Re: [Hampshire] [ADMIN] Next meeting - 2nd December

On Sun, Nov 26, 2006 at 02:04:51PM +0000, hantslug@??? wrote:
> On Sunday 26 Nov 2006 12:17, Tony Whitmore wrote:
> > One of the things I found when scheduling
> > talks is that a lot of people felt they didn't know enough about the
> > subject and were "just newbies". This simply isn't true. If you use a piece
> > of software regularly (like you mail client) you can spend 5 minutes
> > talking about how you use it.
>
> Speaking as a perennial newbie, I would worry more about the audience. I can,
> and have, spend/t 10 minutes showing Kmail's paces at a BaB to someone who
> was looking to choose an email client and wanted to know about it. But I
> knew that on that occasion and speaking to that particular person I did in
> fact know more about that specific application. A LUG meeting talk would be
> quite another matter. I would know that the majority of my audience knew far
> more about my subject than I did - on any relevant subject you care to name.
>

You can't assume that. For example I know nothing about most KDE apps other than their names. I use GNOM�E personally but it would be beneficial for me to at least know the main features of
another one. So that particular demo would be useful to me.

> I cannot be alone in this. So it is not only that we feel that we do not know
> our subject well enough - it is the knowledge that almost everyone else does
> know the subject!
>

You're not alone. I was very anxious before I gave my talks at the LUG. I was worried that I wouldn't give enough detail, people would already know everything about the subjec and nobody would
therefore learn anything.

Comparing that with the "professional" training I've given over the last 10 years in the corporate environment I'd say talking to the LUG is harder in some ways and easier in others. In a corp
setting you generally have the delegates pre-screened so you know what their level is. In the LUG anyone can turn up - people who develop the product you're talking about or someone who has never
seen it before. In addition the people on a training course are often paying or being paid to be there, some don't even want to be there so can be downright hostile! With the LUG it's a lot less
formal, people generally want to be there. If they come into the room where we do the presentation they do so out of choice, and whilst it's possible to walk out part way through, that almost never
happens in my experience. People may leave if they have an appointment to meet, or if it's their turn on the front desk, but people rarely leave due to lack of interest. Which makes me think you can
probably say anything and nobody will complain or walk out. Win-Win situation :)

Cheers,
Al.