I hate watching recorded videos of myself, but I try to force myself. It’s always worth it, whether you see yourself doing well, or… not so well.
Just watched my talk from Develop:Brighton 2022 in July: ‘Confident Pitching: The Cheat Codes’*. I’d forgotten most of what I did, to be honest. But now that I’ve watched it, overall it was better than I remembered, and I surprised myself with the improvised bits (I’ve still got it).
Here are some specific things I think worked, that you can do when giving a talk:
+ Respond to things as they happen (say “Bless you” when someone sneezes, or mention a small mistake you made) and then continue, maintaining your flow. It shows that you’re present and grounded.
+ Make call-backs to other speakers’ talks, referencing their name and the subject of their talk. This shows that you’re there for the right reasons, not just to promote your company’s services.
+ Act out dialogue e.g. “They said, ‘Jon, what are you talking about?'” or “You might think to yourself, ‘I’m not doing that'”. I felt these came across as funny and relatable.
+ Make every word count; give value constantly.
+ Don’t take yourself too seriously.
So, watch yourself back on video! It’s as beneficial as it is painful.
And it’s usually very painful.
* If you have a ticket to the event, you can watch all of the talks online.