Skip to content

Latest commit

 

History

History
50 lines (36 loc) · 2.18 KB

lightning.md

File metadata and controls

50 lines (36 loc) · 2.18 KB
title
Lightning Talks

Lightning talks are 5-10 minutes long, on any topic of interest to other Python people. It doesn't have to be about something that you wrote, it can be something that you learned, or a technique you think other people will be interested in.

  • You know that thing at work that everyone comes to you for help with? Talk about that!

  • You know that thing you just learned that helped you out? Talk about that!

  • You know that thing you always wish you understood, but haven't figured out yet? Learn it, then talk about that!

  • Other ideas:

    • How I contributed to open source
    • My best mistake
    • How I learned to do X in Python
    • This One Weird Python Trick

Things people say when they think they can't do a lightning talk:

  • "Everyone already knows THING_X"

    • No, they don't.
    • They think they do, but they still have more to learn.
    • Even if they do, they will be interested to hear another person's explanation.
  • "I'm not an expert at anything"

    • You know more than you think you do.
    • You don't have to be an expert, you just have to be interested enough to talk for 5 minutes.
    • People like hearing from peers. Beginners can do a talk.
  • "My topic has been done before"

    • Everything has already been done, you will do it your way.
    • New people haven't heard it before.
    • When Google started, people wondered why we needed another search engine.
  • "It's scary talking in front of people"

    • Yes, but you will feel really accomplished when you've done it.
    • Boston Python is super-friendly and is always welcoming of new speakers.
    • Everyone is nervous speaking in public, even people you think wouldn't be nervous.
  • "I have an idea but it's no good"

    • It's a better idea than you think.
    • Send me the idea, we'll tweak it up.
    • Are there really any bad ideas for lightning talks? :)

Seriously: anyone can do a lightning talk.

If you need more encouragement, watch this lightning talk about brewing tea (hint: it's not really about brewing tea):

Brewing you're tea