Public Speaking for Geeks

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(Read the earlier posts in this series here, here and here.)

Dominic O’Brien is an eight time world memory champion. He has authored numerous books on memory, and is one of several internationally recognized memory experts. His book  "How to Develop a Perfect Memory" is his most comprehensive resource on the technique he has developed. Unfortunately, this book is long out of print. Used copies at used book stores and ebay have sold for as high as $140.

O’brien does an excellent job of explaining and demonstrating mnemonic techniques. I found a very brief video that explains a variation of the memory palace ( or as he calls it, the memory journey).

In this video excerpt, O’brien creates a memory journey specifically for the story instead of using one from his own experience. He weaves the numbers into the memory journey (39 steps in the tower, and uses associations from his own experience ("When I Turn 64", 10 Downing Street). He also uses a lot of action (turning the key, opening the door, climbing the steps, blair carried away by the swan). He ties in visuals, sound (a Beatles song) and bizarre action (the swan carrying away Tony Blair). In just a few minutes, O’brien deomstrates hwo easy it is to rapidly memorize a 9 digit number like 213964102.

The key to using this method is practice. You need to practice finding and using memory palaces, creating images to encode the information, and make those images both multi-sensory and outrageous. As Dominc ‘Obrien demostrates in this video, one you train your mind to learn each step of the porcess, it is very easy to recall obscure and abstract information.

I have several more example videos I will post in upcoming entries in this series.

I have been meaning to post this one for a while, but haven’t gotten around to it until now. A group of speakers at the Microsoft Mobile and Embedded DevCon in 2007 apparently got together to make a gag video of the worst technical speaking they have seen. They are very convincing in their dreadfulness….:)

I love "Command Line Driven Flux Capacitation" and "I am the PMD of CPE for MCB of the END division". Some technical speakers use so many acronyms you can just see the eyes of the audience glaze over. Stage hypnotists are not nearly as effective at putting an audience in a deep trance as someone who feels compelled to use an tech acronym every 15 seconds.

Unfortunately, I have seen Visio drawings on slides with as many (and more objects) as the "System Diagram v2". The next to last guy made me laugh out loud when he said "I am really excited" in the most monotone and flat voice I have ever heard (with his arms tightly crossed). I have been in week long meetings where 90% of the presenters where exactly like this guy.

The sad thing is, if you did not know this was a gag video, you could easily see this happening at a technical conference. Enjoy the video…