Level 25: Followup on lunch and learn

Preparing for a lunch and learn

Amidst the busyness at work, I got a chance to deliver my lunch and learn presentation on reactive programming to a crowd of around ~40 people. It was an inspiring experience and I wanted to reflect on a few things:

• a willing audience, a simple idea, and clear sense of mind will make or break a presentation

• even the simplest idea can be very difficult to explain to another, let alone ~40 or so individuals from different upbringing and experiences. Make sure to use as many teaching aids as possible, like audio, visual, verbal

• demo-able content is important and people like engagement and interaction

• no need to use too many memes. I didn’t find that it contributed a lot to the presentation but it did avoid making it too bland

• I am not a big fan of speaking in public but if I have slides and the core idea, I’ll be fine!

• come early and grab some food as it was completely devoured by the time I finished

• have fun with it, because that’s all you can really ask for

• be prepared for any sorts of questions immediately following the session and don’t worry about knowing everything. Someone will chime in or you can always promise to get back to them

• a big tip is to include a timer so you know how long or short that you are running and can tailor material accordingly

• try your best not to speak too fast!