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How to Speak

MIT OpenCourseWare · lecture · Watch on YouTube

University lectures & coursesProductivity & self-improvementEducation & learning

What it is

Patrick Winston's long-running MIT lecture on public speaking teaches heuristic rules for talks. It covers how to start, use time and place, boards, props and slides, and how to inform, persuade and finish.

Why Hacker News recommends it

HN treats it as the canonical, near-universally recommended lecture on giving talks and presentations.

  • 17 people recommended it
  • 16 different months
  • 10 strong recommendations
  • first 2020, last 2025

What HN commenters said

  1. “Very much recommended!”

    Patrick Winston's lecture on giving effective talks.

    BossingAround, 2020-02 · Strong recommendation · in “How to give a great presentation: advice from a legendary adman (2012)”

  2. “drop what you're doing and watch it now”

    Heuristics for speaking well, dressing your ideas properly.

    omginternets, 2020-11 · Strong recommendation · in “Ask HN: What is the best money you have spent on professional development?”

  3. “it is really good. Anyone who gives talks can learn a few things from this.”

    Talk on how to give talks, with lessons for any speaker.

    janvdberg, 2020-12 · Strong recommendation · in “Ask HN: Best Talks of 2020?”

  4. “An hour of life well spent!”

    Course on speaking, well worth the time.

    cmehdy, 2021-02 · Strong recommendation · in “A tool to create slides using Markdown easily for you”

  5. “is excellent and very popular”

    Heuristic rules for improving speaking in critical situations.

    hazelnut-tree, 2022-07 · Strong recommendation · in “Ask HN: Any good resources you have used becoming a better confidence speaker?”

  6. “The advice is as good as gold.”

    Advice for delivering a memorable message in talks.

    1970-01-01, 2023-07 · Strong recommendation · in “A gambler's guide to giving talks”

  7. “Encourage anyone interested in communicating to watch this.”

    Funny, practical lecture on slides and communicating well.

    robviren, 2023-12 · Strong recommendation

  8. “is the lecture you need to watch about public speaking and presentation”

    Lecture that follows its own presentation framework.

    croo, 2024-01 · Strong recommendation · in “Ask HN: What talks do you consider real gems?”

Excerpts from Hacker News comments, linked to the originals. Summaries and labels were written by a language model from those comments.

Topics: presentations, communication, mit, patrick winston, slides, storytelling

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