Don Xml's Grok This

One of the things that were discussed between Stan and some of the presenters at the Philly Code Camp was the task of getting more people from the local community, and focusing less on “well known” speakers.  Someone (and I can’t remember who) suggested that the problem with getting people new to presenting to volunteer is the lack of some sort of a mentoring program.  The idea is to get people who are out in the field every day and help them present some of the new/interesting things that they are doing with .Net.  Local user groups are a good way to start (that is how I started), but Code Camps are also attracting folks that don’t normally attend user groups.  To help them get over any fear/uncertainty, it was suggested that the Code Camps offer a mentoring service to people that haven’t presented before.  Now, I’m not Scott Hansleman or Don Box, but I have done a few presentations (and I’m definitely not bashful about speaking in public, it’s getting me to shut up that can be the problem), so if anyone feels like presenting at a Code Camp, and would like someone to bounce questions off of, I’m offering my services.  If you don’t already have my email address, just use my contact page.

First thing I would suggest to a potential speaker is to check out Scott’s Tips for a Successful MSFT Presentation.  Then watch Don Box’s What goes into a great technical presentation?. ( Sanjay transcribed it for those of you that don’t have the time to watch it).