Mikko Hyppönen: Public presentations about technical topics

Mikko Hyppönen is a worldwide expert in Internet Security who works as the Chief Research Officer at F-Secure. Thanks to his extraordinary skills and unique style, he successfully advocates the importance of privacy and other security topics to the whole world. He has delivered several TED and TEDx talks, some of them have been watched more than a million times.

His lifetime best opener

He started his latest TEDx Talk The Internet is on Fire (December 2014) with a story. During the Beverly Hills Supper Club fire, Walter Bailey, a young waiter, was the only person who took action to try to save lives. This was a metaphor for today’s Internet, where everybody knows about surveillance but very few people are taking action.

The most important elements in a technical presentation

You have to be able to simplify. Use stories and metaphors. You have to be as concrete as possible, don’t speak in abstract. Use screenshots, videos.

How to coordinate all sections of a technical talk

“When you do demos, you have to surrender to the demo gods.†It’s easy to go wrong with live demos. Mikko schedules a warmup talk (a final rehearsal) for the most important talks. Rehearsing is the key to success. Do spice up your talks with videos, props, demos, in addition to slides. In his very first TED talk he used an overhead projector as a prop.

Recommended tools for technical demos and presentations

Practical tool for demos: ZoomIt

YouTube downloader: youtube-dl

Favorite quotation

“The biggest lie on the Internet is “I have read and I agree to the terms and conditions.” – Terms of Service; Didn’t Read Project

Recommended books

The Unthinkable by Amanda Ripley

Puhevalta (in Finnish) by Juhana Torkki

Presentation Zen by Garr Reynolds

Routine to Shine

When you commute to work, don’t waste your time listening to music. You can use your time listening to things that help you with your life, your career. Listen to podcasts about technical topics, public speaking, news, jokes, etc.

Links

Mikko at Twitter

 

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