next week i am giving a presentation at vmware’s annual conference, vmworld 2009 (breakout session VM1461). it’s a pretty big thing for me. i’ve done presentations for user groups but not like this: audio/video crew, session owner, audio recording, wireless microphones, session feedback surveys. this conference will have about 10,000 attendees. the speaker staff is overseeing 400 speakers. there are hundreds of breakout sessions. ya..  *exhale*

one thing i’ve found that has helped me is going through my presentation out loud by myself in a conference room. the proverbial speak in front of a mirror trick. i did this once, gave my presentation to an internal group at work, revised my speaking notes, then gave the presentation to a group at vmware (which was a great opportunity). i tried to do the solitary/room thing once more, but i wasn’t feeling it. my biggest thing right now is being over my allotted time. i have rough timings for each section of my talk, so maybe if i just put those down in my notes and keep a timer….

anyways, the conference is next week. my breakout session is “full” at 70 attendees. i’m not sure how big the room is yet, i have a feeling it larger but full with walk-ins. luckily, i am attending other sessions before mine, then after mine a few others. it will be over before i know it.

image taken with a canon ae-1 program, 24/2.8 lens. arista premium 400 at iso 400, rodinal 1+50 for 13 minutes.