kacollins/lightning-talk

Giving a Lightning Talk

Kimberly Collins

I had a hard time coming up with a topic for this talk!

• I’ve given several lightning talks
• I’ve helped lots of people find topics and give their first talks

Filling 5 minutes is easier than you think

Keeping it to 5 minutes is not as easy as you think

I had to cut a lot of content

Focus on the beginning and ending of your talk

Start with your first and last slides

Title slide

• Your topic
• Your name

Intro/Vanity Slide

• Give context on who you are and why we’re listening to you
• Subtly mention if you're looking for work

Call Me Kimberly

• C#.NET software engineer
• SQL Server database consultant
• 17 years of development experience
• Part-time availability for freelance work

Last slides

Call to action

• What do you want people to do after your talk?
• What do they need to get to that point?

Connect with me

• github.com/kacollins
• linkedin.com/in/collins-kimberly
• slack.techlahoma.org @KimberlyCollins

Sign up to give a talk

• OKC Design + Tech
• OKC WebDevs
• Pythonistas
• SheCodesOKC
• ThunderPlains 2024
• OKC Coffee and Code

Finding a topic is the hardest part for everyone

Engage with the community

• Participate in Slack discussions
  • Ask and answer questions
• Attend local user group meetups
  • Chat with other attendees

Focus more on Why than How

• You don't have to get into technical details
• Attendees can learn more about the topic on their own if they're interested

Share something new or new to you

• Assume the audience knows a little less than they probably do

• It’s fine if you talk about something they already know (devs love that)

• Other people will be giving lightning talks

• It’s fine if yours only applies to some of the audience

Tell a story

• Your story - how you got into tech, your role, or your tech stack
• Anybody can do this
• Nobody can “well actually” you

Talk to the leaders of your favorite user groups

• They probably need speakers. Ask them to talk through some topic ideas with you
• Tell them you're interested in being on a panel or just reading the announcements
• Volunteer to help out with meetups to get a feel for how they work

Still think there’s nothing you can speak about?

• Let’s chat about it
• Find my Calendly link

Connect with me

• github.com/kacollins
• linkedin.com/in/collins-kimberly
• slack.techlahoma.org @KimberlyCollins

Sign up to give a talk

• OKC Design + Tech
• OKC WebDevs
• Pythonistas
• SheCodesOKC
• ThunderPlains 2024
• OKC Coffee and Code

Thanks!

• Questions?
• Ask in Slack! #thunderplains @KimberlyCollins

Shoutouts

• Aaron - OKC WebDevs, simpleslides.dev
• Erich - Tulsa WebDevs, #newbie-mentor-matching
• Kerry/Grant/Adrian - OKC Design + Tech
• Lance - Pythonistas
• Shanda/Hannah/Layla - SheCodesOKC
• Everyone giving lightning talks today
• Everyone signing up to give talks (You!)