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It is a nice idea, but I am still skeptical on how somebody can improve his speaking skills just based on virtual "stuff". It is almost like learning to code ju

by stfu 14y ago

It is a nice idea, but I am still skeptical on how somebody can improve his speaking skills just based on virtual "stuff". It is almost like learning to code just by writing out code by hand on a paper. This needs a lot of video integration in order to work. Otherwise your local Toastmaster group is going to be a much more effective way to improve speaking skills.

jnoller 14y ago
It's not just speaking skills: you're right, the best way to do that is to present. But there's a lot more than just talking. That's where the team comes in - how to structure a successful talk, how to submit it to a conference or user group, how to get financial aid to attend. Past talks which were successful, how to find local user groups to present to. Google hangouts with mentors (thing, YC office hours) to dry run your proposal. There's a lot of Good that a team of experience hackers, presenters, conference organizers and outreach groups can do. We have all the tools we need, now we just need to centralize the talent and willingness to teach. Call for proposal deadlines, which conferences make sense, which don't. Topic reviews, submission reviews, financial aid, outreach, connecting. Might as well add it to the site metadata.
jnoller 14y ago
Also, since your points will come up time and time again - I filed a bug: https://github.com/jnoller/talk-mentorship/issues/10 https://github.com/jnoller/talk-mentorship/issues/10
deleted 14y ago
[deleted]
petercooper 14y ago
I agree with your last sentence, but not everyone (who could eventually be a great speaker) can be convinced to do that. 90% of the battle can be won by becoming good at recording videos (without 101 takes), doing live webinars, or even setting up a regular YouTube channel. New speakers often battle with the responsibility of speaking and being the target of multiple people's attention for a solid block of time. These battles can be fought virtually. (I'm a conference chair and have seen these battles fought and won.) There'll still be work to do once one gets up on a stage or speaks "for real" but if one can get over 90% of the fear and do a lot of the work virtually, it could be a big win, especially for people who are initially too hesitant to attend something like a Toastmasters group. Virtual pep talks can work to a point, much like self help tapes.
- jnoller 14y ago
  Yup. That's the idea. Want to help out as a fellow organizer? We're lookin for this to help js, python, etc conferences If we can get women, men - everyone, over that 90% hump and get them into the CFPs and systems for conferences and coach them through it all, it's a net win
briancurtin 14y ago
> Otherwise your local Toastmaster group is going to be a much more effective way to improve speaking skills. This is probably accurate, but speaking skills are only part of presentation skills. A lot of what this group will help with is structuring proposals, structuring the actual presentation, working with talk reviewers, understanding CFPs, finding topics, finding audiences for topics, etc. The mailing list can't help you with your enunciation, but it can help you turn a one paragraph thought into a structured outline.
adrianhoward 14y ago
It is a nice idea, but I am still skeptical on how somebody can improve his speaking skills just based on virtual "stuff". It is almost like learning to code just by writing out code by hand on a paper. This needs a lot of video integration in order to work. I think you'll be surprised. A hurdle many speakers have to get over is to be able to listen to what you're actually saying rather than what you think you're saying. Video is a great trick for that. I very nice hack I learned from @johannakoll was to do my sessions to Silverback (http://silverbackapp.com/ http://silverbackapp.com/) or some other screen + webcam recording device. Being able to watch yourself speak with your slides is a hugely useful tool to spot problems and improve. It allows you to see yourself as your audience sees you.

by stfu 14y ago

It is a nice idea, but I am still skeptical on how somebody can improve his speaking skills just based on virtual "stuff". It is almost like learning to code just by writing out code by hand on a paper. This needs a lot of video integration in order to work. Otherwise your local Toastmaster group is going to be a much more effective way to improve speaking skills.

jnoller 14y ago

It's not just speaking skills: you're right, the best way to do that is to present. But there's a lot more than just talking. That's where the team comes in - how to structure a successful talk, how to submit it to a conference or user group, how to get financial aid to attend. Past talks which were successful, how to find local user groups to present to. Google hangouts with mentors (thing, YC office hours) to dry run your proposal. There's a lot of Good that a team of experience hackers, presenters, conference organizers and outreach groups can do. We have all the tools we need, now we just need to centralize the talent and willingness to teach. Call for proposal deadlines, which conferences make sense, which don't. Topic reviews, submission reviews, financial aid, outreach, connecting. Might as well add it to the site metadata.

jnoller 14y ago

Also, since your points will come up time and time again - I filed a bug: https://github.com/jnoller/talk-mentorship/issues/10 https://github.com/jnoller/talk-mentorship/issues/10

deleted 14y ago

[deleted]

petercooper 14y ago

I agree with your last sentence, but not everyone (who could eventually be a great speaker) can be convinced to do that. 90% of the battle can be won by becoming good at recording videos (without 101 takes), doing live webinars, or even setting up a regular YouTube channel. New speakers often battle with the responsibility of speaking and being the target of multiple people's attention for a solid block of time. These battles can be fought virtually. (I'm a conference chair and have seen these battles fought and won.) There'll still be work to do once one gets up on a stage or speaks "for real" but if one can get over 90% of the fear and do a lot of the work virtually, it could be a big win, especially for people who are initially too hesitant to attend something like a Toastmasters group. Virtual pep talks can work to a point, much like self help tapes.

jnoller 14y ago
Yup. That's the idea. Want to help out as a fellow organizer? We're lookin for this to help js, python, etc conferences If we can get women, men - everyone, over that 90% hump and get them into the CFPs and systems for conferences and coach them through it all, it's a net win

briancurtin 14y ago

> Otherwise your local Toastmaster group is going to be a much more effective way to improve speaking skills. This is probably accurate, but speaking skills are only part of presentation skills. A lot of what this group will help with is structuring proposals, structuring the actual presentation, working with talk reviewers, understanding CFPs, finding topics, finding audiences for topics, etc. The mailing list can't help you with your enunciation, but it can help you turn a one paragraph thought into a structured outline.

adrianhoward 14y ago

It is a nice idea, but I am still skeptical on how somebody can improve his speaking skills just based on virtual "stuff". It is almost like learning to code just by writing out code by hand on a paper. This needs a lot of video integration in order to work. I think you'll be surprised. A hurdle many speakers have to get over is to be able to listen to what you're actually saying rather than what you think you're saying. Video is a great trick for that. I very nice hack I learned from @johannakoll was to do my sessions to Silverback (http://silverbackapp.com/ http://silverbackapp.com/) or some other screen + webcam recording device. Being able to watch yourself speak with your slides is a hugely useful tool to spot problems and improve. It allows you to see yourself as your audience sees you.