Mike Laverick introduces #FeedForward, a new mentoring program to help people present at their local VMUG sessions. The program pairs presenters with experienced mentors who will review presentations, provide feedback, and help presenters practice their delivery. Several people who received mentoring through #FeedForward found it extremely helpful for improving their content and building their confidence to successfully present. The program aims to encourage more community members to share their experiences.

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INTRODUCING #FEEDFORWARD…
with Mike Laverick (VMware)
VMware“Senior”Cloud Infrastructure“Evangelist”
Blog:www.mikelaverick.com
Email:mike@mikelaverick.com
Twitter:@mike_laverick

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Why am I here today?
 Tell you about my personal vision of the Global VMUG…
 To encourage you to present at your next VMUG session
 To tell you about #FeedForward – a new mentoring program
designed to help you!

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My Community; My vmUG; My
Story….

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What others contribute…
 vmUG Leaders
 Time!!!
 Concalls – Build the Agenda
 Sponsor Relations – Gold? Silver,Platinum,
ModeratingVendor content
 Speaker Liaison…
 VMware Liaison…
 Venue Liaison – Teas, Coffee, Food, Internet
Access, Projectors
 Promotion – Twitter, Blog, Linkedin, Facebook
 Attendee Admin – Registration, Signing,Timings
 Gathering & Analyzing Feedback, Actions?
 Sponsors send people
 Yes, they hope to make contacts to make sales…
 BUT, how often does that actually happen…?

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That moment at the end of the
vmUG…

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Excuses, Excuses, Excuses
 My Manager wouldn’t approve it
 Don’t mention your company
 Don’t disclose IP/Hostname/
 It’s political
 Talk about how you overcome challenges
 Because you work for such a great company
 I’m just a small environment
 >50% of VMUGaudiences are SMBs
 The myth of Enterprize
 People would find me boring…
 No we won’t
 We WANT you to succeed
 We WANT you to present

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The Real Reasons…
 Confidence…?
 Nerves…?
 People will judge me…?
 Difficult questions…?
 You need support!

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Introducing…
#FeedForward
http://vmugvoice.vmug.com/2014/February14.htm
WE WILL HELP YOU!

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Some Early Wins –
Frank Brix Pedersen - @FrankBrix
“I want to help new community
speakers to step up and share their
story.It is all about bringing the ‘U’
back inVMUG”

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Some Early Wins –
Rasmus Haslund - @haslund
“Frank and I set up a Skype video chat and
went over what I had already prepared.
Basically,I presented like I would have done
at the VMUG event.
The kind assistance and advice Frank gave
me was invaluable! I truly believe my
session was many times better than it
would have been otherwise.Obviously,I
was still very nervous,this being my first
VMUG presentation,but I felt at ease
knowing someone else had helped me with
the“sharp edges,”which I would normally
not have heard about until after the
presentation.”

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Some Early Wins –
@NickFurnell
“The approach really clarified my own
thinking, and the fact that we wandered in
and around the subject matter prepared
me for the typical“audience heckler.”My
confidence grew,and although the method
appeared to be an elaborate three-hour chat,
Mike concluded the session by simply saying
that we were done and that I was ready to
deliver my subject matter!”

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Some Early Wins - @AlexGalbraith
“The benefits to me were two-fold.Having
that second pair of eyes on my slides
and presentation from someone who
does this day in, day out gave me
confidence that the content was up to
par. Then having a practice run in a zero-
pressure environment where the audience
understands the subject matter and gives
you constructive feedback is absolutely
invaluable! I would have asked my wife,
but having her fall asleep mid-
presentation through boredom would not
have done my confidence any good.”

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Some Early Wins - @AlexGalbraith
“I’m currently an SE atVMware and have
always wanted to improve on my public
speaking and presentation skills so the
VMUG’s and FeedForward was a great
opportunity to present and also for a
seasoned presenter to give me
FeedForward before hand. We ended up
spending around 2 hrs going over my
presentation.The FeedForward was very
valuable and also helped with my
confidence to deliver the presentation
and know that the content was informative.
I would definitely recommend
FeedForward to anyone looking to present
atVMUG’s and will be looking to use this
great community lead initiative for future
presentations”

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Some Early Wins –
@HansDeLeenheer
“Sometimes just having a check on your slide
deck by someone experienced with
presenting is very helpful.Getting that
personal touch of someone covering your
back is worth a lot more than a blog post
with tips and tricks.Tips and tricks won’t
help making it a good story.Tips and tricks
won’t help you with that stress relief.I have
seen inexperienced speakers thrive when
doing a duo session with a‘senior,’for
example.So whether you just want to show us
your deck,do a mock presentation on
Skype/Google+ or even have your back on
stage,I promise we will do everything in
our power to help you thrive.”

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How to get #FeedForward
 Contact you local VMUG leaders – ask for the
name of their #FeedForward Mentor…
 General Enquiries - Twitter
 #Feedward
 @Feed4ward
 SIGN UP NOW: vmug.com/feedforward

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And Finally for prospective
presenters….
 BEYOURSELF
 SELF-DEPRECIATION GOES A LONG WAY
 MAKE A JOKE
 SACRIFICE A SMALL GOAT TO THE GODS OF DEMOS….
 …above enjoy the experience
 …you might get to like it… 

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And Finally - Thank you to my
#FeedForward Mentor
@HansDeLeenheer

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Any Volunteers?
Blog: www.mikelaverick.com
Email:mike@mikelaverick.com
Twitter: @mike_laverick