Author: Christian Heilmann
Translation: Zhuang Qi
While travel used to be an important part of developer advocacy work, in the past few years (especially with the rise of Covid-19), things have shifted more to working from home and recording or streaming from your own computer. This is great, and it’s getting easier to quickly show the world what you’re working on. The main benefit is that you can focus on your production value. A lot of the randomness and physical stress of travel is gone, which means you can do a lot more in the familiar space of your own home. You also have predictable connectivity, allowing for faster uploads of materials. This also comes with some issues. It can feel strange not getting any feedback on your deliveries, and you need to perform more as if an audience is in front of you. Additionally, not physically going somewhere to speak can make it harder to get into the right mindset. We can do almost any physical exercise we need at home, yet we go to the gym. The reason is that we switch from one mode (being at home) to another (exercising). In the case of speakers, you also need to find a way to trick yourself into doing this.
Suitable Setup
Most laptops have everything you need to start recording videos, taking screenshots, and sharing online. For truly high-quality recordings, it makes sense to invest some money in a few extra things.
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External microphone: If you do a lot of recording or streaming on your own device, it makes sense to spend some money on an external microphone. Because they sound much better and block out external noise. Another big benefit of external microphones is that you can type while speaking/recording without annoying listeners with keyboard clicks.
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External monitor: The benefit of having a second monitor is that you can use one screen to record the conversation and have your speaker notes on the other. It’s also easier to put the application you want to screen record on the second monitor, with no distractions around it.
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External camera: For high-end recordings, it makes sense to have an external camera (which is also great for taking to events for quick interviews), but in the long run, your phone is also good enough. Mounting the camera on the secondary display also means you’ll have a good central camera position to see the audience without too much leaning.
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Proper lighting: LED ring lights are really affordable these days and work well placed behind your laptop or secondary monitor. Avoid any lighting from behind.
Here’s what I use these days.
As you can see, not many things are outrageously expensive, but I manage to get some good results from them. The fox is there as an audience I can’t see.
Screen Recording and Screenshots
Another powerful tool to show people what you’re doing is screen recordings and screenshots. Sometimes a picture is easier to explain your goal than a bunch of instructions. Step-by-step instructions on how to use an interface (e.g., how to register for a developer key) are easily shown as a screen recording. Describing interfaces in words is much harder. For example, try explaining how to install some software over the phone…
Personally, I like to keep screen recordings small, only capturing my process through some interface, but you can also make them more vivid with voiceover or embedding your webcam.
Most operating systems these days have built-in screen recording tools. These can be used to annotate screenshots and make short screen recordings. Sometimes recording a video makes sense, other times an animated GIF is a simpler solution. My most used tools are LiceCap, ScreenToGif, OBS Studio, and Screenflow.
There are even browser extensions that let you record professional screen broadcasts. We live in a great era.
One important thing with screen recordings and screenshots is that you don’t reveal sensitive information by showing, for example, other browser tabs, file names, and similar things in the background. You also want to record a setup that’s as generic as possible, not your highly customized setup. Usually, I find it’s a good idea to have a special, simple profile on your computer dedicated to recording screens and screenshots. If you’re doing things in the browser, I also tend to go into incognito mode so my profile name doesn’t get shown.
A trick I do to create smooth screen recordings is to split the work into different parts:
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I first write myself a script of what I should do. This is also never a waste because it will later serve as a transcript or text alternative for the screen recording. Again, high accessibility is a good thing.
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Then, I record the audio separately to focus on pronunciation and rhythm.
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As a final step, I do a screen recording while listening to my audio. Essentially, I tell myself what to do and then record it.
By recording audio and screen separately, I can focus on entering the correct information or typing in the screen broadcast without tripping over my own words. I can also handle connection issues or other problems that occur while recording the screen by editing them out before adding my voiceover.
Streaming
Nowadays, most video platforms not only offer hosting but also streaming, which many consider the most effective form of advocacy. While I don’t believe real-time platforms are suitable for training and advocacy due to their ephemeral nature, there’s a huge movement in this space. In any case, when it comes to streaming, the rules don’t apply the same way as when doing a presentation or creating a walkthrough. It’s more like having a conversation with people in the chat and reacting to their messages and questions.
In terms of preparation, the same rules apply:
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Make sure you don’t show things you shouldn’t show.
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Don’t let people distract you by focusing on a loud audience member and forgetting everyone else.
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Try to stick to an agenda when presenting something.
The audience for streaming is different from what you encounter at events or workshops. There’s a lot of fluctuation, and people often come and go between your sessions. Don’t be discouraged by this, and don’t feel frustrated if people want information you’ve already talked about before.
