[groby_b]

#1: Yes, yes I am going to modify my speech. Or use the reply to weave in an anecdote, or do something with that info. Otherwise, you would be right, and it would be an exercise in futility.

#2: Absolutely. It's better if you can do without, but it's also a matter of how much time you have to prepare, and how dense the material is. If I'm giving a hard-core technical talk for 45 minutes, I'll sure as heck have a few notes handy. I prefer to go without, but that requires a lot of rehearsals. (45 minutes without notes is probably ~8-10 days of solid work. With notes, 4-5 days)

#3 That just means you've got to get better at reading your audience :) Seriously, if you feel a disconnect, shake things up. Do something unexpected. Have a joke ready. You do not want to lose your audience, ever. It's very hard to get them back.

[silverbax88]

Okay, what if you were speaking to an audience on a live national broadcast? Would you ask for a show of hands? What if you were talking to an arena of 20,000 people? Would you ask for a show of hands?

[groby_b]

Neither you nor the original article refer to any audience to even close of that size. I also wouldn't ask for a show of hands if I gave the President a national security briefing, or if I made first contact with aliens.

Can we agree that those situations are uncommon for most people on HN and focus on the kinds of talks we usually give around here?