Geek Speak - Tech Talk - Public Speaking on Technology Topics

There may be a lot of you who either work in aToday's technology thrives on these little gems of
technology field or who are "techies" yourselves.letters and numbers. You should never assume
In today's job market, there are a lot of technicalthat the audience, even the most seasoned
aspects for every type of job. You may beprogrammer, knows every acronym. However,
asked to give a presentation or speech on athis shouldn't prevent you from using them. Just
technology subject. You may be great a givingknow how to introduce them into your
speeches but feel reluctant to speak aboutpresentation.
technology or you may have the expertise andLet me give you an example.The acronym
just have a general fear of public speakingWYSIWYG (pronounced "wiz-ee-wig") stands for
(known as Glossophobia). This article will help youWhat You See Is What You Get. This is a type
prepare for and deliver a great technologyof editor (sometimes used when describing web
speech.page editors) that shows the user exactly what
One thing to keep in mind when giving a speechthe end result will look like while they are editing it.
or presentation on technology is to know theYou can see how I used the acronym, defined
audience and have a general sense of what theirwhat it stood for, and what it is. Now I can use
level of knowledge is in the topic you will bethis throughout my presentation. You may want
presenting. Are you giving a outline to upperto remind the audience later in the presentation if
management or are you discussing the newyou haven't used the acronym much.
features of a product to a group ofSo, you can see how tailoring your topics to the
programmers. In either case, gauging their levelaudience's experience level can give you an
will help you tailor your presentation to a level thatadvantage when preparing for a technology
everyone is comfortable with.presentation. Keep the acronyms short, define
No matter what the level of experience thethem when you first introduce them, and make
audience has, you should never assume thatsure your audience knows what you are saying
everyone knows how to talk in acronyms.when you are saying it.