
Ask HN: What makes a great tech talk? - luketheobscure
I&#x27;m giving my first big tech talk at a conference in just a few weeks (at EmberConf). I&#x27;m confident in the topic and substance of the talk, but I&#x27;m less sure about everything else. Will I lose people if I start off too basic? Or is it worse to dive into the more technical stuff without laying the foundation first? How much should I talk about myself, if at all?<p>What are the hallmarks of an excellent, memorable talk?
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yesenadam
This is a great talk about giving a great research talk, by Simon Peyton-
Jones. (He has another great talk about writing great papers) I'm sure you'll
get a lot from it if you haven't seen it. So much wisdom, and common sense
that seems obvious but you mightn't think of or remember half of it. Good
luck!

 _How to Give a Great Research Talk_ [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sT_-
owjKIbA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sT_-owjKIbA)

About talking about yourself - I really like when people show a slide about
themselves and talk briefly, for maybe 10-20 seconds, about what they've been
involved in previously. So you can hear where they're coming from, and where
their expertise lies. Especially if not many people there are likely to know
anything about them.

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cborenstein
I think good tech talks (especially ones that are highly technical), are ones
that make the high-level context for why we should care about the technology
we're learning very clear.

I'd recommend checking out [https://femgineer.com/present-
book/](https://femgineer.com/present-book/) and the corresponding youtube
channel:
[https://www.youtube.com/user/Femgineers](https://www.youtube.com/user/Femgineers)

Her lessons on using storytelling in your talk to explain and reinforce the
high-level value might be helpful for you as you structure your talk.

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muzani
The pattern is usually why, then how, then what.

[https://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_insp...](https://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action/)

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ColinWright
I assume you've done a web search for "How to start a speech", so what more do
you want to know?

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luketheobscure
What makes a talk memorable, or inspiring? Technical content aside, what makes
some talks better than others?

Giving a talk is easy, giving an _excellent_ talk is difficult.

