Do Hackers Need Public Speaking Skills?

[ivzar]

I want to judge the demand developers have for learning public speaking/oratorical skills.

I believe developers could greatly benefit from learning how to effectively communicate in front of a group of people, as from my experience, the archetypal coder tends to shy away from such circumstances. Yet, in today's world, these skills are necessary in order to climb the corporate ladder. Not only do I believe these skills are necessary for developers, but also for entrepreneurs who need to be able to market and sell themselves and their services.

I understand that there are many people who teach communication skills to a general audience, but I feel like this specific group needs to be addressed in accordance with their situation and unique needs. I believe this is how I can provide the most value to this community, but want to verify that this community would even be interested in such a skill set.

Please let me know your thoughts on this; any suggestions, comments, or concerns are all appreciated.

[rartichoke]

I think it depends on what you're doing. If you're a developer who is also the CEO of your company and need to promote it at events then yeah public speaking will be essential.

If you want to pitch your ideas for funding you'll probably have to be a good speaker too. Other than that I think you could get by without it unless you wanted to give talks at developer conferences.

Public speaking isn't easy but I think good programmers tend to be some of the best public speakers. You just need a clear head and know exactly what you want to say.

Look at someone like John Carmack. He has weird ticks but his train of thought is unmatched. He knows the material so well that he can just sit there and speak about a topic without missing a beat.

I think that is the most important thing about speaking publicly. If you take it slow and know exactly what to say then you'll be good at it.

[stevenameyer]

My personal view on the subject is that for a developer these skills are not overly important and there are a lot of job related things I would prioritize learning over public speaking.

If I'm hired to work on solely the technical side of things, just about the only time I'll ever need to speak in a public setting is if i decide to speak at a conference, which is a normally a decision not a job requirement. If I am an entrepreneur then this is a different story however as public speaking is an absolute must have skill.

I'm not saying that it's not a good skill for people to have in general, but as a developer alone I don't think it is relevant enough for me to choose learning over something technical or design.

[ivzar]

Thanks for the input, I really do appreciate it.

Perhaps "public speaking" is not the word I'm looking for, what about the ability to communicate effectively, not just to a group of people, but to your boss or to a coworker? Maybe not you specifically, but do you feel like other developers struggle with being heard? And is learning oratorical skills and technical skills mutually exclusive?

[ismaelc]

I think public speaking skills are important for developers, not because they have to do public speaking, but because it trains them to distill their thoughts into simpler and finer points. In public speaking, you are trained to take the common denominator, which to some extent "dumbs down" the message, but makes it more comprehensible by anyone. Such a skill would be beneficial to a team, especially if you're trying to explain a bug to QA (who will never have to understand the underlying code), or propose a feature to a superior (will this earn us revenue?). So yeah I think public speaking skills for developers are essential, but not to do public speaking (presenting perhaps?)

[1123581321]

It's an interesting question to ask here because Paul Graham has said that he prefers to listen to people who do not speak well in public because they sound more authentic, and it shows they care more about their work than giving a good impression of their work.

My opinion is that people who have had to speak value those skills and everyone else has no idea that it is even a skill, so it will be necessary to teach people that your services are needed or should be wanted.

Edit: Just to be clear, I know Paul must value these skills. I meant by the first paragraph that his idea of good public speaking is at odds with what is commonly considered to be good public speaking.

[ivzar]

I appreciate the input, it helps me gauge what people are looking for. I rephrased the question to be more concise and better catered to the needs of this community, if you could let me know your thoughts on this post it would really help, thanks for your time:

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5186131

[codegeek]

Everyone needs public speaking skills. If only we could just deal with ourselves and no one else. But the reality of life is that you have to interact with others, usually in a public setting. Publick speaking is not just about giving a speech. I took some toastmasters classes (http://http://www.toastmasters.org/) and it really teaches you how to be an effective leader.

[ivzar]

Thanks for taking the time to give your input. You seem to understand that public speaking is not just about giving a speech, and is necessary for everyone. How can that be conveyed to developers who believe all they need are technical skills and communication skills are arbitrary?

[axelfreeman]

I think hackers should tell good storys. All consultents and workshops says they must teach "communication skills" and these are just some words for saying: "talk to someone in the level he understands". A Hacker should focus on translating a techstory in the language that everbody can understand. Good Story + Translation for the audience = Public Speaking Skills.

Disclaimer: I'm german and this is my bad school english.

[ivzar]

Noted, thanks for your input.

Your English is not bad at all, you conveyed your thoughts in a manner that most importantly is unambiguous. I know exactly what you're saying and that's what is most important.

[27182818284]

Yes. Everyone needs at least some. Just like everyone needs at least basic math and basic reading as a minimum.

[ivzar]

Thanks for your input, do you feel like this specific community needs to be uniquely addressed?

[jseip]

Yes.