Lots of different views on how to do a talk. This goes against some mainstream advice such as: establish your credentials.
But rule number 1 for any talk is "know your audience." Since the audience is tech people who care about tech issues, talking about tech is a better way to establish your credentials than listing your CV.
But then again, how the people in the audience know you aren't just talking smartly?
My favorite tech talks are by people who jump straight into the tech issues without introduction. But I'm fully aware there's a chance they could be straight up bullshitting.
Hi, I'm X, I work on Y at Z and maybe I worked on Y' at Z', welcome to my presentation on Topic establishes some context. And lets you know if you're in the wrong room. I don't think you need much more than that at the beginning. Maybe in the depths of the presentation you talk about options for a solution and how you tried some of the options on a project/at a company, when it's relevant.
We don't usually need to know a lot of other stuff from a CV, such as how long you were anywhere or where you went to school or a lot of details about job responsibilities. Just a little info to have some idea of the scope of 'databases' and 'embedded' for you --- there's a lot of computer words that have similar but different meanings depending on your industry.
I think the missing context here is the why. Laying out your credentials is probably a good idea if the intent of your presentation is to advance your career. Which I gather is the main reason most people do it. Her advice is centered on delivering value to an audience.
The part that got me was right at the start:
"Why: I get very little out of 95% of them. I much prefer online recordings, which can come vetted/recommended. Also I can bump them up to 1.5x or 2x speed, so that at least if the talk isn’t that good I waste less time on it."
I also just don't enjoy these conferences at all. I rarely attend and have zero interest in ever speaking. Watching recorded presentations is far superior.
But rule number 1 for any talk is "know your audience." Since the audience is tech people who care about tech issues, talking about tech is a better way to establish your credentials than listing your CV.
But then again, how the people in the audience know you aren't just talking smartly?
My favorite tech talks are by people who jump straight into the tech issues without introduction. But I'm fully aware there's a chance they could be straight up bullshitting.