[PLUG-ANNOUNCE] TONIGHT! January PLUG Advanced Topics: Speaking in Public is Easy

[Michael Dexter]

Portland Linux/Unix Group Advanced Topics Meeting Announcement

Who: Brian Rohan and Michael Dexter
What: Speaking in Public is Easy
Where: Free Geek, 1731 SE 10th Avenue, Portland (Left Entrance)
When: Tuesday, January 21st, 2014 at 7pm
Why: The pursuit of technology freedom

You read that right: Speaking in public is easy and there is nothing
stopping you from giving the next informative and compelling PLUG talk.

* You are guaranteed to have a unique topic, experience and perspective
* Audiences are far kinder than you expect (only pros get boo'd!)
* Visuals are always optional
* No one was born a public speaker
* There are great resources out there to help you
* Most things that go wrong have nothing to do with you (Tsunamis!)
* Live demos are... risky, but cool
* The OSCON and LFNW CFP's close shortly (hint hint)

Brian and Michael will give you a pragmatic tour of exactly what is
involved in open source conference speaking and explain precisely how
nothing is stopping you from getting involved thanks to local
organizations like the Portland Linux/Unix Group.

Brian says:

In 2007 I made the switch from being a machinist to a real estate agent,
shortly thereafter I was invited to investigate a Toastmasters club, in
order to become a better communicator. Through 5 years and over 40
speeches in Toastmasters I reached the highest level of Distinguished
Toastmaster. Simply stepping out of my comfort zone has given me the
opportunity introduce dignitaries, and MC fund-raising events for
worthwhile causes (notably a record breaking Clark County Republican
Party Lincoln Day Dinner auction). Currently I am a recognized top 2%
leader in AdvoCare International, helping others achieve their physical
and financial goals.

I enjoy using Linux on a personal level for the freedom that it represents.

"You never get rid of public speaking butterflies, you just get them to
fly in formation: ~Marv Serhan


Michael says:

Never in a 1,000 years will I speak in public yet I find myself doing it
several times a month in Portland and at conferences around the world. I
guarantee I'm no Brian Rohan but I fill rooms and get applause. The
secret is finding the right room and just doing it. I will talk about
the absolute worst that can happen (rarely what you think it would be),
the open source conference community and how to get from submitting a
proposal to stepping down from the stage.


Many will head to the Lucky Lab on Hawthorne after the meeting.

Calagator Page: http://calagator.org/events/1250465349

PLUG Page with information about all PLUG events: http://pdxlinux.org/
Follow PLUG on Twitter: http://twitter.com/pdxlinux

See you there!

Michael Dexter
PLUG Volunteer