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I agree, but one good thing about starting with the soft and boring parts (like your name and credentials), is that it's easy to do when you're nervous in the b
by matsemann 2y ago
I agree, but one good thing about starting with the soft and boring parts (like your name and credentials), is that it's easy to do when you're nervous in the beginning. Can't really stumble that too much, and then you're warmed up for the real talk. But of course, the shorter you can keep it the better. Instead I often try to memorize my first lines, word by word. Then I know I will nail them when at my most anxious, and then the rest can be talking more freely.
- dylan604 2y agoI also assumed that part of the first few minutes was filler while butts are still trying to find seats, still chatting amongst themselves, or haven't quite closed whichever social media app as well as letting the presenter shake off any butterflies
- ghaff 2y agoThat's a good point. A presentation isn't really a written story or even a film. You don't want the people who missed the first few minutes to be "dazed and confused." :-) You don't want to do too much throat clearing (to use the metaphor a former boss used with respect to writing research pieces). But you probably don't want the first few minutes to be too essential to be jumping into the rest of the talk either.
- larsrc 2y agoI always have the title and my name and organisation on the first slide, which is just shown while everybody comes in. That lets everyone know if they're in the right place.
- ghaff 2y agoAnd I do usually have a bio slide right after as well. But I spend about 15 seconds on it. I also (usually) have basic contact info on my slide masters so people know how to contact me without snapping a shot of the right slide.
- nonfamous 2y agoI like to put my name, contact info, and reference link on the last slide. This is when they’ll actually need it (if they want to follow up with you), latecomers won’t miss it, and it’s usually on the screen for a long time during q&a so people have time to jot it down or snap a picture.
- chatmasta 2y agoNothing makes me more nervous than talking about myself… I pretty much always skip the intro slides (other than having my name on the title).