[PLUG-ANNOUNCE] CANCELLED: January PLUG Meeting: Public Speaking is the Greatest Skill You Can Possess

Michael Dexter dexter at ambidexter.com
Thu Feb 6 22:48:15 UTC 2014


Tonight's PLUG meeting has been closed due to a venue closure due to the
snow storm.

Those within walking distance of the Lucky Lab NW are encouraged to meet
and enjoy.

Michael Dexter
PLUG Volunteer

Portland Linux/Unix Group General Meeting Announcement

Who: Brian Rohan and Michael Dexter
What: Public Speaking is the Greatest Skill You Can Possess *
Where: PSU, 1930 SW 4th Ave. Room FAB 86-01 (Lower Level)
When: Thursday, February 6th, 2014 at 7pm
Why: The pursuit of technology freedom
Stream: http://pdxlinux.org/live/

* See below

Brian and Michael are back to teach you everything you ever wanted to
know about speaking at an open source from PLUG (hint hint) to OSCON.

Brian has years as an experienced Distinguished Toastmaster (beer
available at the Lucky Lab NW after the meeting) and Michael has just
submitted his paper for the upcoming AsiaBSDCon conference on a topic he
had previously known nothing about.

Why should you give a 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 and are flexible in format
* No one was born a public speaker, it's simply a learned skill
* 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 useful
* The LFNW and other CFP's close shortly (hint hint)

Highlight from our Advanced Topics talk: (paraphrased) "My mom got more
value out of learning to community with Toastmasters than two years of a
(VERY impressive school) scholarship."

YOU may change careers a dozen times in your life and need a new skill
set for each job but will ALWAYS need to express yourself and
communicate on behalf of yourself and your team. Let PLUG be that first
step in what could be worth more than a (VERY impressive school)
scholarship!


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 NW at 1945 NW Quimby after the meeting.

Calagator Page: http://calagator.org/events/1250465414

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



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