Things not to say

As an audience member, I cringe every time I hear any of the following:

1. "I'm not sure how much I'll get through of this..." You're not sure because you didn't practice enough. Nothing makes me want to leave a talk faster.

2. "Does anyone not know what foo is?" This is the worst way to see if you need to explain something. No one likes admitting ignorance in front of a group. If you must ask, say "who here is familiar with foo?" If not every hand goes up, give a quick explanation.

3. "Hopefully you guys can read this in the back." Another line that makes me want to leave immediately. You should always design your talks to be extremely readable. You should also arrange with the conference organizers to arrive early, plug in to the projector, and check readability from the back of the room. Ensuring everyone can see your slides/code/demo before your talk is YOUR resposibility.

4. "How much time do I have?" Most good venues/organizers will have a timer that you can see from the stage, but don't count on it. I often use my phone (don't forget to tell it not to auto-lock). When presenting with slides, the Logitech E300 ( check model number ) has a built-in timer that I can check discreetly that also vibrates at the 5 and 2-minute marks.