I’ve found that having a big, organized story to tell like you do in a presentation doesn’t work in this format. Instead, keep a list of things to show, each meaningful on its own and taking only a few minutes to talk about. This way, you can pick and choose what to show based on people’s feedback and questions.
Generally, streaming is a huge market with people making it their main income. While it might be a good opportunity to try yourself, it’s a pretty big threshold, and you need to do a lot of work to maintain your presence and stand out in the crowd. Instead of trying to break into this market, it might be easier to accept an invitation from an already established streaming channel as a guest or to participate in expert chats.
Participating in Online Live Chats
Another quick and easy thing is to jump on a call with a few people and record or stream your conversation. The way to make these successful is to follow the same principles for all online meetings:
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Make sure you separate your microphone and speakers with headphones. This avoids echo making your voice sound terrible.
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Check if your background shows anything that might be embarrassing or pose a security risk (e.g., whiteboards with information).
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Learn to use the mute button. When others are speaking, use it to avoid any breathing or other sounds on your end interrupting the call.
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To avoid people speaking at the same time, it makes sense to agree on a speaking schedule. This is usually the job of a moderator, but if there’s no moderator, most conference call systems have a “raise hand” feature. Instead of interrupting someone, this is a good way to request to make your point next.
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Most conference call systems also have a chat window where you can type things. This is not only a good place to post links and resources you discuss but also a good place to validate another meeting participant’s point. They’re also the lifeline of conference calls. People experiencing audio/video issues or needing to leave are most likely to post here. Therefore, paying attention to the chat is quite important.
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Using your real name in conference calls ensures there’s no confusion. Please make sure to set it as such. Most systems also have more profile settings where it makes sense to add more information, as people who click on your name will get this information.
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Check if there’s a call recording. It’s important that you watch what you’ve done afterward and understand how you could improve.
Tip: You don’t need to wait for formal conference calls and attend these.
In any case, it’s a good idea to be familiar with various meeting systems. Lately, this has been the number one communication method, and I currently have eight different systems on this computer because every call wants to use a different system. Fortunately, they all work in a similar way.
Participating in Online Live Events
As the Covid-19 situation evolved, many events moved from in-person to online, which means you need to give presentations and workshops in front of a camera from home. While this is a good thing because more people can see your talk, there are also many opportunities for things to go wrong.
Technical Issues to Prepare For
First: forget the standard stack. I’ve spoken at 12 virtual conferences this year, each using a different system to run the event. I’ve had to install a lot of software on my machine, sign up for some trial versions to delete later, and many other issues.
The best way to plan ahead is to leave 2-3 minutes in your presentation to handle power outages and things not being visible. Stare at the chat and have people tell you that they can’t see/hear you and/or what you’re presenting. There’s nothing more annoying than giving the perfect talk but having no one see it due to system lag.
Screen sharing can also be unstable in these systems. I can often be seen on video, but my shared screen keeps disappearing. A good plan is to not share your entire desktop, but only the application where your slides are. This ensures that any other distractions (auto-updating software, despite having set your operating system to “Do Not Disturb” mode, etc.) won’t appear on the shared screen, only on your device.
Before you go to present, make sure all necessary software to access the conference system also has access to your devices. Operating systems have become understandably stricter about giving access to cameras, microphones, screen recording, and folders. Make sure you test all these things before the meeting starts and make any necessary changes.
Some systems allow you to upload your slides to the system and present from there instead of sharing your screen. This is a safer option because when you can’t see your slides, neither can anyone else. You won’t get preferential treatment over your audience.
Dealing with Screen Limitations
Your slides will most likely not display full screen, but be played alongside. Most conferences will also have some branding frames around it. This means you have less space to work with, and you should probably use text large enough for this situation.
It’s also a good idea to avoid animations, transitions, videos, and embedded media in slides you present with any of these systems. Lag, pixelation of the screen, and many other factors will make them difficult for conference attendees to appreciate. What runs smoothly on your device isn’t what reaches your audience.
Audio and video lag are also common issues. I’ve found it prudent to present at a slower pace and take more breaks before moving on, to let problems subside.
Personal Issues to Prepare For
With so many problems that can occur, it’s not the organizer’s fault, but I haven’t attended an online event with live talks that stayed on schedule. Many small issues add up, and you’ll have to be flexible with your speaking time and duration. If you follow the advice in the presentation chapter, you’ll be safe because you have a central story to tell and can cut certain parts of your talk if necessary.
When you’re on stage, you focus on your presentation, and you get feedback from the audience. In online meetings, this is not the case. Instead, an instant chat system might appear next to your presentation, which can distract you. Try to stay focused on your presentation and not let yourself be distracted by all the things happening around you.
All in all, my experience with live speaking in virtual conference systems is not extensive, which is why I prefer to record my talks beforehand. I then have the conference play my video and can focus on the chat and prepare for the live Q&A.
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