How I Prepare to Speak

This is the procedure I use to prepare for speaking at conferences. It may work for others, it may not. It may be good, it may be bad.

1. Be asked to speak
2. Be unsure about it for a few days
3. Be asked if you are going to move your ass and do it already
4. Think title
5. Send proposal at deadline +/- 48 hours
6. Spend the next week or two thinking of cancelling
7. Figure out what the title means
8. Spend the next N-1 weeks until the conference with a constant dialog in your head about what you should talk about
9. Turn that constant unorganized dialog into a little story
10. Write down the story headings in slides
11. Attend the conference
12. Sit in the back while you polish slides
13. Start talking
14. Show slides
15. Stop talking