My talk at Google HQ, on Confessions

I wrote a few weeks ago about how my talk at Google about Confessions was the toughest room I’d had all year (with photos, and countermoves). The room was adjacent to a noisy cafeteria,at lunchtime, and an exposed busy hallway of folks on their way to and from the cafeteria: bad news all around.

The funny thing is, video is flat. It evens out the highs and lows, and the audio track isn’t mixed: there’s only what you hear through my mike. If I didn’t tell you, you’d never know how tough that room was, and how much of an impact the background noise had on me, and the vibe in the crowd.

Below is a picture I took of the reverse view, where you can see the cafe behind, and the hallway on the left, 10 minutes before the talk began.

google-tour-reverse

Well enough whining. I’d be a hypocrite if I didn’t show videos of talks I didn’t enjoy. So for your curiosity, here’s the video of the talk. The Q&A, which is better, starts at 34:00.

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9 thoughts on “My talk at Google HQ, on Confessions”

  • Mike Hurley - January 25, 2010 at 8:42 pm #

  • Watched the whole thing. I really enjoyed it. I am reading the Project Management book now. I think your style is very engaging and genuine. The Q&A rings true.

    Mahalo.

    Mike

  • Reply ↓
  • Scott Berkun - January 25, 2010 at 11:56 pm #

  • Thanks Mike – The more I’ve thought about this particular talk, the more I think it was the 3 way combo of no lapel mike, noisy room and being videotaped that made it a tough ride for me. 2 out of 3 and I’d have been within my range of staying cool and collected, but all 3, without anticipating/expecting all 3, was more than I could handle.

    But as I talk about in the book, it’s experiences like these that teach more for the next time around. Next time I’m in a room next to a cafeteria, I’ll be able to say “aaah – I’ve done this before” :)

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  • James Dilworth - January 26, 2010 at 2:38 pm #

  • An engaging talk Scott! – I’ll be using some of your tips for my next presentation! I wouldn’t even have noticed you were not on form if you hadn’t mentioned it.

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  • Sean - January 27, 2010 at 12:58 am #

  • Aw, Scott. Why speak in Mountain View when there are two perfectly good Google offices right here in your own back yard? Come visit us some time!

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  • Phil Simon - February 2, 2010 at 12:59 pm #

  • Good stuff, Scott. I really like the way that you embed images into your PowerPoints and don’t just rely on 50 words. Images complement the words nicely.

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  • Thanh Luu - February 12, 2010 at 12:04 pm #

  • Hi Scott:
    Your talk was very insightful. I’m actually taking an oral communication course called argumentation at the moment and similar points arised. I’m also taking 5 other courses, so you might probably know the work load. Is there a more effective way to practice your speech in shorter periods of time than persistantly verbal vomitting and rediting for hours? Thanks! -T

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