put your thoughts on the subject in a file and see what comes out.
After you've started and taken the first step, make more and more presentations. Experience is proportional to the number of presentations you make. I guarantee that after presentation number 10, your value as a presenter will be higher than at the beginning.
In conclusion, if you are passionate about the topic of learning or presentations and have recommendations for books and materials that have helped you, please leave a comment so that we can continue learning together.