Vibes & Language
The vibe of Tiny Talks is a bit different than TED Talks or other public speaking events. We ask that all speakers abide by a few basic rules on language and word choice when writing and giving a Tiny Talk.
Rule 1
Please avoid directly telling people what to believe or how they should act.
While self help tips, motivational speeches, political/social messages and promotional messages are welcomed at a variety of other public speaking events and online platforms, Tiny Talks is not one of them.
You can still tell the audience the lessons you derived from the story you just told, but we ask that you state them as your own.
“You should never give up…”
“I learned to never give up…”
In doing this, we hope to create an atmosphere that allows our audience to feel comfortable opening up their minds and hearts to new ideas, interests and experiences because they want to, not because they feel pressured to.
Note · Promotional messages
While we ask that you do not include promotional messages in your talk, Jon is happy to plug something for you after your talk is over. (This will also make the plug more effective since it’s coming from someone else!)
Additionally, please do not bring promotional materials to hand out at our event (i.e. business cards, flyers, etc.).
Rule 2
Avoid speaking in the 2nd person.
On a similar note to rule #1, avoid the use of “you” and “your” to avoid talking in generalities. If your talk is a story, stick to talking in the 1st or 3rd person (“I”, “we”, “they”, etc).
Presentation Slides
We also ask that speakers follow a few basic rules when creating their presentation slides.
Rule 3
Please use no (or very little) text on your slides.
It’s crucial that slides maintain their primary purpose: as a visual! Text should only appear in extremely rare cases and with minimal use. We want the focus to be on the words coming out of your mouth, not the words on a screen.
Rule 4
No audio playback.
While we do allow the occasional short video clip in presentations (although for most, we recommend sticking to only images), we do not allow for any audio playback. This is for the same reason why we avoid text – to keep the focus on you and your voice.
Rule 5
Make sure you have permission for any photos used.
If you have access to a lot of personal photos that are relevant to your talk (or know of photos from others that you can directly ask permission to use), we highly recommend using them for your slides.
If you don’t, or if you don’t have enough to cover all of the slides you want, you can search for free-to-use images on websites like Unsplash or Pixabay. You can also reach out to the owners of any normal copyrighted photos to ask for permission to use.
Rule 6
Deliver your slides in either Microsoft PowerPoint or Apple Keynote.
Please note that we can’t accept Google Slides or Canva presentations due to software compatibility issues. You can use those (or any other) tools you’d like to make your presentation, but the delivered file must be either a PowerPoint or Keynote file.
(Note: if you create your slides outside of PowerPoint or Keynote, and then convert to PowerPoint or Keynote, double check the converted file and make sure everything looks the way you expect it to.)
Performing
Lastly, one rule (and one note) for when it’s time to actually give your talk.
Rule 7
No note cards or cheat sheets to read off of on event night.
While it’s OK to start off practicing with note cards or paper in case you have trouble remembering what to say next, note that you won’t be allowed to have them with you on event night.
This is a rule because watching someone give a talk as they read off of something is… boring. It takes more effort to work off of memory, but the difference it makes to an audience is substantial.
Note · No more timed slides
Through our first eight events, every presentation ran on timed slides: presenters had to set each slide to play for a certain number of seconds, and there were no clicker remotes to advance them. Starting with Volume 9, we’re changing that, in order to give presenters more flexibility with the delivery of their talk.
(So keep that in mind when watching past talks!)
Questions?
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to Jon via email (jon@tinytalks.com) or text (727-776-3753).