3 ms·

>that you shouldn't tell your audience you haven't prepared Why not? A presenter transfers information and emotion to the audience. If meta-talk (such as comme

>that you shouldn't tell your audience you haven't prepared Why not? A presenter transfers information and emotion to the audience. If meta-talk (such as commenting on their preparation) is a device for doing that, why shouldn't the presenter use it? In my experience PB has a very humble and modest style, which is integral to the overall message he delivers. I suspect that part of the that style is communicated via his meta-talk.

ivankirigin 17y ago
I don't think his statement helped his talk at all. It would be best to be explicit about it: "I don't think explaining a list of lessons learned is useful for you, so I've put together a few short slides to talk about my experience without presuming to prescribe an action for you" There is nothing in that statement that implies the speaker doesn't care about the audience.
- projectileboy 17y ago
  Umm... Your sample quote, is, in fact, almost exactly what he communicated during his talk. Am I missing something?
  - ivankirigin 17y ago
    Yes, he started out saying he didn't prepare. That's the whole point of the original post and this thread.
    - projectileboy 17y ago
      Right, but I thought you said "it would be better if he had simply said...", when he did, in fact, say just that. Never mind; I think we're actually in violent agreement.
      - kwamenum86 17y ago
        I see what you are saying. The comment you responded to essentially said "it would be great if PB did X" when in fact PB did do X and they were not listening. That was actually one of my favorite talks of startup school but not really because of the format. The "unprepared" format won't work for most people.
- tomsaffell 17y ago
  It's not a matter of what '..would be best..' - that's impossible to judge w/o all the context, and even then it's subjective. My point is that there are some occasions where is does make sense to 'tell your audience you haven't prepared', so I disagree with your hard-and-fast assertion that 'you shouldn't tell your audience you haven't prepared', and the blogger's assertion that 'when you say “I’m not really prepared” in front of an audience you’re showing them the ultimate disrespect'. Such black and white rules don't seem valuable to me. It's horses for courses..

ivankirigin 17y ago

I don't think his statement helped his talk at all. It would be best to be explicit about it: "I don't think explaining a list of lessons learned is useful for you, so I've put together a few short slides to talk about my experience without presuming to prescribe an action for you" There is nothing in that statement that implies the speaker doesn't care about the audience.

projectileboy 17y ago
Umm... Your sample quote, is, in fact, almost exactly what he communicated during his talk. Am I missing something?
- ivankirigin 17y ago
  Yes, he started out saying he didn't prepare. That's the whole point of the original post and this thread.
  - projectileboy 17y ago
    Right, but I thought you said "it would be better if he had simply said...", when he did, in fact, say just that. Never mind; I think we're actually in violent agreement.
    - kwamenum86 17y ago
      I see what you are saying. The comment you responded to essentially said "it would be great if PB did X" when in fact PB did do X and they were not listening. That was actually one of my favorite talks of startup school but not really because of the format. The "unprepared" format won't work for most people.
tomsaffell 17y ago
It's not a matter of what '..would be best..' - that's impossible to judge w/o all the context, and even then it's subjective. My point is that there are some occasions where is does make sense to 'tell your audience you haven't prepared', so I disagree with your hard-and-fast assertion that 'you shouldn't tell your audience you haven't prepared', and the blogger's assertion that 'when you say “I’m not really prepared” in front of an audience you’re showing them the ultimate disrespect'. Such black and white rules don't seem valuable to me. It's horses for courses..