Tips from a comedian and a journalist on the art of going from small talk to big ideas. Try these out at the next summer wedding reception.
Small talk acts like social glue – here’s how to get better at it
Maybe think of small talk as a technology: a human invention for accomplishing social goals.
Best practices: conversation design
An introduction to IBM Research’s Natural Conversation Framework
How to Give a Great Research Talk
Researchers say we’re talking less than ever
It’s not just small talk, it’s all talk that’s dying.
Speakeasy
Social media as it should be. Find your community among millions of users, unleash your creativity, and have some fun again.
Good conversations have lots of doorknobs
Or "Spiderman Is My Boyfriend"
Making Slides
I was asked to give a short talk in my Departmental Proseminar yesterday on the topic of giving presentations, and specifically about making slides effective. There is more than one way to give a good talk, and there is more than one way to make “good slides” or—better—make good use of slides and other material you might want to show people. So the things I’ll talk about and especially the specific techniques I’ll discuss are selected from many good ways to present yourself and your work. Presenting is a two-sided process, where you should be comfortable with what you are saying (and how you’re saying it), on one side, and where your audience should be able to follow along and understand your message, on the other.
Conversation Skills Essentials
A teacher friend of mine told me that this year students were different. If she asked to see a hall pass from a freshman, they'd give her the finger. They swore at her and were gen...
How to give a good research talk
Giving a good research talk is not easy. We try to identify some things which we have found helpful, in the hope that they may be useful to you.
The Press Release Is Dead — Use This Instead – Mike Butcher
I’m QUITE TIRED of dealing with MILLIONS of tech entrepreneurs (these days there are a HELL of a lot of you) and (some) PR people who have ZERO clue how to pitch me/TechCrunch/the media. Their pitches are long-winded and rambling. They ask if they could ‘send some more information’. Listen, I have no idea if it’s interesting or not until you send it! Many just ask me out to lunch or coffee. (Thanks, but I prefer hanging out with my *actual friends*). Even worse, they haven’t read this post or seen my presentation on how to deal with tech media. [2021 update: This is a basic outline for super-early startups. If you want something for Post Series A / later stage startups go here].
Exploring Conversation Design: Applications and Benefits
Discover the what, why and how of Conversation Design, including its definition, applications, and benefits.
Notist. Build your public speaking portfolio.
Share slides, collate feedback, tweets, photos. A hub for your speaking events.
On Conference Speaking
I’ve seen quite a bit of the world thanks to being invited to speak at conferences. Since some people are under the impression that serial conference speakers possess some special talents, I’d like to demystify my process by walking you through my latest talk from start to finish.
Chatty Community Gardens
Group chat is fertile soil for low-stakes ideation. With tending, seeds of thought can grow into structured, evergreen knowledge.
Why the fuss about conversational programming?
First, there isn’t much fuss … yet. But there will be.
Opportunity for some atproto talks to spread the word about what we’re building in the Atmosphere. Perhaps a @eurosky.social talk?
Maria Farrell
FYI #OpenSource friends: call for papers for Luxembourg's October OS conference. Proposals for 20 min talks are due late August. This makes 2 years I've not been able to go, so, vicariously, please consider it! It's especially strong on OS for sovereignty, gov, AI, and, this year, edtech.
