> I agree strongly with the bit about not including memes and jokes, to me this reads like nervous energy I think it can work in limited contexts. I've given a

> I agree strongly with the bit about not including memes and jokes, to me this reads like nervous energy I think it can work in limited contexts. I've given an internal talk about SRE using the "this is fine" meme, representing a current emotional state, then contrasted that with the reverse meme[1] as a visual metaphor. Perhaps this_is_fine.png works because it does not rely on outside cultural context. I've also used HTTP status cat memes on a carousel slide, to emphasize that SREs commonly understand them, before contrasting that with a custom non-HTTP protocol I support. If people laugh or pay attention, so much the better. > I think it's usually better when you've run through it so many times so that you can deliver it without any notes, but it's still concise and complete. I practice double-digit amounts of times for every talk. Agreed that rehearsal really helps and more people should do that. I wish I could put that 10+ rounds of practice into presenting but I'm typically doing internal stuff not anything with an honorarium or ticket price attached. Yet it seems like some kind of badge of honor in the tech speaker circuit to start building your slide deck the night before. Trust me: we can tell, especially when your first five minutes are panicked searches for projector compatible adaptors you forgot to pack or test. [1]: https://www.reddit.com/r/ReverseMemes/comments/dnlizu/the_this_is_fine_meme/ https://www.reddit.com/r/ReverseMemes/comments/dnlizu/the_th...