In a very strange and hallowed ritual, authors of technical or art papers published at the Siggraph conference get 30 seconds per paper to describe their work. This is done on the very first evening of the conference (ie: this evening), which means I need to do it in about two hours.
There is no room for slipping up. While you are talking, videos are played in succession on a big screen, and the whole system is automated. So if you stumble over your words, you don’t get a second chance.
I’m mentally preparing for my 30 seconds. Of course the best way to prepare for this would probably be to not think about it too much, which is the opposite of what I am doing.
On other hand, one way or another, it’s going to feel great afterward. That’s because then I will no longer need to worry about whether I will screw up. 🙂